Always Something Doing: A History of Boston's Infamous Scollay Square

Once the very heart of Boston, Scollay Square is still fondly remembered as the site of the Old Howard theater and other burlesque show, Joe & Nemo's hot dog stand, the Crawford House, and an array of tattoo parlors and bars. From the late 1800's to the late 1950's, Scollay Square was an infamous attraction or sailors on leave, students skipping school, anyone just looking for a good time in Boston. The Square had been a Boston landmark since the days of the Puritans. The Sons of Liberty met there during the Revolution. Abolitionists published newspapers from there during the Civil War. Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell set up shop there for a while. In 1961, Scollay Square was demolished to make way for progress in the form of Government Center, but in 1987 the name of the Government Center subway shop was officially changed back to Scollay Square due to popular demand. In Always Something Doing, David Kruh tells the story of Scollay Square from Boston's founding to the present, concentrating on the Square's heyday as an entertainment district. It is part history, part reminiscence, and part cautionary tale about the process of urban renewal. Illustrated with dozens of then-and-now photographs of the area, Always Something Doing will bring back a part of Boston now buried under the bricks of Government Center, but very much alive in the memories of those who played hooky, got tattooed, or saw Sally Keith twirl her tassels there.