Today we are highlighting some archival photographs that we recently digitized. In our archive’s stacks there is a flat box housing seven mounted photographs associated with the T.J. Flynn Metal Works Inc., a 20th century Cambridge business.
Life raft metal cross-section. T.J. Flynn Metal Works Collection, CHC.
The earliest reference to the company was in 1914, when Thaddeus J. Flynn’s T.J. & Sons Co., Sheetmetal Works, was located on Albany Street in Cambridgeport. This family company witnessed many location changes from 1914 to the 1930s. In 1918 it was at 37 Albany Street, then it moved to 18-20 Portland Street in 1925, and in 1930 it was located at 49 Albany Street. By 1918, the name of the company changed to its more well-known version, T.J. Flynn Metal Works Inc.
Associated with this larger business was Flynn Roofing and Metal Co., run by Flynn’s son, Edmund T. Flynn. It also moved around the neighborhood – residing at 37 Albany Street in 1917, 8 Portland in 1920, then 35 Albany Street between 1921-1922, and subsequently 49 Albany Street in 1937. Unfortunately, none of the original buildings have photographic references in the CHC files and the larger company was officially unincorporated by 1968-1972, although its final locations are unknown.
During the heyday of the T.J. Flynn Metal Works Inc., Thaddeus married Mary A. Flynn. Their son Edmund invented a life-raft design in the early 1900s. The photographs in the CHC’s archival box are accounts of his work.
A polygonal-shaped testing model raft created by Edmund T. Flynn. T.J. Flynn Metal Works Collection, CHC.
It is unknown when these images were taken since they do not reflect Edmund’s patent approved by the U.S. Patent Office on July 16, 1918. His final design notes emphasize how the official raft was “substantially pointed” at each end and that the “buoyant member is non-circular in cross-section.” The polygon version reflected in the photographic images could have been an earlier design Edmund scrapped during his tests at Scituate Harbor. Or, it could have been a later revision since his patent was updated in 1941.
Two unidentified men standing in a raft to demonstrate the submerged section. T.J. Flynn Metal Works Collection, CHC.
Nevertheless, Edmund’s patented life-raft was a success. It was used in both World Wars and it was officially approved for use on ocean, coast, bay, lake and sound vessels by the Department of Commerce.
E.T. Flynn’s patent design authorized by the U.S. Patent Office on July 16, 1918. Patent # 1,272,412. Source: USPTO PatFT database.
Thaddeus also gained a patent in 1929 for a roof drain. A year later, on September 9, 1930, Thaddeus died, and his wife Mary became president of the company. She was assisted by J. Henry Flynn and his wife Belinda S. Flynn, who were first referenced as additional owners of the company in 1925. However, by 1968-1972 the family business had dwindled out. Edmund’s son, Jonathan, opened European Engineering in Belmont, MA in 1958 but it was ultimately a failed venture. Jonathan’s son, Nick, recounts his father’s subsequent journey in “The Button Man,” published in The New Yorker in 2004.
Welcome to Torn Down Tuesday where we feature buildings in Cambridge that have been demolished. Today we highlight the building that once stood where the Fresh Pond Mall is located today: 541 Concord Ave, the Prest-O-Lite industrial complex.
Aerial views: Prest-O-Lite complex at 541 Concord Ave (1947 and 1948)
Businessmen Carl Fisher, James Allison and P.C. Avery started Concentrated Acetelyene Company (later changed to Prest-O-Lite) in Indianapolis in 1906 with the plan to manufacture portable cylinders containing compressed acetylene.
Motor Vehicles – In Use – Model 18-F three-speed twin, Prest-O-Lite attachment with side car. Photographer: Harley-Davidson Motor Co., 1917-1918 (NARA)
The cylinders would allow drivers of motorcycles and automobiles to operate headlights on their vehicles via a sparking switch.
