Tudor Wharf Draft Environmental Impact Report EOEA # 6744 



2.4 Site History 



The site is known at present as the 

 Rapids Furniture Warehouse. Rapids 

 Furniture has moved its warehouse 

 operations to Norwood and the site has 

 most recently been used by Warner 

 Brothers for the Spenser for Hire 

 television series as a studio. 



The first wharves were constructed on the 

 site in the late 18th century. The first 

 wharf was built by the Austin family in 

 1795 adjacent to the nine year old 

 Charles River Avenue bridge to Boston. 

 The wharves were used for the loading and 

 unloading of trans-Atlantic cargoes. In 

 184 6 the site was known as Todd's Wharf, 

 in 1852 by the name of Thompson's Wharf 

 and by 1870, Tudor 's Wharves. 



Frederick Tudor, known as the "Ice 

 King", was a local entrepreneur who took 

 two nearly worthless commodities, ice and 

 sawdust, and built a major business. He 

 shipped ice, using the sawdust as 

 insulation, from Charlestown to southern 

 states, the West Indies, Japan, China and 

 Australia. In 1874, Frederick Tudor 

 purchased the site for his growing ice 

 business. A railroad spur was constructed 



