Brothers (5) . In 1631, the Charles River was first breached 

 between Boston and Charlestown by a bridge extending out of a 

 small peninsula on the Charlestown side (5) . By 1786, a bridge 

 had been constructed at the present location of Charles River 

 Avenue. By 1795, a wharf, then owned by the Austin family of 

 Charlestown, had been built along the east side of the Charles 

 River Bridge, on the Charlestown side (6,7). 



By 1802, the Navy Yard had been established east of the site 

 (5). By 1806, Frederic Tudor had established his natural ice 

 business in the wharves adjacent to the Charles River Bridge in 

 Charlestown (6) . Between 1836 and 1850, the Boston ice trade 

 was active in every large port in South America and the Far 

 East (8) . The Fitchburg Railroad had established a track to 

 the Naval Shipyard along Water Street, providing rail access to 

 the neighboring wharves by 1855 (9) . 



In 1874, Charlestown was annexed by the City of Boston (5). By 

 this time, Frederic Tudor had purchased the present site 

 property and the abutting wharf and located his office there. 

 A railroad spur had been constructed on-site along the east 

 dock of the warehouse (10,11). At this time, the structures 

 on-site consisted of two buildings: a 5-story brick grist mill 

 addressed 3 8 Charles River Avenue was located on the north end 

 of the site, and a two-story brick warehouse extending over the 

 Charles River addressed 44 Charles River Avenue (11) . In 1874 

 Frederic Tudor operated a linseed oil mill at 22 Charles River 

 Avenue. Ships returning from ice deliveries brought cargoes of 

 hides, jute, dyestuffs linseed and shellac to Charlestown (12) . 



The 1880 's saw the decline of the natural ice industry and this 

 section of the Charlestown waterfront turned to the export of 

 grains and provisions to the West. This conversion was 

 concurrent with the consolidation of the adjacent wharves and 

 the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel Docks and Elevator Co. 

 (13). 



By 1892, City drinking water had been provided to the site 

 (14) . At this time, the New England Preserving Company, part 

 of the Tudor Company, had located at 22 Charles River Avenue in 

 the brick building at the corner of the Water Street (14) . In 

 1897, Frederic Tudor sold the company to Addison, Gage & Co., 

 an ice industry rival (6,10). 



In 1901, the Tudor Wharf Company (so called after the wharf, 

 not the former owner) purchased the site for general mercantile 

 storage (6). In 1902, the Potter-Wrightington, Inc. cereal 



A9A 



00 48 



