xt7dr785mv3r https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7dr785mv3r/data/mets.xml Historical Records Survey (Mass.) United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Professional and Service Projects. Massachusetts Historical Records Survey (Mass.) United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Professional and Service Projects. 1940 v.: ill 27 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Library Program libraries and the Federal Information Preservation Network. Call Number FW 4.14:M 382/3/no.13/v.1 books  English Boston, Mass.: the Survey  This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Massachusetts Works Progress Administration Publications Boston (Mass.)--Archival resources Public records--Massachusetts--Boston Boston (Mass.)--History--Sources Archival resources--Massachusetts--Boston--Bibliography Archives--Massachusetts--Boston--Bibliography Inventory of Town and City Archives of Massachusetts. No. 13, Suffolk County, vol. I, pt. 5, Boston, 1940 text Inventory of Town and City Archives of Massachusetts. No. 13, Suffolk County, vol. I, pt. 5, Boston, 1940 1940 1940 2020 true xt7dr785mv3r section xt7dr785mv3r  

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 INVENTORY OF TOYJ AND CITY ARCHIVES

OF MASSACHUSETTS

 

Prepared by-

The Historical Records Survey

Division of

Professional and Service Projects

Work Projects Administration

No. 130 Suffolk County

XXIII
XXIV

XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX

XXXII
XXXIII

The

Vol, I ,‘ BOSTON
Part 5

Law Department

Market Department

Weights and Measures Department
Building Department

Public Buildings Department
School Buildings Department
Printing Department

Supply Department

Art Department

Boston Port Authority
Boston Housing Authority

*****

Historical Records Survey
Boston, Massachusetts
February, 1940

 

  

The Historical Records Survey Program

Sargent B. Child, National Director
Carl J. Wennerblad, State Supervisor

Division of Professional and Service Projects

Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner
Robert Y. Phillips, Regional Supervisor
Harold G. Dunney, State Director

WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION

F.C. Harrington, Commissioner
John J. McDonough, Regional Director
Denis w. Delaney, State Administrator

 

 

 PREEACE TO PART 5

By authority of a Presidential Letter,'the Historical Records
Survey of the Works Progress Administration (now Work Projects Administra—
tion) was established in January 1936 as part of Federal Project No. 1
under the national direction of Dr. Luther H. Evans. It continued as a
federal project until August 31, 1959 when its sponsorship was undertaken
by Frederic W. Cook, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In
fulfillment of its purpose to preserve historical source materials and
render them accessible to scholars and the public, it has laid emphasis
upon its survey of public archives of state, county and local units of
the government; upon the American Imprints Inventory, a comprehensive
recording of the early products of the printing press in each state;
upon its survey of historical manuscript collections and upon its in—
ventories of church records and those of business, labor and social organ—
izations. In Massachusetts, a catalogue of early American portraits has
also been published. For a complete record of the publications of the
Historical Records Survey in Massachusetts, see List of Publications at
the end of this volume. .

The present volume, covering the archives of eleven departments of
the government of the City of Boston is the first to reach the stage of
publication. An inventory of the archives of all departments of so large
a city will necessarily occupy several volumes. Nor would it be wise to
delay the publication of the various sections until the whole had been
completed. The exigencies of the work relief program no less than the
volume of accumulating data dictate a policy of continuous publication
as the work goes forward.

A grouping of the city and town departments into logical and natural
divisions was necessary even before the work commenced. The main divisions,
of the inventory of the archives of the city, which are, of course, sub—
ject to change,appear at this time to be as follows:-

Part 1 - TOWN OF BOSTON, 1630—1821

Part 2 - CITY OF BOSTON, 1822 to date

I Mayor VI Registry Department
II Board of Aldermen (1822-1909) VII Election Department
III Common Council (1822—1909) VIII Licensing Department

IV City Council (1910 to date) IX City Censor

V City Clerk X Statistics Department

Part 3 _ CITY OF BOSTON, (cont'd)

XI Assessing Department XV Budget Department

XII Collecting Department XVI Sinking Fund Department
XIII Treasury Department XVII Retirement Board

XIV Auditing Department XVIII George Robert White Fund

XIX Finance Commission

i

 

 Preface

Part 4 _ CITY OF BOSTON, (cont d)

