Church is open

Our Lady of Czestochowa - Dot Av near Andrew Sq

Time has not been kinds to that once beautiful church. =(

s Thanks for playing, folks! This photo was taken on November 30, 1899 on the corner of Harvest Street and Boston Street. At the time, this church was St. Margaret's Catholic Church.

I looked this up on the Bromley atlases. St. Margaret's was indeed at the corner of Boston Street and Harvest Street, but the footprint on the map doesn't match the photo. Also, the church entrance faced Harvest Street, with Boston Street on the side -- but this clearly shows a building on the side where Boston Street would be. (By 1918 St. Margaret's had built their new church on Columbia Road and the Harvest Street building was gone without a trace.)

On the other hand, this does match the footprint of the "Polish Catholic Church" shown on the 1910 South Boston Bromley map. The building was new in 1899; in fact, the archives' view appears to show a construction site where the rectory would later be. (The old, pre-1899 Polish church had been on the same lot, but on the other side, facing Boston Street.)

So my vote goes with Our Lady of Czestochowa, despite what the archivist says.

Look at the timeline for Our Lady of Czestochowa [http://www.ourladyofczestochowa.com/parish_history/timeline.htm].

The 1894 building, which faced Boston Street, was turned around and relocated on the lot, to face Dorchester Avenue, in 1899 due to the relocation of the nearby railroad tracks. The rectory, at left in the later photos, was erected in 1900.

The timeline also says a modernization was done in 1966 and '67, and then there was a "disastrous" fire at some point between 1973 and 1978.

Were the two churches built starting from the same plans?

I haven't been able to find any specific photos of the first Saint Margaret's.

According to the history I've found, the parish was founded in 1893, meeting on East Cottage St. The Boston/Harvest church building built before the end of '93, and the Columbia/Dot Av building built sometime around 1899/1904 (depending on which source you follow)

OLC parish history says founded in 1893, meeting in Holy Trinity on Shawmut at that time. Land purchased between Dot Av and Boston St near Andrew Sq (sounds like their present-day lot) late that year. Construction in 1894 on Boston St frontage. Church turned around to Dot Av frontage in '99 due to RR track relocation.

I can place that photo. It's on my computer monitor right now.