Maps

Selected indicator
  • 1873

    1873

    The place where the George Robert White Environmental Conservation Center (GRWECC) now sits was originally part of a gentle, even slope from the top of Wellington Hill down to the wetlands of the Canterbury Brook. A red star marks the approximate spot on this map, made by T.B. Moses in 1873. Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library.
  • 1835

    1835

    In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this land was owned and farmed by Isaac Williams and his descendants. In this 1835 plan of the farm, the red star again indicates the approximate location of the GRWECC today—near the pathway on which the family would walk from their house by the “town road” (now Harvard Street), across the “mowing & tillage” lot to Canterbury Street, and from there to Forest Hills and Jamaica Plain. Courtesy Norfolk Registry of Deeds.
  • 1884

    1884

    In 1871, the “mowing & tillage” lot was sold by the Williams family to Forest Hills Cemetery, as indicated in this 1884 atlas by G.W. Bromley. The cemetery stripped topsoil from the property for use in landscaping and for covering graves. Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library.
  • 1904

    1904

    In 1894, the city-owned Boston Insane Hospital was relocated from South Boston to the farm formerly owned by Nelson Pierce, off Walk Hill Street. The hospital’s farm buildings were located about where the GRWECC is today, as shown in this 1905 Bromley atlas. Image courtesy of the Boston Atlas / Boston Redevelopment Authority.
  • 1938

    1938

    The hospital was placed under the control of the Commonwealth in 1909, and was expanded greatly in the 1920s and 30s, as shown in this 1938 aerial photograph by the United States Geological Survey. Notice also American Legion Highway, completed in 1932. The site of the future GRWECC was situated between the east wing of B Building and A Building. Courtesy United States Geological Survey.
  • 1995

    1995

    This 1995 aerial photo by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission shows part of the Clark-Cooper Community Gardens (upper left) near the hospital buildings. Image courtesy of the Boston Atlas / Boston Redevelopment Authority.
  • 2001

    2001

    The site in 2001, after most of the hospital buildings were demolished... Image courtesy of the Boston Atlas / Boston Redevelopment Authority.
  • 2003

    2003

    …and in 2003, after completion of the George Robert White Environmental Conservation Center. Image courtesy of the Boston Atlas / Boston Redevelopment Authority.