Rural Boston

By adamg on Thu, 10/13/2016 - 10:48am

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this scene. See it larger.

Bonus UHub points if you can identify the one part of Boston that still doesn't have paved roads.

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Comments

Unpaved roads

By statler
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 10:52am

There are still unpaved roads in West Roxbury I believe. Somewhere up behind the quarry?

in JP off Centre St that is basically inside a forest and the streets are not paved, just dirt roads. Beautiful homes.... Not sure if it has a specific name (I'm sure it does) but I have walked through there many times.
What can I redeem my bonus points for?

You're talking about the Parley Vale

By Jeff F
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 1:16pm

More of it is paved then used to be. There's also a micro-hood off of Lamartine called Glenvale that used to be unpaved, but I believe it is now.

Adam is probably reffering to the Grove in West Rox. One of my daughter's friends lives there. Private roads - no pavement, no city sewers.

There's lots of unpaved single roads left in Boston. Our property backs onto one here in Roslindale that has a half dozen homes along it (they have city sewer service though, unlike the Parley Vale or the Grove).

I agree that Adam was

By chaosjake
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 4:09pm

I agree that Adam was probably talking about the Grove. I can think of a couple of dirt roads here in Readville (mostly just a block or so long), and a few in Rozzie off of Poplar, near Metropolitan and Grew.

ALDER STREET in Roslindale

By mrotown
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 3:26pm

There are a handful of roads in Hyde Park, Roslindale and West Roxbury that remain unpaved

Rail corridor in JP

By downtown-anon
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 10:54am

Really just a wild guess. And looks like the Arnold Arboretum in the background.

EDIT: Actually the buildings look a little more like the Dorchester along the rail line there. Doesn't explain the hill in the background though.

I think it is

By Neal
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:14am

This is probably about where the gate from Forest Hills where the path to Bussey Meadow is, with the gambrel roofed houses on the right being the backs of the houses on Asticou Rd.

The Groves

By anon
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:06am

West Roxbury.

Back of Asticou?

By Sock_Puppet
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:15am

Bussey Brook Meadow, Blackwell Footpath?

Not the only unpaved place...

By friolator
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:27am

Goldsmith Place in JP is also unpaved. I looked at buying a house there in the late 1990s. Just checked Google Street view and most of it is still dirt.

Oh, and there's a street near Roxbury Latin

By adamg
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:30am

In West Roxbury. But what makes the area I was thinking of unique is that it's an entire neighborhood of unpaved streets (also an entire neighborhood that isn't connected to BWSC sewers).

Is it cheating to have

By Saul
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:37am

Is it cheating to have searched UHub?

http://www.universalhub.com/2014/citizen-complaint...

Yep, that's the place I was thinking of

By adamg
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 10:44pm

The good ol' Grove.

Agreed - Back of Asticou from the Arbs

By Rostonian
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 11:34am

Agreed - Back of Asticou from the Arbs - and the area of Boston with unpaved roads is called "The Grove" in West Roxbury.

Wild Guess

By Suldog
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 12:06pm

Looks like it could possibly be somewhere in Dorchester near the Neponset River, maybe around the Butler Street area?

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

Looks like the area where the

By anon
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 4:14pm

Looks like the area where the Neponset ave fire station was built, as it was on the other side of the street.

Paved street

By GROVER
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 12:19pm

THE GROVE WESTROXBURY

Back in the day

By Ward8Mahatma
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 12:42pm

people just chucked random curb stones out the car window, And we ilked it!

Marshall Street

By Ted
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 2:53pm

Marshall Street is off of Union Street (Union Oyster House). It's where the Green Dragon is, and it's still cobblestones, not asphalt. Walk on it every morning!

The Answer

By Boston City Archives
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 4:21pm

Thanks for playing, folks! This is Chocorua Street (or Road) in West Roxbury on November 16, 1950. This road no longer exists, but it was located in Forest Hills, and is close to today's Needham Branch of the MBTA. We think the houses on the top right are on present day Asticou Road.

Nothing is Lost Forever

By Roslindaler
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 5:36pm

Plug 7-9 Chocorua Street into Bing, and it will show you a "property" located on what is today the Blackwell footpath in the Arnold Arboretum. This makes sense, as Asticou runs parallel to the footpath, and in the picture you can see the marsh, and Busey Hill off in the distance.

http://www.homefacts.com/address/Massachusetts/Suf...

Google Maps vs Bing Maps

By downtown-anon
Fri, 10/14/2016 - 10:40am

Chocorua Street doesn't compute in Google maps (perhaps as it should). In Bing maps it shows as coincident with the bike path below Asticou Rd. Since I don't frequent the area this is helpful. I wonder if this is right where the bike path meets Washington St. Angle of photo doesn't seem right for being too far up from Washington St.

And there is Ward Maps

By downtown-anon
Thu, 10/13/2016 - 9:42pm

This maps shows that there is nothing called Washington St on that side of the street. Looks like Chocorua was more or less were Washington St is now.

http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=4167

I didn't want to believe this...

By BiggerThanBoston
Fri, 10/14/2016 - 11:07am

Since the wandering footpath doesn't show on the ward maps, the building at the end of the gambrel-roofed triple-deckers is gone and, what could those spired-buildings in the distance be?, but I found this old aerial photo:

https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonw...

1924 ward map:
http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=1331

I guess the mansard roofed building is part of Mayor Andrew J. Peters' estate.