Autographed copies of Scollay Square (Arcadia Publishing, 2004) and Always Something Doing: Boston's Infamous Scollay Square (Northeastern University Press, 1999) can be purchased on our home page.
The Demolition of Scollay Square
 

John Munsey, who now resides in Delray Beach, FL, was attending B.U. (Class of '62, Eng) when the Square was being demolished.  He was kind enough to send us some of the following photographs which, as far as we know, have never been published.


The first shot from John is of The Old Howard in April, 1962, just days away from being wiped off the face of Boston.  John wrote that his pictures "were taken with a mini twin reflex (Topcon)...purchased at a camera shop on School St. for $29.00....took awesome pictures....127 film Ektachrome 60....long obsolete....With the overhead viewer one was able to frame perfectly....We had to use blue flash for daylight film..."



Another great shot of the demolition of the Old Howard by John.
You can read more about this wonderful theater's history here.
 


A box seat can be seen at the center of this B.R.A. photo of the Old Howard's demolition.
 


"The Proscenium from the balcony," according to John, who took this photo.  John wrote that "after the fire....
Crane w/Ball was outside about to demolish..... yelled at me... 'Get the hell out of there!' But I got the Pic !!!!"
 


The "new" courthouse in Pemberton Square looms over the Old Howard, (without its
back wall we can see into the theater) which is being demolished in this 1962 B.R.A. photo.
 


 As described on pages 100 - 101 in Scollay Square (Arcadia, 2004) many buildings in Scollay Square were
demolished and the land used as parking lots.  The Crawford House, a literal shell of its former self,
is about to lose the battle to the wrecking ball in this 1962 photograph by John.
 


A businessman strolls up Brattle Street past a worker spraying water on the demolition of
another building in Scollay Square in either 1961 or 1962.
 


Why do men love to watch construction workers doing their jobs?  Things haven't changed much since
this photo was taken circa 1961 on Brattle Street.
The demise of Tremont Row.  On the left, from just after the Second World War.  On the right, it is 1962.
Look next to the "new" courthouse in the 1962 shot and you can see the Old Howard, its back wall gone.
Click here for an animation of the above (approx 1 Mb file)
 


An annotated view from the top of the "new" Courthouse in Pemberton Square looking down
into what used to be Scollay Square, now pretty much wiped from the face of the map, in 1962.


Demolition of the old Scollay Square subway station has begun.  In the foreground we can workers tearing
up a portion of the tunnel (notice the tiles on the underground wall) between Scollay and Adams Square.
Meanwhile, in the background, Cheney's Drug Store carries on...


 A really terrific view, from 1963, of the tunnel being dug for the realigned Green line trolley, which would now run from the new Government Center (Scollay Square) stop to Haymarket, but which used to stop at Adams Square (see below) before it, too, was demolished to make way for City Hall.

By the way, it is true that a portion of the old tunnel from Scollay to Adams Square was left intact.  In the 1980s it was discovered that this section of the old tunnel could be reached from the basement of City Hall.  Desperate for space, the city installed lighting and now uses the tunnel for storage.

Thanks, John, for sharing your great photos with us!
 

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