Developing Boston

By Elin Spring

You may be familiar with documentary photographer Berenice Abbott’s (1898-1991) most renowned work “Changing New York” (1939), but what does she have to do with the city of Boston? And who is Irene Shwachman (1915-1988) and what does she have to do with the Boston skyline or Berenice Abbott? Developing Boston: Berenice Abbott and Irene Shwachman Photograph a Changing City is an engaging historic and visual timeline of the city’s architectural history. Envisioned in the 1930’s by Abbott, in the 1960’s by Shwachman and by teen photographers from Artists For Humanity in 2022, this captivating portrait of Boston’s topographic transformations will be on view at the Boston Athenaeum through December 30^th, 2023.

185–195 State Street, negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy of the Boston Athenaeum.

Rear of 20 Mt. Vernon Street, From Joy Street, Beacon Hill, May 12, 1965. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Louisburg Square, negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Pinckney Street at Joy Street, negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Amid Berenice Abbott’s project documenting New York City in the 1930’s, she was commissioned by architectural historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock to photograph US cities along the east coast, including Boston. Hitchcock’s express aim was to promote traditional architecture as a model for future city developers and he guided Abbott’s photography to acclaim pre-Civil War designs. A selection of her photographs were used to illustrate Hitchcock’s book but it wasn’t until 1958, when Abbott accepted a position at M.I.T., that she made prints from these 8″x 10” negatives, upon request from the Boston Athenaeum. By then, Boston was modernizing rapidly and many places Abbott had photographed were already altered or destroyed.

Boston Arena, 238 St. Botolph Street, negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy Boston Athenaeum.

Entrance to Kensington Hotel, Boylston Street, Corner of Exeter Street, negative 1934, printed by
photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Stone & Webster Building During Demolition, April 11, 1966. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Long an admirer of Berenice Abbott’s work, in 1959 amateur photographer Irene Shwachman met Abbott and became inspired to begin a nine-year, self-directed project, “The Boston Document.” Beginning with Boston’s West End, Shwachman documented what the city referred to as a “blighted neighborhood” during its demolition, spurred on by her husband who had fond memories of growing up there. In 1962, the Athenaeum hosted Shwachman’s first exhibit of her citywide work, Boston Today, 1959-1961: The Changing Face of the City. She also documented the city’s renewal projects for Boston Redevelopment Authority until 1963, when a new director deemed it inappropriate work for a woman and fired her.

The West End. 18th and 19th Century Buildings, January 25, 1959. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Allston Street, From Bowdoin Street, June 20, 1961. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

In Developing Boston, exhibition curator Dr. Lauren Graves has woven the city’s architectural history into a captivating narrative that includes not only rare photographs by Abbott and Shwachman, but also maps comparing old and modern Boston, a light table where visitors can magnify a selection of Shwachman’s medium format (reproduction) negatives, some colorful biographical nuggets and more.

Washington Street at Adams Square, negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy Boston Athenaeum.

Washington Street, Adams Square, May 23, 1962. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy Boston Athenaeum.

Reputedly serious and reserved, Berenice Abbott’s photographs were likewise methodical and analytic. In contrast, Irene Shwachman was vivacious and outgoing, qualities evident in her dynamic compositions that often included people and motion. Despite their distinctive personalities, Abbott and Shwachman bonded over an abiding interest in documenting the city, occasionally photographing together, swapping cameras and sharing their work. A brief stint as darkroom assistant proved the self-taught Shwachman’s craft did not meet Abbott’s printing expectations. But the women remained lifelong friends.

Old State House, negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy Boston Athenaeum.

Old State House, Washington and State Street, March 13, 1963. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Noanet Street (between Harrison Avenue and Washington Street), negative 1934, printed by photographer in 1958. Gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott, courtesy Boston Athenaeum.

Holy Cross Cathedral, From Moving Elevated Train, on Washington Street, October 25, 1966. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy Boston Athenaeum.

Undoubtedly, Shwachman’s admiration for Abbott’s imagery influenced her topical and technical choices, but their stylistic differences, along with photographing decades apart, nurture a lively dialog between the women throughout the gallery. Berenice Abbott’s austere photographs focusing on the city’s antebellum architecture in the 1930’s parlay with Irene Shwachman’s spirited photographs of the 1960’s, a time of radical change in Boston’s cityscape.

Old Corner Bookstore, Washington and School Streets, May 23, 1961. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Construction of Prudential Center From Belvidere Street, October 18, 1962. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Faneuil Hall From Cornhill Street—New City Hall Under Construction on the Left, November 14, 1966. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of Boston Athenaeum.

Along with destruction of the West End and other landmarks, Shwachman depicts the construction of the new “brutalist” City Hall Plaza, the Prudential Center, and the Saltonstall Building near Mass General Hospital, to name a few. Just outside the gallery, Artists For Humanity teen photographers extend our view into the present with their recent images of Boston’s changing neighborhoods.

Eight teen artists, supported by a mentor at Artists For Humanity, created photographs that respond to the themes explored in Developing Boston, chronicling the city’s continuing redevelopment in the twenty-first century through a range of photographic techniques. Courtesy of Boston Athenaeum, with support from the Mass Cultural Council.

For more information about this exhibit and links to related programming, go to: https://bostonathenaeum.org/visit/exhibitions/abbott-schwachman/

Feature Image: View from 19th Floor of 100 Cambridge Street—New City Hall Under Construction, Market District, Custom House Tower, and Harbor—John Fitzgerald Kennedy Federal Building at Left, March 21, 1966. Gelatin silver print by Irene Shwachman, courtesy of the Boston Athenaeum.