All posts by Richard Duffy

Flag Day

This year’s “Throwback Thursday” coincides with Flag Day, and features the thematically attired Edward H. H. Bartlett of 216 Pleasant St.  He was born in England in 1861 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1872.  Extremely patriotic about his adopted country, Bartlett led the effort in 1905 for Town Meeting to authorize $100 to erect … Continue reading Flag Day

1964: Views of Arlington Center east of Mystic Street

  It’s 1964. Comets could be seen streaking down Massachusetts Avenue. The Comet automobile, that is. Some likely purchased at Arlington’s Bonnell & Stokes Lincoln-Mercury-Comet dealership located between the Center and the Heights. But I digress . . . . This post continues one from last month, offering a unique tour of Arlington Center over … Continue reading 1964: Views of Arlington Center east of Mystic Street

In memory of Nina Winn at Christmas

An excerpt from the diary of Miss Nina L. Winn, December 23, 1916: No flowers at [florist David] Duncan’s & Mrs. Duncan there because he is so poorly, [to] cemetery with my 2 wreaths – couldn’t afford more. Regular readers of Nina Winn’s diaries will be familiar with passages throughout the years, in which she … Continue reading In memory of Nina Winn at Christmas

Park Pharmacy’s 1948 nifty new soda fountain

Interior photographs of Arlington businesses are quite rare, so when this one appeared recently on eBay it was purchased by a donor as a gift to the Society. This inside view of Park Pharmacy is published for the first time here. Park Pharmacy was located in Arlington Heights on the northeast corner of Park Avenue, … Continue reading Park Pharmacy’s 1948 nifty new soda fountain

1964: Views of Arlington Center west of Mystic Street

  A recent post to the Arlington List (a local “listserv” subscription mailing list) seeking to know the name of a long-gone sandwich shop where today’s Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant is located drew the correct response by me that it was Dewey’s Luncheonette.  This was followed by an informative and entertaining series of posts … Continue reading 1964: Views of Arlington Center west of Mystic Street

60 years ago: “Stop & Shop” building opens

In 1956, many housewives in Arlington were enjoying their first Thanksgiving shopping experience in the “ultra-modern” Publix supermarket that had opened to great fanfare just six months earlier at 905 Massachusetts Ave., home today to an expanded Stop & Shop store. With “extra wide aisles, cheerful coloring, ample check-out stations [eight of them], and no-tip … Continue reading 60 years ago: “Stop & Shop” building opens

Kimball Farmer House

This fall the Kimball Farmer House at 1173 Massachusetts Avenue, recently renovated to create three affordable-housing units by the Housing Corporation of Arlington, welcomed all of its tenants to their new homes. This event provides a welcome opportunity to broadly share the history of the house and the Farmer family, featuring photographs from the Society’s … Continue reading Kimball Farmer House

On the piazza . . .

Recent entries from Nina Winn’s 1916 diary include descriptions of her having lunch or reading “on the piazza.”  Nowadays, to American-English speakers, the word “piazza” typically conjures thoughts of the open public spaces that are characteristic of cities in Italy.  But in Nina Winn’s time, piazza was a popular term in the United States for … Continue reading On the piazza . . .