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A panorama of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Brigham Circle, circa 1951.
In a recent Boston.com blog post, writer Jim Botticelli takes a look back in time at the Brigham Circle of 1948.
"It's where Huntington Ave. and Tremont St. intersect," he writes. "You take the 39 through it, or if you ride the streetcar that only goes as far as Heath St., you travel fairly well to Brigham Circle from Park St. It's always busy, crowded with residents from Mission Hill, students and staff from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. Don't forget the perennial hospital flow, the essence of then-Hanlon Square, now Brigham Circle, named after the late Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. It's now called Brigham and Women's Hospital of course."
The post shares two then-Hanlon Square photos from 1948, courtesy of the City of Boston Archives: a snapshot of Huntington Ave. with the front of the old Peter Bent visible behind a row of trees, and a photo taken near the corner of Francis Street, looking down a busy Huntington Ave.
"From Hanlon Square to Brigham Circle," Botticelli writes. "The name may change but the song remains the same. Hospital Corner."
Of course, today's Brigham Circle is vibrant with residents, students, hospital employees, visitors and diverse local businesses and restaurants, including Flames, Mama's Place, Green T Coffee Shop and many more. Construction at 15 Francis St. is making progress; BWH's new 400-car Patient Parking Garage and the Thea and James Stoneman Centennial Park will bring welcome underground patient parking and green space above-ground to the area next spring. The original facade of 15 Francis St. will remain, and lighting will be added to showcase the building's columns at night. The lawn and foreground will be recreated in the spirit of the original design-but with more grass, lawn and plantings-giving future generations of BWHers and visitors a peek into the past and BWH's rich history.
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