More images below. Click on image for a larger photo
<Reconstruction Photo Page#2>

Here is a photo showing the project to extend and widen Brookline Boulevard from West Liberty to Pioneer Avenue along the Pittsburgh Railways right-of-way. Work is being done below the intersection with Kenilworth Street, near the Fleming Bus Stop. The project was completed in 1935. Previously, this section of Brookline Boulevard was used for trolley traffic only, and the Boulevard itself ran down what is now Bodkin Street. This was one of the community infrastructure initiatives of Brookline's Joint Civic Committee, formed in the 1930s.

This new widened extension of the Boulevard was a great improvement for vehicular traffic. It was laid with cobblestones, or Belgian Blocks, and the trolley tracks ran along the center of the looping roadway. Over the years, the stones, despite their durablilty and longevity, became something of a nuisance to those of us who had to make the bumpy drive down this stretch of the Boulevard. They were murder on a car's suspension and it became sort of a game to see if you could "ride the tracks" for a smoother ride.

Back in 1935, however, this was not on the planners minds, and the new extension of the Boulevard was a welcomed improvement, stones or no stones. The infamous cobblestones remained until the 1980s, when this section of the Boulevard was finally paved with asphalt. The cobblestones and accompanying trolley tracks are still there, underneath the roadway. When winter potholes develop, you can occasionally peer into the crevices and find these treasures from the past.