Boston Common and Proper, 1930s

A film about Boston, Massachusetts in the 1930s. To purchase a clean DVD or digital download of this film for personal home use or educational use contact us at [e-mail]. To license footage from this film for commercial use visit: www.travelfilmarchive.com

[@rustamguliyev1159]

I am from Azerbaijan. I had the privilege of living/studying in Boston from 2013 till 2020. Boy do I miss it..

[@_computerra]

There's an Azerbaijani pizza place near where I live in Boston, we have become friends, they're great folks.

[@tammyking6506]

I'm from Boston Mass I love my city!!

When this footage was taken the Custom House Tower was the tallest building in the City of Boston.

[@nightintheruts617]

its awsome how almost all the buildings are still there and look pretty much the same

[@brendadrew834]

Proud Bostonian born there along with my siblings. Parents married there in 1939 on Beacon Hill! Gorgeous Commonwealth Ave. actually designed after the boulevards of Paris! Beautiful city rich in history and culture...thanks for sharing!

[@mvassallo8024]

The Public Garden looks EXACTLY the same!

[@rishibawa]

Nice to know every time i drive by these buildings that they're still so well preserved!

[@sellingon]

thanks for posting great old film. I just took a trip to Boston for the first time and LOVED everything about it . the people of boston should be very proud of their beautiful city

[@crimsondynamoo]

Only tourists call it the commons. It's singular: common. The other park is the Public Garden.

[@carasmussen27]

fantastic. I love Boston. One of the places I want to live. I know it is spendy but worth it. I am a huge Revolution History buff. Love the old houses and buildings.

[@SL_Derby]

Boston now has a prevalent rat problem.

[@sullysullivan1282]

I've lived here for 30 years and seen one rat. So....take that with a grain of salt. Obviously I'm only one person. Maybe they're all where I'm not going. update 6/3/21 they're all in Chicago oh my god there are so many fucking rats in Chicago

[@dimagabriel4699]

Never seen a rat here.

[@TheCasu305]

my elementary school graduation was at the old north church from the john elliot elementary school a long time ago.

[@donaldkennedy4235]

Amazing how much the skyline has changed. The Custom House Tower 500 ft was the tallest bldg downtown for years. And now it’s dwarfed by dozens of skyscrapers.

[@MrSupernova111]

2:29 Amazing seeing the custom house being by far the largest building in the area. Now its surrounded by much taller buildings.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

the irony there is that the tower was added on top of the old building so history repeats itself!

[@bobkraft4364]

So much history in such a proud city. Proud to say I was born in Boston. Walked the same streets as our founding fathers and people who fought for what we call America today.

[@jopaz321]

Boston is the BEST!

[@libertyann439]

I lived there two years. A lot of these buildings are still here today!

[@Northatlantic2012]

Absolutely fantastic!

[@albososa2413]

😢😢😢I want to come back 😞😞😞 I miss Fenway park🥺

[@carasmussen27]

sorry but Paul Revere did NOT say the redcoats were coming but the regulars are coming.

[@patromano4]

You gottaa love Boston love the video.

[@njf669x]

Wouldn't live anywhere else...!!

[@sandrasoares9262]

I played in the commons. As a kid. It was a wonderful weekend on Saturday to go downtown on Saturday morning to go one to eat Going back in time Sandra. Thankyou for your time today And have a wonderful 😊

[@tjkenslea]

This must date, not to the 1920s, but to 1933 or later. At 7:33 the narrator says, of Harvard, "Four American presidents have studied here." That would not have been true until FDR became president (Adams, Adams, Roosevelt, Roosevelt).

[@bostonrailfan2427]

it mentioned the 300th anniversary of…the ferry at the end was retired in the mid-30s

[@dominican-familyvlog5131]

Amazing

[@jackjohnson7396]

Wish I could go back to visit in that year.

[@bigpaulie806]

I love Boston. Great video

[@hanschenk2708]

WONDERFUL FILM

[@aodhganmerrimac]

That closing shot with the walking beam of the steamer passing in front of the Custom House Tower brings a lump to my throat. Beautiful old Boston!...The land of the bean & the cod where the Cabots speak only to the Lowells & the Lowells speak only to God! :)

[@bostonrailfan2427]

sadly it was about to be retired as the tunnel underneath was about to open syphoning the passengers away

[@williamcahill2462]

Can still shoot many of those scenes. Boston cherishes it's history, protects and preserves it.

