Artifacts, Layers, Traces, and Trends

map of my site (between Mt. Vernon and
Pinckney Streets) now...
(from Mapquest)

Trace of Beacon Hill's history, and evidence
for future trends.

Introduction

In a way, Beacon Hill is timeless. Its modern facade seems to approximate its original, early 19th century appearance very well, and a cursory visitor to the neighborhood would probably conclude that it has barely changed at all. No matter how much a district resists change, however, it cannot span two hundred years and numerous generations of residents without bearing clear traces of the past or picking up modern trends. Although the differences between Beacon Hill now and Beacon Hill in 1840 may not be as striking as the differences in a neighborhood such as the Back Bay over the same time period, for instance, they are certainly discernible. Similarly, even though Beacon Hill is now a registered historical landmark, it will continue to grow and change, maybe not overtly, but definitely in the way it is used behind the scenes. This entire project has revealed that no matter how timeless a part of a city may appear, it is never static and is probably better compared to a living, breathing organism than to a set of walls and streets. Thus traces of Beacon Hill's past and clues for its future are hidden all over the neighborhood; some are more obvious than others, but all can be found and understood by the careful, informed observer.

What is a trace?

65 Mt. Vernon Street - a mansion previously
owned by the Cabots that still bears the family name.

Essentially, a trace is a feature of the neighborhood that serves as evidence of the past. A trace can be something physical, such as the shape of a building, or more ephemeral, such as the name of a street. For instance, three detached mansions about three quarters of the way up Mt. Vernon Street and the name of Hancock Street, a cross street about a block off my site, are both traces of a time when the hill's front slope consisted of a few landed estates and was mostly owned by the Hancock family. Often, traces are significant because they no longer fit in the modern context of the neighborhood but nevertheless have been retained, begging the question of how or why they are the way they are. One example, shown to the left, is a house at 65 Mt. Vernon Street bearing the name 'Cabot' in large letters. Bromley atlases reveal that in the early 1900's, the home was owned by various members of the Cabot family -- the name on the house is thus a trace to past ownership with little significance today.

In a neighborhood like Beacon Hill, which tries to maintain a historic character, it can be difficult to determine what is actually a trace from the past, what has simply been around for a long time, and what has been added to the neighborhood to appear as a trace from the past. Interestingly enough, the fire insurance maps also show that Charles Street was not always a commercial strip as it is today, and despite the charming, almost colonial feel of the street that may seem to provide evidence of a long commercial history, not only was the street not incorporated until around 1830, but it did not have so many stores until rather recently. Some traces on Charles Street, such as the storefronts and signs, are therefore recent additions meant to give a certain impression of the street's past.

Additionally, even if an aspect of the neighborhood is historically accurate and reflects the past, it may not necessarily be a trace of the past but rather evidence of time passage. Of the two roof lines on the right, the one on top, clearly weathered, may at first seem to be a trace, but it does not tell anything specific about the neighborhood other than a vague idea of its age and some of the available materials for building houses. This roof line could have come from many houses on many different parts of the east coast. The second roof line, however, does not appear to be very interesting except for a small bend near the center. This bend is very significant, however, because it provides evidence of the neighborhood's former appearance at a time when the bank of the Charles River once came up to Charles Street. These buildings on Charles Street slightly follow the former course of the river just as the street does even though today the bends in Charles Street seem unnecessary.

Evidence of the passage of time as seen
in the copper patina on the roof.

Evidence of the river's former presence on Charles
Street as seen in the bend of the roofline.

Evidence of Neighborhood Development

The list of examples of traces could go on indefinitely; the one that interested me personally and that in fact drew me to the site in the first place was the number of hidden gardens, courtyards, and even houses behind the orderly looking rows of houses on Pinckney, Mt. Vernon, and their cross streets. Often accessible only by passageways to the street with locked doors, even the courtyards that do face an alley are surrounded by high fences, making them very difficult to see. The picture below on the left is an attempt to capture such a courtyard or at least evidence of its existence. The courtyards leave their own traces, or clues to their presence, on the streets in the form of small doors or shifts in the roof line, but in a sense they are also a very important trace from the past, providing evidence for certain development patterns on Beacon Hill.

Observations, backed up by both ownership and building trends found on insurance maps, show that the houses on Mt. Vernon, particularly near the top of the hill, tend to be bigger than those on Pinckney, to take up more room -- some are even detached, and to have lawns. They also show that some of the houses on Pinckney were originally carriage houses or otherwise part of the properties they backed onto because they were owned by the same people. The same patterns can be found to an extent at the base of the hill, where Charles Street backs onto Mt. Vernon Avenue, as well. The hidden houses, courtyards, and other anomalies, then, came about as the rest of the neighborhood was quickly built up after the original properties, filling in the somewhat irregular space as much as possible. They perhaps serve as one of the most significant traces on the site both because of how much they reveal about the neighborhood's development and because of their uniqueness. The phenomenon is difficult to illustrate, but the picture below to the right shows the juxtaposition of larger houses on Mt. Vernon taking up more space and the backs of the more close packed ones on Pinckney.