XX Department of the School XXI Library Department
Committee XXII Franklin Foundation

Part 5 _ CITY OF BOSTON, (contid)

XXIII Law Department XXVIII School Buildings Departm
XXIV Market Department ment
XXV Weights and Measures Department XXIX, Printing Department
XXVI Building Department XXX Supply Department
XXVII Public Buildings Department XXXI Art Department

XXXII Boston Port Authority
XXXIII Boston Housing Authority

Part 6 _ CITY OF BOSTON, (cont d)

XXXIV City Planning Department XXXVII Park Department

XXXV Board of Zoning Adjustment XXXVIII Transit Department
XXXVI Street Laying Out Department XXXIX Traffic Commission

XL Boston and Cambridge Bridges Commission
Part 7 — CITY OF BOSTON, (cont d)
XLI Public Works Department
Part 8 » CITY OF BOSTON, (cont d)
XLII Police Department XLIII Fire Department

Part 9 _ CITY OF BOSTON, (cont‘d)

XLIV Public Welfare Department XLV Soldiers‘ Relief Depart—
ment

Part 10 _ CITY OF BOSTON, (cont d)

XLVI Health Department XLVIII Institutions Department
XLVII Hospital Department XLIX Penal Institutions De~
‘ partment

The eleven departments, the records of which appear in this volume,
present an interesting group. The law department, which handles all
legal affairs of the city, naturally performs functions of the greatest

 

ii

 

 Preface

importance. The public market of which the present—day market department
is in charge has a long and interesting development reaching back to the
seventeenth century. The office of sealer of weights and measures repre—
sents probably the earliest flnmxof consumer protection attempted by the
colonial authorities. Immediately following these records in this volume
is placed the building department which is concerned with the enforcement
of building regulations both in the construction of new, and the upkeep

of old buildings. The public buildings department has jurisdiction of
city—owned buildings housing two or more departments, while the school
buildings department is charged with new construction as well as main—
tenance of all school buildings. The printing department constitutes a
municipal printing plant; the supply department is essentially a purchasing
bureau for supplies and materials except printing; the art department
passes judgment upon art objects on city preperty. Finally there are in~
eluded two authorities created for special purposes: The port authority
which promotes the interests of Boston as a port; and the housing authority,
created as a vehicle for the construction of better housing under the
present housing program of the federal government. For a chart showing

the relationship of the heads of these departments to the electorate, the
governor and the mayor, see page 8.

The original field work for the present volume was done principally
by Louis M. Alden, Hugh E. Allen, Clarence Brown, Frank Emery, Charles P.
Clark, Joseph Corkery, Ronald Underwood, Alice P. Walton, Arthur W. Cox,
George Gloss, Leon Levy, Simon Perin, Michael Salvaggio, Fredrick M. Well-
brock, Florence L. Willis, and George W. Wilson. The editing of the
field forms was primarily the work of James S. Hindlian under the super—
vision of Morris I. Wartow, editorial supervisor of the survey. The re—
search for, and writing of, the departmental sketches which precede the
inventory of records in each department was done by Meyer G. Reines ex-
cept in the case of the market department, the sketch of which was written
by Jay Needham. Typing.and multigraphing were done under the direction
of Ralph Kahn. The index was prepared by Charles B. Haskell and Leon E.
Ryther. Final editorial scrutiny was given the volume by Sargent B. Child,
formerly regional supervisor but now director of the nation—wide survey
program.

The assistance of the Honorable Maurice J. Tobin, Mayor of Boston,
and of the department heads and supervisory officials of the various city
departments is gratefully acknowledged. Among the latter the following
have been especially helpful: Henry Parkman, Jr., until recently corpora—
tion counsel; Rudolph Robinson, assistant corporation counsel; Daniel B.
Carmody, clerk of the law department; James E. King, chairman, and Major
Edward F. O'Dowd, secretary of the statistics department; John F. McCarthy,
sealer, and Walter L. Finnigan, chief clerk of the weights and measures
department; James H. Mooney, building commissioner, and John H. Glover,
chief clerk of the building department; Leo F. Power, superintendent of
public buildings and Thomas A. Callahan, chief clerk of the public build—
ings department; James J. Mahar, superintendent of construction and John
A. Noonan, executive secretary of the board of commissioners of school

iii

 

  

 

Preface

buildings; John Twomey, acting superintendent of printing; John A. Breen,
superintendent of the supply department and chairman of the Boston Housing
Authority, also Charles E. Thornton, chief clerk of the supply department;
and Daniel Sargent, secretary of the art commission.