[@user-uo7fw5bo1o]

Boston was a completely different city back then and if only I had a time machine so I can go visit! Buildings occupying every square inch possible in downtown Boston where today there's a broad path and there are open areas left by the old Central Artery, the Big Dig, and urban renewal of the waterfront. And the narrator's thick Boston Brahmin accent... fascinating!

[@heatherbonin2477]

Anyone else notice the old North Washington St. Bridge at the end there? What becomes the Converse building is there, Causeway and the locks are there! All that's missing is North Station, The Zakim and Paul Revere Park! :-) Amazing to see what it looked like before all of that!

[@PatriotSteve]

I believe that’s the Northern Avenue bridge. Still there but stuck in the open position.

[@myradioon]

@@PatriotSteve I have a piece of the Northern Ave. Bridge that got knocked off during a big Nor' Easter in the 90's. Heavy cast iron.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

that’s the Northern Ave. Bridge, you can tell by the fact that there’s a heck of a lot of land behind it! plus the biggest giveaway is the lack of the el itself!

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@PatriotSteveit is, you can tell because of the long support pier…plus no El

[@mattthatsme8799]

Thank Yoiu for this look into the Boston past!!

[@brightwaterblues4813]

Historical inaccuracy - The Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed's Hill. Both sides misidentified it. Breed's Hill was leveled and used for Back Bay fill.

[@claudiasmith8913]

Well even back then was an agenda.. Propaganda news.

[@aidenorcutt1738]

claudia smith dude no

[@TEBerrigan]

Breeds hill wasn't leveled, it's where the monument stands today, and where the battle was actually fought. They just named it the battle of bunker hill because that's where the fighting was expected to take place, however they surprised the British by fortifying breeds hill during the night. The actual "Bunker Hill" was to the west, and that is what was leveled.

[@mintyfresh3152]

@@TEBerrigan Thank you for that correction Tom. I've been perpetrating that misconception for about 50 years. I stand corrected.

[@TEBerrigan]

@@mintyfresh3152 It really is confusing as hell lol, even if you look at the old battle maps, almost half of them have it mislabeled!

[@andykokolis1977]

OMG The buildings are still there WOW! And the Mafia

[@GlobalistJuice]

Back in the early 50's My Grandfather (Almando Luigi Gallucci) laid the red bricks that form the path of Boston's "Freedom Trail". He and his brother (Arthur Gallucci) were part of the road construction crews who built and maintained most of the roads in and around Boston from the 20's up to the 80's, and I remember as a kid, he remarked that the roads they built followed along the path of Paul Revere's horse! He said it sarcastically because most of those old roads seemed to have no rhyme or reason for their placement, weaving up and down and in and out around the city! haha ha!

[@_computerra]

🫡

[@user-uo7fw5bo1o]

Much older than Paul Revere's horse! The major streets and roads were created by the natives and the Puritans who decided to build themselves a right and proper Medieval English town.

[@TheRealBosTonGuYyoJj]

There goes my hometown haven't live there Since 2005 I left because of my relationship its crazy how Boston kind of look the same in mid 30's but I hear it changed a lot now 2023 best city no Question ask

[@markhenderson3076]

I drove truck 4 H A Hovey Co. Delivered to restaurants hotels, Copley Plaza. Ritz Carlton, Locke Ober, Durgin Park Pier 4, etc. In 1970s.

[@DAVE1R1111]

amazing -but 80 years later ALL those things IN BOSTON the film pointed out are still there.[using my best memory+to my knowledge] .meaning-i half expected to see something i havent seen already.

[@Gearup424]

Such huge concrete buildings

[@kathrynbellerose3925]

Born an brought up in Boston’s Old West End and Beacon Hill. How different Boston is now but the historical sites still stand .

[@notsure6187]

very proper

[@kathrynbellerose6216]

Boston born and raised love it and proud of it.

