Pi Alley (often misspelled Pie Alley) in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
is located off
Washington Street, near the
Old City Hall on
School Street
School Street is a short but significant street in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. It is so named for being the site of the first public school in the United States (the Boston Latin School, since relocated). The school operated at various ...
. The origin of the short street's name remains in question. It may be named after the
pied type which newspaper composing rooms dumped into the alley in the past, or after the local restaurants that sold coffee and a piece of pie for a nickel. It is also known as Williams Court, Savage's Court, Peck's Arch, and Webster's Arch.
History
Through the years, tenants have included:
* The
Bell-in-Hand (est. 1795) was "a faithful reproduction of the taverns fashionable in London" in the 18th century.
* ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
''
*
Boston police
The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...
(c. 1854), corner of Court Square and Williams Ct.
* Private residences in 1832 of a clerk, colorer,
cordwainer
A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...
, handcartman, housewright, mariner, nurse, truckman,
wheelwright
A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkw ...
, and several laborers, printers, and widows
* David Francis (1779-1853), printer, publisher (
Munroe & Francis Munroe & Francis was a publishing firm in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəw ...
)
* "
Oakum
Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibre used to seal gaps. Its main traditional applications were in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships; in plumbing, for s ...
pickers tenement" (c. 1711). "In 1711, Oct. 2, a fire commenced in Williams' Court in an oakum pickers tenement, where the woman suffered the fire 'to catch the oakum she was employed in picking of;' all the houses and stores on both sides of Washington St. between School St. and
Dock Square were laid in ashes."
* ''Life in Boston'', a weekly periodical (c. 1851)
*
Samuel Sewall
Samuel Sewall (; March 28, 1652 – January 1, 1730) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay ''The Selling ...
(c. 1727). "Monday, July 10th, 1727, removed with my family to Boston. Hired a house in Deacon Williams Court next house to Deacon Williams, N. Gates and N. Gleason, bringing my household stuff."
Image:1743 SavagesCourt Boston map WilliamPrice.png, Detail of 1743 map of Boston, showing Savage's Court
Image:1774 JohnJoy MassachusettsSpy June16.png, Drugs and medicines, 1774
Image:Bell in Hand PieAlley Boston.png, Bell-in-Hand, established 1795
Image:BostonHerald WilliamsCourt.png, Boston Herald, Williams Court, 19th century
Image:WashingtonSt PiAlley Boston 2351556878 detail1.jpg, Entrance to Pi Alley "through the arch at 103 Washington Street," Boston, 19th centuryBoston Directory
''The Boston Directory'' of Boston, Massachusetts, was first published in 1789. It contained "a list of the merchants, mechanics, traders, and others, of the town of Boston; in order to enable strangers to find the residence of any person." Also ...
. 1832
See also
*
Newspaper Row (Boston)
Newspaper Row is now a historic district at 322-328 Washington Street, 5-23 Milk Street, and 11 Hawley Street in Boston, Massachusetts.
History
In its heyday, from the late 1800s to the early 1940s, the area was home to many of Boston's news ...
References
External links
{{commons category, Pie Alley (Boston)
* Google news archive. Articles abou
Pi AlleyPie AlleyWilliams Court
*
* Flickr:
*
View East from Pi Alley, 2008
photo by Nicholas Nixon
Nicholas Nixon (born October 27, 1947) is an American photographer, known for his work in portraiture and documentary photography, and for using the 8×10 inch view camera.
Biography
Nixon was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan.
Influenced by ...
*
Photo of Washington St.
from the Pi Alley Garage, mid-1970s
** Photos of Pi Alle
2008200820092010
History of Boston
Streets in Boston