The Historical Records Survey also Wishes to express its indebtedness
to the Honorable Frederic w. Cook, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Without
Whose sponsorship this volume would not have been possible.

CARL J. WENNERBLAD

State Supervisor
Historical Records Survey

iv

 FOREWORD

This Inventory of the Town and City Archives of Massachusetts is one
of a number of bibliographies of historical materials prepared throughout
the United States by workers of the Historical Records Survey of the Work
Projects Administration. The publication herewith presented, an inventory
of the archives of eleven departments of the City of Boston is Part 5 of
the Boston seriesa

The Historical Records Survey was undertaken in the winter of 1955—
56 for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unemployed
historians, lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers. In
carrying out this objective, the project was organized to compile in—
ventories of historical materials, particularly of unpublished govern—
ment documents and records which are basic in the administration of local
government, and which provide invaluable data for students of political,
economic, and social history. The archival guide herewith presented is
intended to meet the requirements of day—to—day administration by city
officials, and also the needs of lawyers, business men and other citizens
who require facts from the public records for the proper conduct of their
affairs. The volume is so designed that it can be used by the historian
in his research in unprinted sources in the same way he uses the library
card catalog for printed sources.

The inventories produced by the Historical Records Survey attempt
to do more than give merely a list of records——they attempt further to
sketch in the historical background of the county or other unit of govern—
ment, and to describe precisely and in detail the organization and func—
tions of the government agencies whose records they list, The county,
town, and city inventories for the entire country will, when completed,
constitute an encyclopedia of local government as well as a bibliography
of local archiveso '

The successful conclusion of the work of the Historical Records
Survey, even in a single city, would not be possible without the support
of public officials, historical and legal specialists, and many other
groups in the community. Their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged.

The survey was organized by Luther H. Evans, is now under the direction
of Sargent B. Child and operates as a nation-wide project in the Division
of Professional and Service Projects, of which Mrs. Florence Kerr, Assist—
ant Commissioner, is in charge,

F. C. Harrington
Commissioner of Work Projects

 

  

 

 

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ....... ........ ...... . ..... . ............... 1
Foreword ...... ........................ ............ v
Abbreviations, Symbols, and Explanatory Notes ...... 3
Organizational Chart.. ........... ...... ....... a... 6
XXIII. Law Department....... ......... .nq.............uu.. 7

Corporation CounSel; Docket Clerk's Office;
Conveyancing Division; Investigating Division;
Tax Title Division; Collecting Division;
Medical Examiner; Claims; Violations and
Complaints; Tax Appeal; Public Utilities

Cases; Public Work Construction; Financial Rec~
ords; Requisitions; George Robert White Fund,
Franklin Foundation Records; Correspondence;
State Legislation; Miscellaneous

XXIV- Market Department...........,...... ................ 155
Reports; Financial Records; Maps and Plans;
Miscellaneous

XXV. Weights and Measures Department ...... ...... ...... 149

Reports; Record of Inspection; Financial
Records; Requisitions; Miscellaneous
XXVI. The Building Department ......... .. ............ .",165
A. Building Department
Reports; Licenses and Permits;
Financial Records; Complaints and
Violations; Contracts and Requisitions;
Construction Division; Zoning Division;
'Egress Division; Plan Division; Elevator
Division; Plumbing Division; Sprinkler
Division; Correspondence; Miscellaneous
B. Board of Appeal
Reports and Hearings; Miscellaneous
C. Board of Examiners
Reports; Licenses; Miscellaneous .
XXVII. Public Building Department.,......,....... ...... ..215
,Reports; Contracts and Bids; Public Works
Projects; Financial Records; Rentals;
Requisitions; Real Estate Division; Plans
and Atlases; Correspondence; Miscellaneous 4
XXVIII. Department of School Buildings..........; ......... 255
’ Minutes and Reports; Contracts, Bids,
Orders; Public Works Projects; Financial
Records; Records or Surveys; Plans and Photom
graphs; Miscellaneous

 