[@blackbookt.vchannel7616]

Nothing about Boston to be proud of but it is a great city for your average person

[@a1spacechicken]

Very cool. Anybody know what bridge is showing at 8:48? Is that the Fort Point Channel?

[@edwardmiessner6502]

That was the Northern Avenue Bridge.

[@aodhganmerrimac]

@@edwardmiessner6502 still holding on...just barely!

[@iamlost2]

You're right.. narrator also says "almost 300 years ago Puritan settlers used this part of land as a training ground and common place for all" The commons were used as a cow pasture until the used it for public hangings and instead of trees, a gallows was built for that purpose in 1769

[@gixxo]

i miss boston

[@jamesricker3997]

Beacon Hill hasn't changed. The financial district has

[@bostonrailfan2427]

…you ignore the multiple state buildings, office buildings, and the soon to be built courthouse aren’t there…it has changed a lot

[@bostonrailfan2427]

1:42 75-90% of the buildings seen are gone, only a few survived the Central Artery that came in the 50s, urban renewal of the 60s, and the decimation of the old buildings in the financial district in the 70s and 80s

[@rickrickrick5317]

It’s been almost a century but Boston hasn’t changed that much I guess

[@jaecrowther7869]

☘️need I say more

[@rap2383]

I freaking love boston commons. great video!

[@angelaguerrini6587]

Loved the video. thanks for sharing!

[@1933utube]

Boston Common. No S.

[@manuelmedina8880]

Wow I was born 50yrs later

[@danthomastherocker1]

all those buildings are still there lol

[@SlySquriel]

Faneuil Hall - Where Samuel Adams had political meetings. 300 years later there I am drinking Samuel Adams beer in the Cheers at Quincy Market. HISTORY!!

[@bostonrailfan2427]

different building entirely

[@iamlost2]

I just watch more of it and it is most definatly older than 1920. The cars, the dress, and the land around the custom tower esp, has buildings which were not there in the 20s. This must have been made after the 'great' depression, because of all the people out and about on swan boats, shopping, etc. So my guess is the earliest this film was made about the mid 30s to late 30s. Could even be 1940. First shown in movie theaters, perhaps?

[@aodhganmerrimac]

It was filmed before '38. The steeple/spire of Christ Church (Old North) is shown with the clock. That came down in '38 & was replaced with the current one.

[@davidrobbio9816]

@@aodhganmerrimac did the Hurricane of 38 bring that original steeple down ??

[@aodhganmerrimac]

@@davidrobbio9816 I just double checked-my memory was faulty-it was Carol ('54) that took the third steeple down, not '38. there is an amazing photo out there taken while it was falling! The middle steeple had a clock the 1st & 3rd didn't.

[@davidrobbio9816]

@@aodhganmerrimac I am going to take your word on that one I wasn’t around in 1954 but history was made with “Carol”... it’s destruction is not what we are used to ...(even though we are in the middle of a blizzard right now)....I also think the one in 1938 didn’t have a name attached to it...maybe they weren’t named at that time ...

[@aodhganmerrimac]

@@davidrobbio9816 Yeah, we didn't name them back in '38, I guess we started naming them in the early 50s. '38 had a huge death toll-nobody knew it was coming. My grandmother was living right by Dorchester Bay in Boston. She remembered seeing two huge trees pulled up by their roots and flung across the park from her window. IIRC there's a very good documentary about the Hurricane of '38 here on YT.

[@Theo-hc5ob]

Jeez, can't recognize shit, except for the Custom House. I love the aerial shots, did they tie a camera to a pigeon?

[@sz9217]

Theo 80126 Airplanes was invented in 1910s

[@bostonrailfan2427]

a cheap monoplane…the company that took the footage was taking aerial pictures of everything in the country

[@michaelmaffeoproduction732]

It Looks Good. But I know I Like It.

[@D.N..]

To bad The West End was totally raised in early 1960s ! It was a major historical loss,.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

not really, the buildings were from the 1880s and overcrowded, disease-ridden, and death traps!

[@blackbookt.vchannel7616]

I live in boston and the conon is broken.....but everything eles is still their

[@KMK7355]

Lol, MIT was called Boston Tech. Sounds like the old HS.

