NORTH SHORE BREEZE. 
THE PASSING OF AN OLD LANDMARK. 
2 Manchester Village to be Wonderfully Improved by Removal of ‘Old Corner Store" Building. So 
. Voted at Special Town Meeting Monday Night. 
Ata special Town meeting Monday 
evening the citizens of Manchester voted 
to purchase the property bordering the 
Common, on which is located the Old 
Corner Store building, so-called, and al- 
so the little building, next to the church, 
owned by Mary L. Baker. ‘This matter 
was before the town at the March meet- 
ing, but it was passed over at that time as 
the Allen heirs wanted $10,000 for it. 
Mr. and Mrs. Roland C. Lincoln, sum- 
mer residents at Manchester Cove, be- 
came interested to the extend that they 
raised some $4000 from other members 
of the summer colony and the town is 
called on to pay only $6000. 
In presenting the subject before the 
meeting Monday evening Mr. Lincoln 
stated that the question had come up at 
the March meeting and it was stated 
that the town could not acquire the prop- 
erty at less than $10,000. When the 
article was passed over it occurred to 
him, after he had talked with several citi- 
zens, that if the town could acquire the 
property for something like- $6000 it 
would probably consider it. He talked 
it over with Mrs. Lincoln and she said 
why not raise $4000 and then see if the 
town will raise the balance. The 
amount has been raised and now he 
would suggest to the town at this meet- 
ing that it appropriate $6000 to acquire 
the property. 
Mr. Lincoln then offered the follow- 
ing motion, which was unanimously 
adopted: 
Whereas certain residents and citizens 
of the Town of Manchester, being de- 
sirous that the town should acquire the 
lot of land known as.the Franklin lot, 
formerly owned by Benjamin L. Allen, 
and situated between the town common 
and the land of the Memorial Building 
and Church street, have subscribed to- 
wards its purchase by the town the sum 
of $4000, to the end that the town on 
acquiring title to said laid may remove the 
buildings thereon as soon as may be and 
thereafter preserve and maintain said land 
as an open area for the public benefit. 
Be it voted that the town proceed to 
acquire the title to said land for the pur- 
poses aforesaid, and that the selectmen 
be and they hereby are authorized to pur- 
chase said land for the public use of the 
inhabitants of the town, and that the sum 
of $6000 be appropriated for the purpose. 
The subscriptions, aggregating $4000, 
it will be noted are mostly from mem- 
bers of the summer colony who have 
long made Manchester their summer 
home, so that the money was given 
largely as a matter of sentiment, as this 
property has for over 100 years been one 
of the landmarks of the town. Those 
subscribing were: T. Jefferson Cool- 
idge, I’. Jefferson Coolidge, jr., George 
N. Black, Charles E. Cotting, Mrs. 
George D. Howe, George R. White, 
Mrs. F. T. Bradbury, Henry L. Higgin- 
son, W. B. Walker, Mrs. Wm. F. 
yenxs} = Mrs/s Joi: Io. 7+ Bremer, <S.:: P. 
Bremer, Mrs. Chas. Hemenway, W. J. 
Boardman, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. White- 
house, Mrs. John Sturgis, Mrs. James 
T. Fields, Mrs. Edward Wigglesworth 
and Mr. and Mrs. Roland C. Lincoln. 
- After the vote had been passed Mr. 
Lincoln thanked the citizens on behalf of 
Mrs. Lincoln and himself for the inter- 
est taken in this, and on motion of A. 
Cunningham the citizens expressed their 
appreciation for the kindly interest taken 
by Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln in this respect. 
Art. 3 of the warrant, to see if the 
town would purchase from O. T. Rob- 
erts piece of land on Rosedale avenue, 
opposite the Crowell Memorial chapel, 
and appropriate $350 forthe same, was 
presented by Frank P. Knight, who 
stated that this land was purchased by 
Mr. Roberts some five years ago at a 
time when the Memorial chapel was 
being completed and when it looked as 
though somebody else might purchase _ it 
and spoil, in a way, the surroundings of 
the new chapel. Mr. Roberts paid for 
it $500, and he has since paid interest 
and taxes on it, so that that property has 
cost about $600. A gentleman stands 
ready to pay $250 and the town is asked 
to pay $350. It would be his idea for 
the town to keep this land, improve and 
beautify it. 
‘The motion to purchase and pay $350 
was passed almost unanimously. 
‘Though it was not so stated in town 
meeting we have been informed by Mr. 
Roberts that he bought this land at the 
time the chapel was being completed and 
Miss Crowell, the donor of the chapel, 
intended, he thinks, to provide for its 
purchase as a part of her gift, but at her 
death no such provision was made. He 
spoke of the matter to her executor and 
he is the “‘friend,’’? who gives $250 to- 
ward the purchase price of the property. 
With the prospective removal of the 
building between the public library and 
the common this section of the town is 
to be considerably improved. Not only 
is the extent of the town property en- 
larged, throwing the public library build- 
ing, the Congregational church and the 
common into one area, as it were, but 
safety to travel is wonderfully improved, 
for with the building removed the road- 
way may be seen all the way along Union 
street from the Postoffice toa point on 
Central street above Knight’s coal wharf. 
The surrounding property will also be 
improved. 
The removal of the building will also 
take from the center of the town one of 
the oldest landmarks. While the exact 
date of the construction of this building 
is not known, it is known that it was 
built not many years after the Revolu- 
tionary War. 
The building has figured inthe various 
stages of the town’s history. In its fish- 
ing days it was used by Major Lee as a 
warehouse for the storage of fish; shoes 
were manufactured there at one time 
(1833) by John W. Mann; in cabinet 
making days it was used for the storage 
of furniture and in its manufacture, by 
J. P. Allen, and of late years it has served 
as the shopping center for the wealthy 
North Shore summer residents who come 
here to spend the warm months. 
When Major Lee died the building 
was bought by Major Crafts, a great- 
grandfather of G. F. Allen, the pres- 
sent occupant of the building, and he 
continued to use it as a warehouse for 
fish and then it was changed into a resi- 
dence, both up-stairs and down being 
used for this purpose. Mrs. Lucy Story 
Allen, Mr. Allen’s own mother, was 
married there in 1817, her father, Aaron 
Allen, then living there. 
The building was next used as a shoe 
factory by John W. Mann in the 30’s, 
shoes being manufactured here by hand 
for people of the village. 
It was bought by John P. Allen in 
1838 or ’40 and was used as a cabinet 
shop for the manufacture of furniture. 
In 1849 the building was purchased by 
Benjamin L. Allen of Boston, and he 
-leased it to Burnham & Gentlee for a dry 
goods and grocery store for ten years or 
so. ‘They remodelled it into a modern 
and up-to-date establishment, making 
the building into the present condition, 
with store underneath and _ tenement 
up-stairs. 
The next occupants of the stores were 
John Little who conducted a grocery in 
one end, Simeon Swett and brother, who 
had a dry goods store in the other. 
In war times Edward S. Vennard con- 
ducted a dry gooes store there, and in 
1869 George F. Allen started in busi- 
ness. He has occupied the premises 
longer than any of the other tenants, 
being in business there almost 40 years, 
selling out a year and a half agoto H. G. 
Nichols, who has since moved the dry 
goods branch of it to the Postoffice block. 
Mr. Allen moved into the tenement 
in 1877 and has since lived there. 
