Newton Engineering Dept. Photos

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Presented here is a collection of photographs taken by the Newton, Massachusetts Engineering Department in 1901 and 1904. Photographs are of the Newton Centre neighborhood streets near the intersections of Beacon Street and Centre Street, principally private houses, commercial buildings, street railroad grade crossings, and a park. Incidental details include fire hydrants, street lamps, horse drawn wagons and carriages, railroad tracks and warning signs, commercial signs, street signs.The City of Newton owns a wealth of historic materials that speak to the community’s social, cultural and governmental past. These materials reflect the civic life of and provide insight into Newton from the 19th through the early 20th century, a time when Newton was transforming from agriculture to industry and becoming a suburban Boston residential community.