Boston has a lengthy, influential history, much of which predates the medium of photography. However, these 12 rare photographs – captured during the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries – steer our imaginations back through time. Such frozen moments let us envision Boston’s past more easily, and breathe life into the facts we already know about our city’s history.

1. This is what Dock Square looked like in the 1860s. The lettering on the stores is simple yet lovely.
Wikimedia Commons/Unknown
2. William B. Phelps had a furniture and upholstery store – Russell and Phelps – that occupied 17 to 27 Brattle Street in Boston during the 1860s. The sign is visible halfway up the buildings to the left.
Wikimedia Commons/Unknown
Squinting also reveals a sign for dining rooms, and for Quincy House. The latter was the biggest hotel in the city at the time. Nowadays, this is the location of City Hall Plaza.
3. Winter by the Common, circa 1875, when horse-drawn sleighs apparently took to the streets of Boston.
Wikimedia Commons/J.J. Hawes
4. Penny-farthings in Copley Square sometime during 1888.
Wikimedia Commons/LOC
5. Women at work at the New England Telephone Company in Boston during the 1890s.
Wikimedia Commons/Unknown
6. This shot, taken outside North Station during the 1890s, provides a glimpse of past fashions and forms of transportation.
Wikimedia Commons/Detroit Publishing Co.
7. Also taken outside North Station, this photo captures the hustle and bustle of travelers taking streetcars. Old advertisements are always fascinating – this one is promoting discount rail tickets.
Wikimedia Commons/Detroit Publishing Co.
8. Moving a little farther on in time, this image depicts Boston’s waterfront as it appeared around 1906.
Wikimedia Commons/Balcer
Clearly visible are signs for the Metropolitan Steamship Company, which connected New York and Boston via boat, a building housing an electrician’s business, and to the right, Rowe’s Wharf.
9. A little boy selling vegetables on a Boston street in 1909.
Wikimedia Commons/Lewis Hine
10. Here's a sneak peek at Quincy Market in 1904.
Wikimedia Commons/Murphy
11. Ever wondered what a gym looked like in the early 20th century? Here is a glimpse at the Boston YMCA in 1902.
Wikimedia Commons/American kitchen magazine
Not all that different from a Crossfit gym!
12. North Bennett Street in the North End around 1920.
Flickr/City of Boston Archives
This picture makes you wonder about the contents of the bag the woman is carrying. Hopefully, it contained something light!

Which of these pictures intrigues you the most? Share your thoughts (and memories) in the comments below!

If you’re interested in old photos of Boston, you should also view these shots taken during the Great Depression and these images captured during World War II.

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