Advertisement from Scientific American (6 January 1912)
The company invented this technology before the use of electric lights, which were pioneered by Cadillac in 1912. In 1920, the Prest-O-Light Company obtained a permit to build a plant in Northwest Cambridge. The complex would include 13 buildings with the purpose of producing acetylene for use their line of products.
1930 Bromley Atlas image showing location of Prest-O-Lite complex
Bordered by Concord Ave and Alewife Brook Parkway, the site was originally marshland and later owned by the New England Brick Company. Construction for Prest-O-Lite was carried out by John T. Scully Co. builders, a company that had completed large projects for companies such as Simplex Wire & Cable Company and lumber dealer E. D. Sawyer. Like many industrial buildings of Northwest Cambridge from this period, the buildings were of an extended form and low scale.
Clipping from Cambridge Chronicle (7 August 1920)
North Cambridge was composed of prime agricultural land during the colonial period, while West Cambridge began as a swath of grazing land before evolving into a fringe industrial area during the 19th century. Up until the mid-twentieth century, much of the area was still composed of industrial or commercial properties.
Image of Prest-O-Lite fire, unknown source (1952)
Prest-O-Light operated in North Cambridge for over three decades without major incident. However, at 1:15pm on the day after Christmas 1952, an explosion of 200 gas cylinders rocked the neighborhood and shattered windows up to half a mile away. It was reported that the multi-colored flames rose 200 feet over the building and the ensuing smoke was visible from 20 miles away.
Aerial image of Fresh Pond Shopping Center, Patriquin Collection (1984)
Just a few years after the massive fire, the Prest-O-Lite complex was razed in 1959 to make way for the Fresh Pond Shopping Center, which was developed in 1962. Check out our Instagram post to read more about the Fresh Pond Shopping Center!
Just off the corner of Mass Ave on Shepard Street, two consecutive French restaurants, Chez Jean and later Chez Henri, flourished for over fifty years.
View of Chez Jean in the 1970s (CHC Collection)
In 1958, Jean-Baptiste Lagouarde, who had been a chef in France, opened his restaurant, Chez Jean, with his wife Madeline. A local newspaper article described the cuisine as “classic French, emphasizing meat and bearnaise sauce,” and the restaurant’s atmosphere as “anything but pretentious. The mix of rough stucco walls and country style paneling, and the long red vinyl benches give the place an air of a bistro in the countryside.” The article went on to praise the duck special consisting of moist slices of duck layered over a bed of stuffing with the sauce made from duck livers on top.
Getting ready for Chez Henri (Lisa O’Connell)
Lagouarde passed away in 1991, and his family continued the restaurant until 1994. Paul O’Connell bought the space and opened Chez Henri, a French restaurant with a Cuban flair. Alongside classic French dishes such as frogs’ legs, menu items included grilled steak with sofrito bordelaise and roasted chicken with lime, achiote, and yuca frita. The “Chez Henri Cuban Sandwich” became a customer favorite. The interior was reworked with brightly colored light fixtures in a crimson and olive dining room. Chez Henri won acclaim over the years, often cited as one of the area’s best restaurants.
View of Chez Henri at night (Lisa O’Connell)
Menu from Chez Henri (CHC Collection)
Chez Henri appeared in one of Robert B. Parker’s popular Spenser mysteries (Lisa O’Connell)
In 2013, O’Connell closed the restaurant. The space reopened in 2015 as Shepard, but closed a couple years later. The space is now occupied by a restaurant called Luce.
Sources
Cambridge Chronicle, January 7, 1960; April 7, 1988; July 25, 1996.
In honor of June as Candy Month, we look at one of Cambridge’s largest chocolate makers from the early to mid twentieth century. Candy making was a major industry in Cambridge, with over 66 confectionery manufacturers listed in the city directory at its peak in 1946.
