BOSTON 



849 



BOSTON 



Although these institutions exist for the 

 benefit of the more fortunate citizens, for those 

 less fortunate there is also adequate provision. 

 The Perkins Institution for the Blind, made 

 famous by the work of Dr. Samuel G. Howe 

 (see HOWE, JULIA WARD), is the best-known 

 institution of its kind in the United States. 

 The Perkins Institution was removed from 

 South Boston to Watertown, a suburb, in 1913, 

 but its name will always be associated with 

 Boston. The Massachusetts General Hospital, 

 established in 1799, has an excellent training 

 school for nurses. Noteworthy, too, are the 

 Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, in connection 

 with the Harvard Medical School, the Chil- 

 dren's and Infants' hospitals, and the Boston 

 Insane Hospital. Most of the city's penal 

 institutions are located on islands in Boston 

 Harbor. 



Literature and the Arts. In literature and 

 the fine arts Boston has always held a high 

 place, and it is to-day the home of many well- 

 known authors and artists. Its literary ascend- 

 ancy, however, began in the middle decades 

 of the nineteenth century and continued nearly 

 to the end of the century. Longfellow, Lowell, 

 Holmes, Hawthorne, Emerson, Parkman, Mot- 

 ley and Henry James are a few of the most 

 famous writers who made their homes in or 

 near Boston. As a music center Boston rivals 

 New York. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, 

 founded in 1881 and long maintained by the 

 generosity of Henry Lee Higginson, is one of 

 the great orchestras of the world. Scarcely less 

 noted are such organizations as the Handel 

 and Haydn Society, the Cecilia Society and the 

 Apollo Society. The New England Conserva- 

 tory of Music, with about 3,000 students, is the 

 largest institution of its kind in the United 

 States. 



In the theater Boston at first was behind 

 other cities undoubtedly because of its Puri- 

 tan atmosphere. It is now, however, a rival of 

 New York and Chicago as a producing center, 

 and has many beautiful theaters. Among them 

 are the Boston, the largest theater in New 

 England, the Colonial, Tremont, Hollis, Cort, 

 Plymouth, Wilbur, Majestic and Keith's. The 

 Museum of Fine Arts has one of the greatest 

 art collections in the world, and is the natural 

 center for the artistic life of the city. The 

 museum school, the Massachusetts Normal 

 Art School and the Lowell School of Design 

 are favorably known. 



Commerce and Industry. A glance at the 

 map shows that Boston is somewhat away from 

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the main lines of communication. This fact 

 explains the change which gradually came over 

 the city's business interests during the nine- 

 teenth century. During the eighteenth century 

 Boston was larger than New York or Philadel- 

 phia, and had a greater trade. But in the nine- 

 teenth century, when the railroads opened the 

 West, Boston's commercial field remained prac- 

 tically the same, while New York and other 

 cities found new territories from which to draw 

 trade. This does not mean that Boston has no 

 commercial interests, but it does mean that 

 Boston has become a manufacturing center as 

 well. Though many of the factories are in 

 the suburbs or even at considerable distances, 

 they are the largest business interests of the 

 city. Boston is also a great financial center, 

 and on or near State Street, which is the Wall 

 Street of Boston, are the home offices of many 

 great mining, railway and insurance corpora- 

 tions and of powerful banking interests. 



As a market Boston is noted for its trade in 

 wool and fish, in both of which it stands second 

 only to London among the cities of the world. 

 It is second only to New York in its foreign 

 trade, which amounts to more than $200,000,000 

 a year. The exports are chiefly meats, meat and 

 dairy products, breadstuffs, leather and leather 

 goods, cotton and woolen goods, and various 

 products of iron and steel. The imports are 

 mostly wool, hides, sugar, chemicals, drugs, 

 india-rubber and fish. The manufactured arti- 

 cles, which reach an estimated total value of 

 $250,000,000 a year, include refined sugar, malt 

 liquors, boots and shoes and men's and women's 

 clothing in addition to the chief exports men- 

 tioned above. The Waltham watch and the 

 Singer sewing-machine were first made in Bos- 

 ton in 1850; the manufacture of Chickering 

 pianos dates from 1824, and that of Mason & 

 Hamlin pianos from 1854. Shipbuilding, in- 

 cluding repairs to warships at the Charlestown 

 navy yard, is a distinctive industry. 



To care for its trade and to distribute its 

 manufactures Boston has excellent transporta- 

 tion facilities. It is a large railway center, 

 being the terminus of the Boston & Maine, the 

 New York, New Haven & Hartford, the Boston 

 & Albany and a number of smaller railways. 

 It has rail connection with every part of the 

 United States and Canada. There are two 

 large union stations, both on water fronts. 

 The North Station is used by the Boston & 

 Maine; the South Station serves the Boston 

 & Albany and the New York, New Haven & 

 Hartford lines. The latter, at the time of its 



