By adamg on Sun., 12/15/2013 - 11:15 am 
The British Library has posted more than a million images from books in its collection, and many of them are of Boston, from this engraving of the three hills that gave Boston its original name (today memorialized in Tremont Street) to images of 17th-century colonial coinage to drawings of 18th and 19th century buildings, such as this fortress colonial (it's way too big to be just a garrison colonial) on Salem Street:
The collection is also big on signatures of colonial dignitaries, including Cotton Mather:
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Fun!
By bibliotequetress
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 12:34pm
Nice time suck there, Adam!
Where are the 3 mountains today?
By Markk02474
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 2:15pm
Do they exist today, or were they used for landfill?
how do you not already know
By anon
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 4:24pm
how do you not already know this? do you see 3 mountains in boston now?
They were really more like
By jennied
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 6:41pm
They were really more like hills - Cotton Hill was where Pemberton Square is now, and the awesomely-named Mt. Whoredom (aka Mt. Vernon) was at Louisburg Square. Both were leveled, along with part of Beacon Hill, mostly to provide fill.
Hills of fill
By John-W
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 8:48pm
I can't find the reference but I think Cotton Hill ended up going to fill in between the piers coming in from the waterfront -- around Faneuil Hall and that area. Mt. Vernon went west and north towards the Charles and the chunk they took out of Beacon Hill ended up at the end of the Commons, the Garden and very beginning of Back Bay. Back Bay was filled by trainloads of dirt coming from all over quite a while after the other two hills were gone. Anyone have a correction/reference on that?
Correction and lame reference:
By Sarcastic Sam
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 11:17pm
It's the Common, not the Commons. That's my correction offering.
And for my lame reference, I Read Somewhere (I know, I know) that the fill for the back Bay came in from Needham.
Cotton Hill
By Larz Neilson
Mon, 12/16/2013 - 12:34am
The material from Cotton Hill (Pemberton) was used to fill the area around Nashua St., done in 1835, as part of a real estate deal. Beacon Hill was cut down in 1811, mainely out of concern for collapse of upper areas after land owners dug into the hillside
I thought Louisburg Sq was on Beacon Hill...
By Sarcastic Sam
Sun, 12/15/2013 - 11:08pm
....but with all the politicians at the State House, Whoredom is a better name.
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