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The last time City Hall Plaza had a fountain
By adamg on Tue, 07/03/2018 - 11:38am
The National Archives has a collection of photos, taken in 1973, of the waterfall and fountain that once gurgled on City Hall Plaza, in a sunken area off Cambridge Street, near the JFK federal building.
The city has announced plans to put a new fountain on City Hall Plaza, but near the Bill Russell monument, on the other side of City Hall.
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Comments
Nice find
It's nice to see pictures of people prior to iphones.
I know. People were more
I know. People were more socially skilled before iphones. People enjoyed being engaged with other humans and actually speaking with them.
YOU ARE WRONG
AND Let me use this space to write an insane tirade of just how wrong you are and how you are a horrible person. Even though we probably agree on some things and might enjoy each others company and have a laugh or two.
(god, I am so lonely....)
Don't worry, I'll text you
Don't worry, I'll text you later.
The majority of people in the
The majority of people in the picture appear to be on their own. Some are reading books. Are iPhones really so bad? https://www.reddit.com/r/PhonesAreBad/
It's beauteous!
It's beauteous!
Banacek 1973 TV
I loved that show (one reason I moved here I suspect), Google up Banacek Intro to see a brand new City Hall and Plaza/fountain plus lots of other cool aerial shots of early '70s Boston.
Kid at the fountain
Jed Hresko forwarded this photo (by Philip Hresko) of him at the old fountain back in the day.
Make the Secretaries Feel Better
Tell old Mr. Ahern to calm down a while....
History lesson
People don't believe me when I tell them there was a time when that area was actually quite hospitable and considered a place to linger. But it was. Over the succeeding years it came to be seen as barren. Maybe because t's so dirty now and bereft of the fountains, trees and flowers. And don't underestimate the globe-like streetlights that once adorned the area. They may seem dated now but they were attractive in their time.
Oh sure...
Next thing you'll tell me is that it wasn't used as a parking lot or municipal vehicles.
Here's a Sesame Street film
Here's a Sesame Street film of the fountain: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nrPz8ryMeQk&t=1m29s
Afterward there are clips of the Frog Pond, and Mas Ave and Longfellow Bridges.
Watah!
Watah! Watah! Watah!
A pain to operate?
I remember a bunch of fountains, growing up in the 1970s: at the Museum of Science, the Burlington mall. No more. I guess they just didn't like their water bills or something?
The Pru
If I recall, in the 60s and 70s there were fountains at the Pru also.
A little late to this post....
.... but that sunken fountain also functioned as a small amphitheater., when the water wasn’t on.