Boston: A Century of Progress

On March 4, 1822, the townsfolk of Boston voted to incorporate their town as the City of Boston. A great change had just taken place, but even greater changes were to come during the ensuing century, as Boston's population grew from 50,000 to 750,000 by 1922 and as it developed from a colonial town into the "Hub of the Universe." Boston: A Century of Progress brings to life one hundred amazing years, from 1822 to 1922. More than two hundred fascinating images are combined with compelling text to take us on a mesmerizing journey back into our past and bring us face to face with the people, places, and events which shaped Boston's destiny. Through these images we explore neighborhoods ranging from the North End to Downtown, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and Fenway. We see landmarks and buildings both familiar and long-gone--schools, churches, mansions, stores, tenements, and parks. We meet not only the movers and shakers but also the ordinary people who lived, worked, and played in Victorian Boston, including the vast numbers of immigrants (by 1850, half of all Bostonians were foreign-born).

Historian Anthony Mitchell Sammarco shows how the wave of immigration imbued new life into the venerable, colonial town, and created a dynamic thriving nexus of culture, business, and philanthropy by the late nineteenth century. Combining decades of research and a love of local history with a treasure trove of images, this fascinating visual history will bring Boston's important century of progress alive for young and old, resident and visitor alike.