View of 400 Main Street in the 1980s
Fred L. Daggett first started his company as a small candy store in Chelsea in 1891. By 1921 he was overseeing manufacturing in seven different buildings throughout the city. In 1925, in order to concentrate production and distribution and to secure more manufacturing area, Daggett built his Cambridge plant at 40 and 50 Ames Street and 400 Main Street. Completed by 1928, the buildings were designed by architect/engineer Mark Linenthal who would later specialize in racetrack and stadium architecture.
Daggett Chocolates acquired other companies, resulting in the production of more than 40 brands of chocolates. By 1930, Daggett employed over 400 people and produced 24,000 boxes of chocolate-coated candies a day. The company sold brands including Daggett, Page & Shaw, Durand, Lowney’s, and Apollo. Daggett not only produced candy, but also the boxes the candy came in. The factory had three separate unions: one for the confectionery workers, one for the box makers, and one for the printers.
The company also had a special fruit department. Daggett owned and operated a strawberry plant in Virginia where strawberries were preserved in sugar to make fillings for their chocolates. Because of this venture, Daggett also had an impact on ice cream and soda fountain business in the area. They supplied thousands of gallons of syrups and crushed fruits to druggists and ice cream manufacturers.
View from corner of Main and Ames Streets
Fred L. Daggett died in 1958. The company continued for only a few more years. In 1961, the company sold the recipes to New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), and sold the buildings to MIT.
Sources:
Cambridge Chronicle, March 27, 1926; October 23, 1958
For today’s #ModernMonday post, we are highlighting 1045 Mass Ave, the former Putnam Furniture Company store in Cambridge. The building was constructed in 1946 from plans by well-known Cambridge architect, William L. Galvin. The design could be classified as early International-style architecture with influence from Art Deco and Moderne designs-built pre-WWII. The white plaster, glass blocks on the second story and neon signage immediately drew in shoppers who were looking to furnish their homes during the post-WWII housing boom. Interior programming of the store separated furniture departments into rooms from bathrooms and kitchens to “Storkland”, which offered a complete assortment of baby and children’s accessories and furniture.
Putnam Furniture Company circa 1946. Photo courtesy of Carl Barron.
Putnam Furniture Company storefront lit up at night circa 1946. Photo courtesy of Carl Barron.
Putnam Furniture Company began in 1939 when founder, Carl F. Barron created the first furniture leasing company in the United States. The business began in two adjacent 1,200 square foot spaces in Putnam Square, one being a showroom and the other providing storage. Barron personally bought, uncrated, leased and delivered furniture which was very appealing to consumers. Due to the growth of the company, Putnam added a third story to the building in 1957 and eventually moved out of its headquarters in Putnam Square in 1974. The company transitioned to solely leasing of furniture in 1974 and expanded all over the region as far as Hartford, CT. Putnam Furniture Company was later sold to CORT Global Furniture Rental Network which operates all over the globe.
Putnam Square in late 1940s, Putnam Furniture on right.
After Putnam Furniture moved out of the space in 1974, the building was renovated, and well-known furniture store, Crate and Barrel moved in. Most recently, the store has been occupied by Design Within Reach, another furniture store specializing in modern home décor.
Existing store presently used by Design Within Reach. Third floor added previously.
For more information on this building or architect William L. Galvin, email us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov.
The Historical Commission recently accepted a donation of eight photographs depicting members of three Cambridge families in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The photographs were donated by a descendant of these families. Scroll down to read snapshots of these people and their connections to 19th century Cambridge industries.
Coleman Family: Police and Coal
This family collection’s story begins with a tintype of John Coleman, likely from the 1850s.
John Coleman, ca. 1850s.
Coleman was born in Birmingham, England, in 1827. Around 1847, he and his wife Elizabeth Harper Whitehouse immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Cambridge, where John became a well-known policeman. In 1878, John and his son Walter started a coal and wood business at the corner of Broadway and Sixth Street in Cambridge; in 1881 son James also became part of the firm. After John’s death in 1883, Walter and James took over the firm, naming it Coleman Brothers. Their company did business at 428 Massachusetts Avenue until a merger with the Massachusetts Wharf Coal Company in 1923.
