This old postcard illustrates the newly constructed North Station back in 1928. Although it is not an entirely accurate portrayal of the land out front, the drawing is a nice representation of the building itself at the time.
The original station, called North Union Station, was taken down in order to build the new construction shown here. It was first known as the Boston Madison Square Garden, later shortened to the famous Boston Garden.
The later photo from the 1960s below, clearly shows some of what was misrepresented in postcard; notice the elevated rapid transit lines and narrow Causeway Street.
As we know, this area looks a lot different today. In the late 1990s it was rebuilt to what we now know as ‘The Garden’.
Tune in on Thursday’s to view our featured neighborhood photo from back in the day! Submit your historical photos by tagging @northend.waterfront on Instagram. Please include a caption or story telling about your photo.
I think what I notice most is that old West End and part of the North End turned to an empty waste land in the second live photo. What I remember most of the Urban Renewal plan was cities clamboring to get the money to hastily destroy with no plan to rebuild. They created urban fields of dreams.
Also, Boston wasn’t alone during this destructive era, there was lots of competition. Might be the reason it was such a national fiasco. Cities and states racing to see how much they could get without considering how the money could be spent wisely