I was sure it was the Riley's Roast Beef building, looking down Brighton Ave, at Harvard Ave. But looking on Streetview, that building looks different, so I think I'm wrong.

Looks like the corner of

By anon on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 11:37am.

Looks like the corner of Brighton and Harvard, where old Riley’s used to be. Not Melvin’s , that for sure.

Looks like Allston to me too

By GoSoxGo on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 11:55am.

But I think it is looking north on Harvard Ave. from Brighton Ave. (current Holy resurrection Orthodox Church on the right?)

Per the 1956 City Directory

By Neal on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 1:03pm.

Katz Pharmacy was located at 290 Blue Hill Avenue, which would be the intersection of Blue Hill Avenue and Quincy Street. Looks a lot different today.

Hmmmm, I dunno

By Gary C on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 1:13pm.

What is that large building down the street on the right? Looks like a church or something. I would think that would still be there today, but I don't see it on Blue Hill Ave.

That could be Saint John's Catholic Church.
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On that side of Blue Hill Avenue, looking north from Quincy Street, a couple of blocks north of Quincy. Bromley shows the church building near the front of the property, there's a bit of a curve in Blue Hill just before it, the corner building and adjacent shortest one-story shops are gone, but next building seems to match... I think you have the winner.
I had been trying to match the church building, but couldn't. The Polish church near Andrew Square was a possibility, but didn't quite line up.
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Saint John's church building is long gone, replaced by senior housing I think - Cardinal Medeiros Manor. Saint John was "merged" with Saint Hugh (Grove Hall) - later combined with the long-merged & moved Saint Francis deSales/Saint Philip to become Saint Katharine Drexel.
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https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3146198,-71.0788825,3a,75y,65.44h,99.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srb0YLHn9C-stjPEZl1_KIw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en.

It's not the Riley's building

By Scratchie on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 1:04pm.

It's not the Riley's building, as Gary pointed out. That building is shaped differently and it lacks the decorative scrollwork thingie up on top.

https://goo.gl/maps/hevc7B9mzzPWvBpYA

There's a similar building at the corner of Huntington and Longwood (which is, or was, an actual pharmacy for a long time) but it also looks different.

https://goo.gl/maps/6BDZT16eKKBHw6wPA

They had a soda fountain/ lunch counter there, right?

By anon on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 8:54pm.

I remember it if that's the place.

Some Hints...

By Div2Supt on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 1:26pm.

The photographer is facing north.

Note both the trackless trolley wires and streetcar tracks. The streetcar line was converted to trackless Christmas Day, 1948. This route subsequently was converted to motor bus April 1962.

Evening service was run along this street through to and from Ashmont from 1957 to 1970. The final vestige of this service on the modern MBTA bus route is a special, Saturday-only trip which departs Ashmont at 5:00AM destined for Ruggles via Talbot Avenue and this street. The final trip of the day from Ruggles is also run through to Ashmont.

The ancient creek which marked the boundary betwixt the Towns of Roxbury and Dorchester is about 500' east of this intersection buried within a culvert.