A (barely visible) newspaper image of the Coleman Brothers coal factory, Cambridge, Mass. Cambridge Chronicle, July 22, 1893. https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/
Cutting Family: Firemen and Markets
John Coleman’s daughter, Fannie Coleman, married Charles H. Cutting. Charles was born in Boston but, like Fannie, grew up in Cambridge.
Fanny Coleman Cutting, n.d.
Charles H. Cutting, n.d.
The Cuttings had four children: Elizabeth Swanton, Henry Arthur, Herbert Harper, and Ida May. Sadly, Fannie died from complications of childbirth in 1889.
The Cutting children, 1889
Charles Cutting’s occupation was originally listed as an iron molder, but he was later listed as a fish dealer and eventually owned his own provisions store at 885 Main Street (now on Mass Ave near Harvard Square). Charles may have taken over ownership of this store from E.A. Burroughs, proprietor of The Old Rockport Market, selling fish, oysters, and canned goods.
The Cutting family outside of their store at 885 Main Street, n.d.
Charles would also serve as a volunteer fireman with the Cambridge Fire Department for 37 years, retiring in 1915.
The Cutting family inside their store, n.d.
The three eldest Cutting children seem to have helped with the family store, especially son Henry, who later took over running the store after Charles died in 1920. Henry also worked for the Cambridge Fire Department at River Street from 1920-1942.
Henry Cutting, n.d.
Kemp and Nowell Family: Soap
Charles Cutting’s daughter Elizabeth Cutting married Bowman Nowell, the son of Lucy Ann Kemp and Charles Nowell. Lucy Ann was the daughter of Lysander Kemp, owner of a Cambridge soap manufacturing company and brother-in-law to Curtis Davis of the Curtis Davis Company (a large soap manufacturer that was later bought by Lever Brothers).
Lysander’s original company, which manufactured laundry soap, was Kemp & Sargent, later Lysander Kemp & Sons.
To see these photographs or to learn more about any of the industries mentioned here, make a research appointment with us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov. If you are interested in donating photographs or materials on your Cambridge ancestors, please feel free to contact Emily, egonzalez@cambridgema.gov.
The Cambridge Historical Commission has a rich collection of both family photographs and historical materials on Cambridge business and industry, and we are always excited to add more to the collection.
We are happy to announce the addition of 28 images to our CHC Flickr account. These images come from the Lois M. Bowen Collection. Bowen was a Cambridge-based photographer and entrepreneur who owned a camera shop, Cambridge Camera and Marine, in Harvard Square from the 1940s to 1995.
Kodak film cannister owned by Lois M. Bowen, ca 1960s
Ms. Bowen was a freelance photographer for several organizations and publications around Cambridge and Boston, including The Architects’ Collaborative and Architectural Forum Magazine, as well as advertising agencies and admissions publications for colleges and universities.
Cover: “Architectural Forum: The Magazine of Building”, June 1964
Pages from “Architectural Forum: The Magazine of Building” featuring the work of Lois M. Bowen, June 1964
Bowen’s work was primarily focused on architecture, but her photographic subjects spanned the Northeast and included documentation of her own life and community.
View of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, 4 September 1978
Contact sheet: images of Strawberry Banke, October 1966
In addition to the photographic materials there are business papers and documents as well as personal correspondence and ephemera.
Interior view of Cambridge Camera and Marine, ca. 1960s
Interior View: 14 Old Dee Road in Cambridge, ca. 1960s
This post was authored by our Simmons 438 Archives intern, Jacky Martin.
You may have heard of the Clarks before. Emory J. Clark Square sits at Fern Street and Concord Avenue. Emory’s Pharmacy was the first Black-owned and operated pharmacy in Cambridge.
But this collection is about Xonnabel.
