women owned businesses - The Cambridge Historical Commission Blog

School Days: Emma Forbes Harris

Posted on August 15, 2019May 13, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Sharpen your pencils, sit up straight, it’s almost time to head back to class. We all remember the excitement, and sometimes a little dread, of returning to school in the fall. There have been so many great teachers in Cambridge but today’s post looks at a Cambridge teacher about whom we only recently learned. This teacher lived from 1830 to 1930 and taught in public and private schools for about forty of her ninety-nine years. Her name was Miss Emma Harris.

Emma Forbes Harris was born on December 16, 1830 in Milton, Mass. to Dr. Thaddeus William Harris and Catherine Holbrook Harris. She was the third of eleven children and the second oldest girl. The Harris family moved to Cambridge when Emma was two years old. Emma’s father took a position as the college librarian at Harvard. He also taught natural history to students that included Henry David Thoreau. The family settled at 8 Holyoke Place in a house built in 1844.

In 1853, Emma Harris resigned from her position as a public-school teacher at the Webster Middle School. She purchased a one-story building, formerly a post office and dry goods store, and moved it from Norfolk Street to Cotton Street (now Hancock Street) and converted it to a school. The building, which measured 20’ wide by 32’ long, was sited on a lot of land opposite Chatham Street that Harris leased from J. Warren Merrill of Harvard Street. Her school opened in 1854 for boys and girls up to fourteen years of age. Miss Harris operated her school in this location for over thirty years. In 1886 she began construction on a new larger school at 3 Acacia Street. The first school house was then moved to 277 Broadway and used by E. C. Heubel as a boot and shoe store. It was demolished in 1949.

Harris_CottonStreetSchool_1857advert — Advertisement for the Cotton Street School, a private school run by Miss Emma Harris of Cambridge. Cambridge Chronicle, 22 August 1857.

Harris_schoolhouse on Hancock circled_1873 — Emma Harris purchased a one story building and moved it from Central Square to Cotton Street, near Harvard Street. Cotton Street was located between Harvard Street and Broadway and was renamed in 1865 to be an extension of Hancock Street. Hopkins Atlas of Cambridge, 1873.

Harris_schoolhouse_CTribune01281888JPG — This article details the life of a building that started as a post office, then was moved for Miss Harris’ school, then moved again to become a shoe store. Cambridge Tribune 28 January 1888,

The new school building on Acacia near the corner of Ash was 2½ stories high and built in the Queen Anne style with an asymmetrical gable roof, corner porch, and decorative shingles. It was designed by her younger brother, Edward Doubleday Harris and constructed by local builder F. B. Furbish. The new school opened in September of 1887. Both boys and girls were accepted for enrollment. Miss Harris’s mother Catherine died in the spring of 1888. This change in her family circumstances may have led to her decision to retire. But the fall of 1888 was the last year that she advertised for new students to enroll in her school.

Harris_house circled at 3 Acacia_1894 — Miss Harris’ new school was built in 1886 on Acacia Street near the corner of Ash Street in the Half Crown neighborhood. This two story building was converted in 1890 to a dwelling. Bromley Atlas of Cambridge, 1894.

Acacia St 3 google street view — This house at 3 Acacia Street was built first as a school in 1886 then adapted for the residence of Charles Harris and family in 1890. Google Street View image, June 2018.

In 1890 she pulled a building permit to convert the school to a residence. This may have involved a small addition at the rear of the building. The house was occupied by younger brother Charles Harris and his wife Elizabeth Hovey Harris and their children. The house still stands on Acacia Street, with sunroom and tower additions that were constructed in 1994. Miss Harris resided in the family homestead at Holyoke Place until 1929 when it was purchased by Harvard and demolished for the construction of Lowell House. At that time she went to live with her sister Elizabeth Harris at 68 Sparks Street. Miss Emma Harris died in June 1930 and is buried in the Cambridge Cemetery. Miss Harris touched many lives and imparted knowledge to countless school children.

Harris_obit_CTribune06211930 — Obituary of Emma Forbes Harris, who died in 1930 in her hundredth year. Cambridge Tribune 21 June 1930.

Thank you to all the teachers who are heading back to school to prepare for the children that will be learning from them this year! Who was your favorite teacher?

National Book Lover’s Day

Posted on August 9, 2019May 13, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

6 Plympton Street – Grolier Poetry Book Shop

in the window display is a tribute to the owner, Ifeanyi Menkiti, who passed away in June. (CHC)

Founded in 1927 by Adrian Gambet and Gordon Cairnie, Grolier Poetry Book Shop is the oldest continuously run poetry shop in the country. Located on the corner of Mass Ave and Plympton Street, the Georgian Revival building was constructed in 1902 as an exclusive dormitory, known as Hamden Hall, with retail on the bottom floor. The building was remodeled in 1917 for apartments.

