Over at the website of the Boston Public Library, check out four amazing early silent films capturing la vie quotidian in the Hub in the early 1900s. [You can also read a brief history of the collection here.] It's fascinating stuff.
In one, Panoramic View of Boston from an Electric Car, shot by the Edison company in 1901, you can vicariously ride the T. Here's the summary from the Edison Film Company catalogue, September 1902:
Persons who have visited the "Hub," no doubt carried away with vivid recollections of Boston's famous system of Underground Transportation and this film takes the audience from the bright sunshine into the dim obscurity of the subway. The Underground stations and rows of Electric Arc lamps are plainly shown and, after traversing the tunnel for a considerable distance, the car finally emerges opposite the railroad depot.
Action-packed, Pee-wee. You can also ride the T up Boylston past Jordan Marsh and the BPL to Copley Square and beyond, courtesy of the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
Adventure-seekers can canoe down the Charles (1901) and take a dip in the chilly midwinter brine off the L Street Pier (1905), both activities you can still do today. If you can watch only one, the L Street clip is especially hilarious.
There's a lot about Boston that hasn't changed in the last century. Now, if you'll excuse me for a bit, the cinetrix is feeling homesick.