Xonnabel Clark was a teacher and counselor for various area schools over the years. She received a Masters of Education from Harvard University. She raised five children. She was a very active member of her church, Grace Vision United Methodist. And I think – because I’ve not met her – that she is curious and passionate about learning and likes piecing puzzles together.
It’s the last two sentences that are important for this collection.
Clark became the unofficial historian for her church back in the 2000s, when the congregation needed to find the official deed for the church building. She traveled to the Cambridge Registry of Deeds and successfully located the document. That adventure sparked an interest in records and the history of her church that led to her working with the CHC to make the church into a historical landmark, and writing a report called The History of Grace Vision United Methodist 1871-2009: 138 Years of Christian Service (yes, we have a copy and yes, I’ve read it).
After spending two weeks with this collection, I understand her interest.
A colored postcard of the church
The Grace Vision United Methodist Church was built in 1887. Its original congregation was an outgrowth of a Sunday School-type program called the Sabbath School, which was run by Baptist, Congregational, and Methodist churches including the Harvard Street Church. The original congregation was called the Cottage Street Methodist Episcopal Church, due to its location on Cottage Street, before it moved to the Magazine Street building and renamed itself Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. Since then it’s gone through four name changes (from Grace M.E. to Grace Methodist to Grace United to finally Grace Vision United). That’s five different names for one enduring congregation.
And by all accounts, the congregation’s focus on community and outreach that started with the Sabbath School didn’t change. The church sponsored Scout Troops, ran arts programs, and remained an active part of the community. From the original Sabbath School to Grace Academy, the Grace Vision UMC strove to always contribute to the local community.
One of the many Boy Scout Troops the church sponsored
The collection itself is an interesting mix of official documents and informal photographs.
An old church newsletter; note the baseball statistics
The largest part of the collection (aside from the History) are the church programs that Clark kept over the years. From Martin Luther King Day celebrations to joint Easter Sunday services with other churches to Anniversary services and banquets, these programs run the gamut of the various events that are a constant part of a church’s life.
One of the multiple programs for Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations
More interesting – to me at least – are the newsletters and correspondence in the collection. Much of the collection consists of formal minutes from the multiple inter-church organizations that Grace United Methodist was a part of, but the rest includes church newsletters and messages to the congregation. My favorite is the “Cakeless Cake Sale” letter, which is written almost entirely in rhyme.
A Cakeless Cake Sale, a novel new way to do bake sales
The collection is a unique snapshot of the life of a church, taken by someone who clearly cares greatly for this church and its history.
A photograph of Sunday service
View the finding aid for this collection here. If you would like to learn more about this collection, please call us at 617.349.4683 or e-mail our archivist, Emily, at egonzalez@cambridgema.gov to make a research appointment.
For the past several weeks, our Spring 2017 Simmons archives intern, Chun Yu Tsui, has been working on re-processing the Ellis & Andrews real estate collection. This collection was donated to the CHC in 1994 by Helen Moulton, owner and president of the Ellis & Andrews real estate firm from 1979-1994.
As part of the re-processing project, Chun Yu has reorganized the first two boxes from the collection; mainly, changing a box of real estate correspondence from chronological order to alphabetical order. Since so many of the letters received by Ellis & Melledge (the original company name) mentioned specific streets and addresses for sale, we thought reorganizing the correspondence alphabetically would be much easier for researchers.
In addition to finding out about the history of the oldest real estate firm in Cambridge, researchers might now be interested in finding information on the history of their home or building lots. The reorganization of the real estate correspondence will now allow researchers to search for their street or address by name.
Below, read about the collection and Chun Yu’s experience reprocessing a huge box of correspondence from 1893-1896.