Back of a rowhouse on Pinckney as viewed from an alley.

Alley between houses on Mt. Vernon with view
of Pinckney backs.

Changing Use of Houses

Fire escapes show that formerly one-person
dwellings are now apartments and condos.

Traces are useful not only for detecting past trends but also for predicting future trends. One pattern I noticed on the maps was that one hundred years ago, every house was owned by just one person, but now many are being converted to apartments or condominiums. Evidence of these patterns are very clear in the neighborhood; some houses have multiple doorbells or mailboxes and some of the larger ones have fire escapes, as in the picture to the left, which would not be found on a single family dwelling. Charles Street is almost entirely apartments above the stores. In the future, the neighborhood will probably tend to more subdivision of houses as demand for affordable housing in the neighborhood increases.

A similar residential pattern is the conversion of the few neighborhood buildings that were not originally dwellings into houses. The Sharpe School on Pinckney Street, for instance, is now condominiums, and the small carriage houses and warehouses (as labeled in the Bromley atlases) are also homes today, as seen in the picture to the right. The demand for property in this part of the neighborhood seems to be very high and almost purely residential, and this trend will probably continue in the future -- Beacon Hill will remain a predominantly upscale residential neighborhood.

Formerly a warehouse or carriage house, this
is now a residence, like just about every building
in the neighborhood.

Changing Use of Stores

Since the commercial establishments on Charles Street are more recent than the houses in the neighborhood, their uses are still evolving and have yet to be completely established. For one thing, most of the stores are independent, but there are a few chains, such as Starbucks, 7-Eleven, and Ritz Camera. What is not immediately clear is whether the chains are moving in or out or whether they can coexist with the other stores. Starbucks has only been around for a few years on the east coast, which seems to indicate that it is probably somewhat newer than the surrounding stores. The Starbucks hardly indicates that the rest of the neighborhood is going to become predominantly chain stores. On the contrary, the picture shows a 7-Eleven across the street from Gary Drug, a corner drug store that, despite its appearance has a better selection and always seems to be doing better business than its neighbor.

Juxtaposition of independent corner store and 7-11

Antique stores show the neighborhood's
tendencies to providing less for residents, and more
for tourists or visitors.

Furthermore, the rest of the stores on the street are mostly fancy restaurants, antiques, or boutiques, which are almost always independent establishments, as seen in the picture on the left. In order for chains to move in, the type of establishment on the street would have to change. Such a shift is unlikely since Charles Street caters mostly to tourists, window shoppers, and very specific needs, not to the general everyday needs of the neighborhood itself, so its commercial success is basically independent of the residential demographics in the neighborhood or even the city. As long as Boston remains a popular place to visit and some wealthy people live in or near the city, Charles Street will be a popular shopping destination and, as current patterns show, will consist of mostly independent, upscale establishments.

Beacon Hill in the Future

Sample historical marker

After analyzing traces and searching for trends, one can develop an idea of how a neighborhood may look and feel in the future. Perhaps the most significant constraint on Beacon Hill's future, however, has to do not with the traces themselves but with preserving them. Since Beacon Hill is a nationally registered historic site, it really cannot be significantly tampered with. Many houses bear plaques such as the one in the picture to the left, and they all maintain a historical appearance and character.

The feel of the site probably helps maintain neighborhood pride, which in turn motivates residents to keep their properties up. A walk through the neighborhood on a nice day always finds people outside fixing up their houses or, on Mt. Vernon Street, their lawns. When a house is being renovated, as in the picture to the right, it is certainly going to end up looking virtually the same as before, only with any problems fixed. In many such neighborhoods there are specific guidelines about keeping exteriors tasteful, but most of the residents would probably be motivated to do so even without a set of rules. Another motivating factor specific to Beacon Hill is the fate of the nearby West End, which fell victim to urban renewal earlier in the twentieth century. Although Beacon Hill is a much nicer neighborhood than the West End was, residents were probably driven to secure the historic registry status and to maintain the neighborhood so that it would not be taken down and replaced. Thus between the historic status of the neighborhood and the motivation of the residents themselves, the outward appearance of the neighborhood will probably stay basically static, as it has for at least the last 100 years or so. The feel of the neighborhood will probably stay the same as well, although some slight shifts in ownership and in commercial establishments may occur over the next few years.

Fear of the nearby West End's fate may drive
Beacon Hill's residents to maintain the neighborhood.

A house gets a facelift, but its appearance will probably not change significantly.