Anthony Mitchell Sammarco - Roslindale

T he Roslindale branch of the Boston Public Library was originally in the center of Roslindale Village, in the area known since 1917 as Adams Park. A simple wood-framed building with arched windows between fluted pilasters, it was built from the first floor of the old Taft Tavern after a fire destroyed the taverns upper floors. The library was open daily and was across from the Roslindale Police Station, seen on the right, now the site of the Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center.

T he Taft Tavern, a three-story, five-bay facade building erected in 1805, was a popular stopping place for the stagecoaches traveling along the turnpike road (Washington Street) from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island. It eventually became known as the Union Hotel and was a social and civic meeting place for residents. The building later had a general store on the first floor with apartments above, and after a fire destroyed the upper floors, it was remodeled as the library. Taft Court and Taft Hill Place perpetuate the name of the old tavern.

T he Roslindale Cider Mill, seen here in 1890, stood at the corner of Ashland (now Cummins Highway) and Sycamore Streets and was operated by Stan Willis. Two men stand to the right of the small cider mill with barrels of apples waiting to be pressed and barrels of cider awaiting shipment. This cider mill is a far cry from the one-story commercial block on the site today.

T his view of South Street looks toward the old Roslindale branch of the Boston Public Library. Potters Pharmacy (notice the gilded mortar and pestle on the sign denoting the apothecary shop) was on the right in the Wood Building, which was built in 1896 by Henry Wood. Note the S-curved tracks for the streetcars that provided transportation between Forest Hills Station and West Roxbury. Today, Potters Pharmacy retains a few of its architectural details but stands at a busy intersection opposite the Roslindale Village T Commuter Station.

T he Roslindale Police Station was located in this wood-framed Queen Anne house. The station, located at the corner of Washington and Ashland Streets (now Cummins Highway), was adjacent to the Sumner School and is today the site of the Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center, which was designed by Harrison H. Atwood and built in 1916. In the distance is the spire of the Roslindale Baptist Church on Cummins Highway at Florence Street.

T he junction of Washington and Poplar Streets was dominated by the Romanesque-revival Roslindale Firehouse seen in the center. This is now the site of the Roslindale Branch Library. In the center is the Parkway Building, and on the far right is the Roslindale Department Store, which is now commercial stores in the thriving Roslindale Village.

S outh Street, at Birch Street and Belgrade Avenue, had commercial storefronts that eventually gave way to residential streets farther away from Roslindale Square. Notice the streetcar in the center heading west on South Street and the early 20th-century sign on the building on the left.