Brighton and Allston Through Time outlines a neighborhood of the city of
Boston which was once known as Little Cambridge before it became an
independent town from Cambridge in 1807. With contemporary photographs
by Peter B. Kingman, Anthony M. Sammarco has created a fascinating book
of 19th- and 20th-century images that chronicles the history and
development over the last hundred years. Once renowned throughout New
England for its cattle industry as well as its horticultural gardens,
Brighton and Allston became a well-known town. With prosperity, an
ever-increasing population and proximity to the city of Boston, Brighton
and Allston was annexed to the city in 1874 and henceforth became known
as Ward 25. Over the century that followed, the neighborhood saw new
places of worship, public and parochial schools, and housing ranging
from one-family and two-family houses which were quickly augmented by
three deckers and the largescale building of apartment buildings. During
the first three decades of the 20th century, Brighton and Allston saw
its population double, from 27,000 residents in 1910 to 47,000 residents
by 1925 and today, with a population of 75,000 people, Brighton and
Allston has a rich and ever evolving history, with demographics which
are constantly in flux.