It's a happy ending for the Hayden building, located on Washington Street, on the edge of Chinatown and Downtown Crossing.
The five-story office building, long run-down and in rough shape, has been renovated as four apartments, with retail at street level. Most-recently, the first floor was a bank. In the 1970s, it was an X-rated "peep show" cinema and gay bathhouse.
During its 135-plus year life, the building has been home to "tailors, jewelers, engravers, printers; a dental parlor advertising $6 false teeth and innovative cocaine-free dentistry “without the least particle of pain or danger’’; a uniform company and an employment service; a record shop; an Army-Navy store," according to the Boston Globe.
A re-dedication of the renovated building, built circa 1875 by H.H. Richardson (of Trinity Church fame), was held yesterday. According to the Boston Herald, the developer faces a unique challenge:
CNN ran a story yesterday about a near-forgotten piece of 20th-century African-American history.
Victor Green, a resident of Harlem came up with the idea for a travel book to prevent African-Americans from being "humiliated" (his word) while on the road.
"The Green Book," as it was known, was first published in 1936. Initially, it pointed out friendly restaurants and hotels in New York. It eventually expanded to include everything from lodging and gas stations to tailor shops and doctor's offices across the nation, as well as in Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.
You can find copies of various editions of the book on the Internet. The 1949 edition included shops and restaurants in Boston and other Massachusetts' cities.
Below, names and addresses of several beauty salons, barbers, and "tourist homes" for those visiting the South End. A second column included several Roxbury locales. (Even then, the dividing line between the two neighborhoods was an open question.)