 Index

XXIX. Printing Department ......... . ..................... . ..... 255
Reports; Financial Records; Requisitions;
Employees Records; Miscellaneous

XXX. Supply Department .......... ...... ......... ... ......... .267
Reports; Contracts and Bids; Financial
Records; Orders and Requisitions;
Record of Inspections; Miscellaneous

XXXI. Art Department............................;. ............ 285
Records

XXXII The Boston Port Authority... .. .. ...... ................289

XXXIII. Boston Housing Authority..... ................. .. ...... 295

Minutes and Reports; Records of
Survey; Financial Records

List of Sources.. ............ ,... “.3 ........... . ..... 503

Publications of the _
Historical Records Survey in Massachusetts ..... . ...... 507

Index .......... . ....... .... ........... . ..... ......... .509
\

 

 alph.
approx.
arr.
asst.
bdl.(s)
bldg.(s)
bsmt.
ch.

C.H.
chron.
cl.

co.
conmL
corp.
corr.
‘dept.(s)
discont.
dist.
div.
doc.(s)
ed.

eng.
env.(s)
estab.
etc.

ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS, AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations and Foreign Terms

alphabetically
approximately
arranged, arrangement
assistant
bundle(s)
building(s)
basement
chapter

City Hall
chronologically
clerk

company
commissioner
corporation
corridor
department(s)
discontinued
district
division
document(s)
edited, editor
engineer
envelope(s)
established
and so forth

vol.(s)

by
continues to date
feet

secy.
st.

stat.
subsec.(s)
supt.

va.

volume(s)

Symbols

H

equivalent to

Explanatory Notes

Inventory Arrangement

 

Records within an office are classified by subject.

and following pages
floor

general
handwritten

in the same place
the same reference
inclusive
Library

number(s)
numerically
office

work cited
ordinances

page, pages
printed
reference
revised

room(s)

section
secretary('s)
street

statute
subsection(s)
superintendent
vault

inches
denotes omission in
quoted matter

Within each

subiect classification, entries are listed in the order of their impor—
tanceand for records considered of equal importance, a chronological
sequence is used.

 

  

 

Explanatory Notes

Office Sketches

A brief sketch of the development of each office since its inception
precedes the inventory of its records. The statutory origin, and general
state—wide development and functions of each office are discussed in a
companion volume to this series of inventories soon to be published by
the Historical Records Survey under the title Town and City Government
in.Massachusetts.

 

Titles

Exact titles of records are shown in upper case without parentheses.
The contents of untitled records are indicated by assigning titles to
them. Titles of this kind are shown in upper case enclosed by parentheses.
When an exact title does not adequately describe the true nature of the
record,such information is inserted in the title line but in lower case
and enclosed within parentheses. The current or most recent title of a
record is used as the entry title, and any variation of title within the
record series is also noted.

Labeling

The numbering, lettering or other markings on a record are shown in
parentheses following the quantity.

Indexing

If there is no index to a record, the fact is stated in the entry.
If no mention is made of the absence of an index, it is either contained
in the record covered by the entry or described in a separate entry, im—
mediately following, if possible.

Dimensions
Except where otherwise indicated, dimensions of volumes, file boxes,
or maps are shown in inches; those of volumes in the order of length

along binding edge, width, and thickness; those of file cases, boxes and
drawers in the order of height, width and depth.

Condition of Records

If no comment is made regarding the condition of records, it may be
assumed to be satisfactory.

 Explanatory Notes

Location

The location noted is that of the date of the final field check of
the inventory, approximately four months prior to publication. Many
records especially current ones, are in constant use by officials, and
subject to frequent transfer from office to vault or from vault to office.
Shifts from one vault to another also occur, but less frequently. The
Historical Records Survey cannot guarantee that the record will be found
in the location noted, but merely that the record was found there at_the
date of the inventory field check.

 

gross—References

References below subject headings are made to other related record
series suggested by the headings or subheadings. Cross—references are
made in each entry to records of the same series found in other entries.
References to similar records are embodied in a separate line immediately
following the entry. Where no comment is made regarding prior or subse—
quent records, it is to be presumed that none were found.

 

  

 

ORGANIZATIONAL C HART

SNOWING RELATIONSNIP OF THE ELEVEN DEPARTMENT5 IN TI‘II5 VOLUME TO THE ELECTORATE

 

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