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| Anthony Sammarco |
Author Anthony Sammarco finds the ‘Lost Boston’
By Doug Holder
Writer Anthony
Sammarco is a walking archive of the lost Boston. He has written a plethora of
history/ photography books about the various neighborhoods in Boston, as well
about that beloved, defunct, fried clam-- totting franchise Howard Johnson’s,
that was founded in the Bay State. His
latest pictorial history book is titled Lost
Boston… a book that traces the long vanished landmarks and institutions in
the city of Boston. Sammarco brings all of these back to the collective
consciousness.
I had the privilege
to interview Sammarco on my Somerville Public TV show: Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer. I asked Sammarco if this book was a
lament for things past, he responded: “I lament the lost institutions, and
buildings in Boston. I understand though that Boston is in a constant state of
change, and some of the buildings must be destroyed by the advancement of the
city, fires, natural causes, etc…But I hope people reading and viewing the book
will realize the importance of preservation. The city always reinvents itself,
every generation. Boston and the surrounding suburbs are now very different
than the they were 25 to 50 years ago.”
Sammarco pointed out that Boston has a rich overlay of the
17th and 18th century and a strong connection to its
historical past. In the past 25 years the city has been built up a great deal,
with a strong emphasis on the downtown and the waterfront. Sammarco reflected: “I
was on the waterfront recently looking for shops and bars that I remembered and
patronized. For the most part they are gone. The hotels and restaurants that
are there now attract people who would never go there in the past. And so this
new development becomes an integral part of the city.” Sammarco continued:
“There are neighborhoods that remain frozen in time, Beacon Hill, and the Back
Bay. This has happened because of preservation interests, historical
commissions, etc… But I always remember that the city is going to change, and
that is probably for the best.”
As Sammarco talked my mind drifted back to Ken’s Deli in
Copley Square in the 70s. I used to hang out there after a night of the theatre
at the Colonial, a movie at the old Exeter Theater, or after hanging out in
bars, or clubs. It was a wonderful place, with a great cast of characters: drag
queens, eccentric old ladies who lived with a brood of cats, surly waitresses
who would call you “honey ” through gritted teeth, people who got off their
night shift jobs, theater people, entertainers, all nursing a sandwich and a
cup of coffee or tea, and perhaps a pastry, after a night of working or partying.
The Deli closed a long time ago but I asked Sammarco about it: He recalled, “I
remember frequenting it in the 70s and 80s, to get my favorite turkey club. I
used to ogle the people who were in the place. During Halloween for instance
you would see a variety of Dorothy-- costumed people , as if they were from the
cast of the Wizard of Oz, waiting online to get in. They served great food with
copious servings. There was no drinking; you had that at the clubs before you
came. During the day there were businessmen,
or ladies who lunched, but at night it really came alive.” Although Ken’s is
part of the lost Boston, Sammarco is philosophical about it, he said: “As the
city evolves you begin to realize that younger people have different interpretations
of our city. A place like Ken’s—coffee and sandwiches—a place to chat, may seem
like some quaint, archaic things to folks now.”
And being, well…a, sort of man of letters… I have been a
longtime denizen of the Boston Public Library. I worked on my thesis there at the
Bates Reading Room, with the dour bust of Henry James peering over me. He
probably spotted typos. I wanted Sammarco to fill me in on the history of this
great public institution. Sammarco was more than willing, he said: “Well…you
know at the time of the Civil War the Boston Public Library was a very
important institution. There was a sign over the door there that stated: ' Free
to all.' " According to Sammarco Boston had private libraries like the Boston Athenaeum,
but nothing really for the public at large. A bunch of people came together and
donated their private libraries to benefit all the people of Boston. The Copley
Square building was completed in 1895. The old Boston library was down the block
on Boylston St. across from the Boston Common. The Colonial Theater now resides
there. The Bates Reading Room, which I spent many a long hour in, was
according to Sammarco, named after a benefactor of the library Joshua Bates, an
international financier born in Weymouth, Mass. In 1852 he founded the old
library near the Common by giving 50,000 dollars for that purpose. He also gave
30,000 volumes to the library.
I also remember the elevated tracks in the South End. I used
to love the train that lifted me above the city in a sort of transcendent state,
to see a panoramic view of the crowds, the buildings, the ebb and flow.
Sammarco again filled in the details: “The elevated tracks were started in the
late 19th Century. They were in reaction to the city streets that
were jammed with pedestrians, carriages and wagons. The elevated tracks provided
a quick way to get around Boston for the working class citizens and others from
5:30AM to 12AM.”
I told Sammarco my favorite bus line was the Dudley line. I
took that bus from the Back Bay ( Where I lived at the time) to my teaching job
at Dr. Solomon Carter Mental Health Center. The route traverses quite a cross
section of the city: from Harvard University to the heart of Roxbury. Sammarco
said: “The Dudley Bus is quite dramatic. I also enjoy the downtown bus that
goes to City Point in Southie.”
At the end of our discussion, Lost Boston was found, at least for me. I was glad Sammarco so skillfully
facilitated this… here, in the Paris of New England.
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