The book shop initially stocked mainly private press books, some poetry, and a sampling of avant-garde literature. Poets frequented the 404-square foot spot over the years including Charles Olson, Anais Nin, Seamus Heaney, Frank Bidart, Robert Pinsky, and David Ferry.

grolier with dog — Solano’s dog, Pumpkin, outside the book shop. (photo undated)

In 1976, then owner Louisa Solano developed the Grolier as an exclusive showcase for poetry. According to an article in The Paris Review, Solano had first stepped into the store at the age of fifteen and knew she wanted to own a store like that one day. She stocked around 15,000 current poetry volumes with an emphasis on small press publications. That same year saw the co-sponsorship of the Grolier Poetry Prize with the Blacksmith House Poetry Reading Series. She also introduced the concept of autograph/reading parties. As the audiences increased, the poets moved from inside the store to the stairs. A formal reading series soon developed. In 1986 the Intercollegiate Undergraduate Poetry Reading Series was established. Eleven colleges were represented. For the duration of her ownership, the Ellen La Forge Memorial Poetry Foundation assumed the funding of these activities and the sole responsibility of the Prize. In 1987, Solano received the Women’s National Book Association Award as one of 70 Who Have Made A Difference.

Louisa-solano by elsa dorfman — Portrait of Solano and Pumpkin by Elsa Dorfman. (Wikimedia)

In April 2006 Ms. Solano sold the Grolier Book Shop to Ifeanyi Menkiti, poet and professor of philosophy at Wellesley College. Although the store was in dire financial straits, Menkiti said “…it was a labor of love. It was something that needed to be done to keep a historic place from going under” (The Paris Review, Feb. 2013). In 2008, the corner of Plympton Street and Bow Street was dedicated as Louisa Solano Square.

1106_030_01 — Menkiti sitting in the book shop. (boston.com)

Mr. Menkiti passed away in June 2019. In an interview with the Harvard Crimson newspaper in 2017, Menkiti considered the appeal of poetry, “After 9/11, people didn’t ask to read a book of history, or a novel—they wanted to read a book of poems,” Menkiti says. “In a time of happiness or discomfort, people seem to fall back on poetry. What is it about poetry that has this hold on us, that allows it to be a source of solace, grief, and celebration?”

Sources

Grolier Book Shop, http://www.grolierpoetrybookshop.org/index.html
Harvard Crimson, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/11/9/grolier-poetry-shop/
The Paris Review, https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/02/26/house-of-poesy/

Modern Monday and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Joyce Chen’s Restaurant, 390 Rindge Avenue

Posted on May 20, 2019May 14, 2020 by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Joyce Chen (1917-1994) was born on September 12, 1917 in Beijing, China. Born into a wealthy family, she discovered her passion for cooking at a very early age. Her father, a railroad administrator and city executive, hired a family chef that cooked all of their meals. Chen learned about Chinese cuisine simply by watching their chef and other family members cook in their home kitchen. During the Chinese Communist Revolution, Chen and her family moved to the United States. Along with her husband Thomas Chen and their two children Henry and Helen, the family left Shanghai, China in 1949 and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

While living near Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she frequently met Chinese students that missed the food they’d grown up with. Chen’s children attended Buckingham School and she would often cook food to be served at school events. Her meals quickly became popular among college students and the families at the Buckingham School. This inspired Chen to open her first restaurant in 1958, called “Joyce Chen Restaurant.” At this restaurant, she served both Chinese and American dishes to encourage customers to try new foods. She often served “buffet-style” meals, to allow customers to try samples of everything. She created a menu with both Chinese and English translations of her food and numbered the menu items for easier communication in her restaurants. This made it easier for customers who spoke different languages to order at her restaurant.

joyce chen 2 — Joyce Chen, image courtesy of Joycechenfoods.com

Concord Ave 617_Joyce Chen foods_ca.1958.jpg — Joyce Chen’s first restaurant at 617 Concord Avenue in Cambridge. Courtesy of Joycechenfoods.com

In 1967, Chen opened her second restaurant called “The Joyce Chen Small Eating Place.” That same year, Chen starred in Joyce Chen Cooks, her own cooking show on PBS that aired worldwide. This twenty-six-episode broadcast was filmed in the same studio as famous chef Julia Child’s show, and the two became good friends. Her business empire expanded, and two larger restaurants were built in the Boston area with an architecturally unique restaurant at 390 Rindge Avenue.

Rindge Ave 390_Joyce Chens Survey Photo004 — Circa 1974 image of Joyce Chen’s Restaurant. Photo from CHC Collections.

The restaurant, believed to have been designed by Allan Ahaknian, was built in 1974 and employed architecture not typical for Cambridge. Partially hidden behind a tall wooden fence to screen noise from the heavily trafficked Rindge Avenue, the structure featured minimal fenestration on the sides but employed large skylights to flood the interior with natural light. The Contemporary/Shed style restaurant was a common stomping ground for residents of Cambridge and beyond. The restaurant was purchased by Just-A-Start and was converted to a child-care facility in 1999. The remainder of the lot was filled with townhomes for moderate-income, first-time homebuyers. In 2005, the structure was demolished for eight additional units of affordable condominium units. As it was not yet 50+ years old, it did not qualify for protection under the Demolition Delay Ordinance.

Rindge Ave 390_Joyce Chens Color Slide003 — Circa 1984 image of Joyce Chen’s Restaurant at 390 Rindge Avenue. Image from CHC Collections.

1978 Aerial Image of 390 Rindge Ave.

2018 Aerial image of 390 Rindge Ave. Note: the building has been demolished and replaced with housing.

While her restaurants are all now closed, the impressions of Joyce Chen’s legacy can be seen in almost every Chinese-American restaurant in the country today and in the enduring popularity of “Peking ravioli.” Also, her cookbooks and branded cooking utensils can be found in kitchens all over the world.

joyce chen cookbook.jpg

Images and some information on Joyce Chen courtesy of joycechenfoods.com