Sears' Block General View, Restoration in Progress, July 1967 (Photo credit: Historic American Buildings Survey Collection, Library of Congress)
The photo above shows the Sears' Block during its renovation as part of the Government Center urban renewal program. The site is probably best known as the present location of the steaming tea kettle, a Boston landmark. The signs in the second story windows announce that Sears' Block will be the new home of the tea kettle. It had previously been located around the corner on Court Street.
An emailer asked for more information about urban renewal in Boston and a good place to start is Thomas O'Connor's Building A New Boston: Politics and Urban Renewal 1950-1970. I wrote a review essay of Building A New Boston which may be of interest. Please disregard my opening paragraph, which now seems dated (how could I have thought the Big Dig would cost only $10 billion?).
I would also direct readers to the Library of Congress' American Memory Collection, which is a treasure trove of maps and photographs and ephemera documenting the American Experience, like the HABS photograph above.
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