[@MostafaElManzalawy]

@werzoid No, please explain!

[@mecagoenboba]

@werzoid Yeah... I heard the joke... I was like... hehehehehe... That was some raw humor back then!

[@kroneyt1493]

Ignore the 1930's fashion statements and the 1930's cars, I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between Boston in the 1930's and Boston in modern day.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

Scollay and Haymarket Squares are decimated, both were shown

[@monkeypoo5763]

Fallout 4

[@ScarletEdge]

i wonder how many people came here to get information for call of cthulhu sessions :)

[@myrnaloy1025]

A reminder... let's really remind.

[@myrnaloy1025]

A cry of freedom ... god help us!

[@myrnaloy1025]

Hate how utube really lets us learn.

[@myrnaloy1025]

Harvard hates let's reiterate that!

[@holydoveaquariusagespiritbeing]

The New York librarian just fixed the clock in the coronation room. ad ad ad - disclaimer: the actual 8 ball clock is smashed and buried in the backyard. You wouldn't want to dig it up, either. A souvenir from a very advanced future. Yes, we had bananas, but few whales, mercy marry me. Lagos 88 in '88... Can't wait!... Every teddy bear - it was you!

[@ms.maryellencasey7671]

As a Yankee fan, there was not one word mentioned about the Red Sox or Fenway Park.

[@tommytrinder.1226]

Boston had two MLB teams in 1932.The Braves and the Red Sox.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

because the stadium wasn’t shown…it’s nowhere near the places featured

[@gyromatical]

Mostly the same except the river has evaporated and its bed has been turned into a mall on a monorail and a horse highway

[@TurboRonin83]

America used to be great.

[@Anonymousfrank]

whoever shot this, loved buildings but not actual people.

[@mecagoenboba]

Did anyone see The Observer??? FRINGE... :p

[@tubeblack35]

No more codfish. They're all gone.

[@willmilton2922]

Boston is overbuilt today. The city has been on steroids since the 80's .

[@aubreygraham5821]

Disagree, the infrastructure is outdated and needs to be updated, many cities are more densely populated than Boston, and have better infrastructure

[@ladycavalier]

Agreed

[@aodhganmerrimac]

Agreed, Wonderful Old Boston is quickly being buried under bland, generic glass & steel.

[@mateuszminsky5619]

The Kingdom of Great Britain dates from the 1707 Acts of Union between the kingdoms of England (which at the time incorporated Wales) and Scotland. The American revolution ended in 1783. Boston was "British" for 76 years, not 150.

[@ladycavalier]

Am i the only one here because of fallout 4 lol

[@awbelton]

yes, probably.

[@lastmanstanding1954]

COMMUNISM------COMMUNISM--------COMMUNISM---------COMMUNISM,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,thats all i hear in america now.

[@limelight1431]

Lived in Boston for 10 years and never going back... It's overly priced, weather is terrible and accent is horrible! No, not for me!

[@Person-mh6xq]

Lime Light we’re glad you’re gone. More room for the rest of us to enjoy.

[@marcinna8553]

@Celtic Pride I take the opposite view. I started working in Cambridge and it is like moving to the future. Incredibly diverse and interesting. And some of the best schools in the world -- so much for "retards". You are right about it being expensive however. This is true in any number of high-tech cities across the U.S. The reason is that economic output is high, in the case of Boston it is scientific and financial products, thus salaries are higher than other parts of the country and this is reflected in housing prices. The irony of calling Boston "Marxist" is that it is actually one of the capitalist centers of the U.S.

[@Person-mh6xq]

Celtic Pride perhaps it is your innate bitterness. Just saying.

[@MegaPunisher777]

Lived in Boston for less than a year....still in love with this beautiful city....

[@kelseymariel2127]

I'm proud of my accent, and despite people mocking it, I'll never change. And even though the people still piss me off and I dream about living in a different state, I'm never as relieved to be home as I am once that plane lands at Logan and I hear the same accents again. Happens every time.

[@Triumph2024.]

Aaahh, the days when Boston had it's population of drunken Irish under a strict authorotarian thumb. Not like today, when they're allowed to run roughshod! Heavens me!