Background on Ellis & Andrews*
Established in 1888, the firm of Ellis & Andrews was Cambridge’s oldest real estate company. First located at 910 Main Street (now Massachusetts Ave.) in Quincy Square, it was founded by William Rogers Ellis as the Ellis Real Estate & Insurance Company. In 1893, Cambridge native Robert Melledge joined the firm, which was renamed Ellis & Melledge, it moved to the Lyceum Building (now the Harvard Cooperative Society). In 1903 William Ellis died and Melledge extended partnership to Ellis’s son, Benjamin Pierce Ellis. Two years later Benjamin left the company to work independently, and in 1913 Melledge moved his firm to its present location in the Brattle Building at 4 Brattle Street, Cambridge. In 1917 Robert Melledge died and Benjamin Ellis returned to succeed his father. In 1920 he joined Cambridge real estate veteran Edward A. Andrews in business and the firm became Ellis & Andrews. Seven years later Edward Bowditch joined the company as an agent; by 1928 he was a co-owner. Edward Andrews died in 1936, and the firm was subsequently renamed Ellis & Bowditch. His son, Dwight Andrews, continued to work as an agent until he was called to duty in World War II. After the war, Dwight Andrews returned and the firm was again called Ellis & Andrews. In 1955, Andrews became sole owner; in 1961 John Norris joined as a partner; and in 1979 Helen Moulton bought the agency and became the president. The agency lost its independent status when it merged with another firm in 1994.
This is an example of correspondence to Ellis & Melledge from a Cambridge resident, Mrs. Charles Goodhue. In the letter, Mrs. Goodhue writes, “I want a house with 8 or 9 sleeping rooms – including servant’s room.”
The Collection*
The Ellis & Andrews Collection contains both business and personal correspondence from c. 1889 to 1986, with the bulk of the material from 1890-1935. These materials are organized in several individual archival boxes, which are then stored in five larger boxes. The collection contains various forms of printed material, including correspondence (business and personal); interviews from local newspapers; real estate advertisements; sales ledgers; a daybook (business transactions); postcards; invoices; and notes on a history of the Ellis-Andrews Insurance Agency.
The files of a personal nature contain correspondence between Edward and Elizabeth Andrews, and information on the estate of Edward Andrews. Biographical information (including obituaries) can be found on William Rogers Ellis, Benjiman P. Ellis, Robert J. Melledge, and Edward A. Andrews. There are also two files on Dwight Andrews which contain a variety of materials, but most of the information is from the 1980s.
This is an example of correspondence to Ellis & Melledge from a Cambridge resident. The resident writes, “I wouldn’t advise being too stiff on prices for rooms. Don’t refuse a reasonable offer from good man.”
This example of correspondence to Ellis & Melledge from W.A. Mason & Son shows the scenario of three surveyors measuring distances for engineering work, indicating how the city of Cambridge was developed in the late 19th century.
Reorganizing the Collection
The “Scope and Content” note in the original finding aid created by Matthew Hall in April 1995, and reformatted by Megan Schwenke in April 2012, only describes one of the small document boxes located in one of the collection’s five huge white storage boxes. Therefore, apart from double-checking the box that was already processed, five weeks ago I as an intern started sorting through another box of documentation and correspondence from the collection, marked “1893-1896”. Those materials were originally sorted by year, but this form of arrangement might not be very helpful for researchers to find the desired documentation, especially for this box containing materials only within such a short period. With the guidance given by my supervisor, I decided to alphabetize the correspondence by address in order to foster easy searching, and then to rearrange the series and update the finding aid accordingly. Unfortunately, I could not finish processing everything in that box before the end of my internship, since that box contains too much documentation, many of it written in illegible or complex handwriting. Yet, this valuable experience really opens my eyes to approaching archival materials in the late 19th century.
This business postcard shows notes from W.A. Mason & Son, located in Central Square, Cambridge, a civil engineering and surveying company which Ellis & Melledge partnered with in the late 19th-century.
Click the following text to open the Ellis & Andrews Collection finding aid. Please note: this collection is currently being reprocessed, and the finding aid linked here may not be the most recent version. The collection is still open for research, however, so please contact the Archivist for more information.
*The background and collection notes are taken from the collection finding aid.
