Newton residents and others are invited to a book launch party celebrating the print publication of local author Ken Newcomb’s history of Newton Upper Falls, The Makers of the Mold: A History of Newton Upper Falls.

Sponsored by the Friends of Hemlock Gorge, the party will be held 7-9pm on Friday, February 4, at Echo Bridge Office Park, 383 Elliot Street, in the old Mills Falls Restaurant premises. [Read more →]

Click to visit Historic Newton's site.

I visited the opening reception of Historic Newton’s city maps exhibit last week. Wow. On your next trip through Newtonville, swing by and take a look for yourself.

“Mapping a New Town: 1714-1874″ gives museum visitors a glimpse into how our city looked more than a century ago. One of the most striking scenes is an oil painting of pastoral fields and the railroad running along the Charles River — an area of the city known today for the village of Lower Falls, the Riverside MBTA station, Route 128, and a golf course.

If you like maps, don’t miss the museum’s collection of bird’s eye maps from the 1890s, which are displayed along the museum’s central staircase.

As reported in an earlier post, looking at the history of our land use and village center development is a good starting point for discussions about our city’s future. You may view many Newton maps in the city’s online Map Library.

As we plan for the future of Newton’s village centers, the best place to start may be our past. Our city has a rich history that dates back to its separation from Cambridge in the late 1600s.

We are lucky to have Historic Newton, which has organized an exhibit — Mapping a New Town: 1714-1874 — to illustrate how our city looked more than a century ago.

In this new exhibit, “Newton takes shape on rare maps and is seen in prints, photographs, and a fine landscape painting, the Great Curve on the Boston and Worcester Railroad at Newton Lower Falls, on loan from a private collection.”

Come to the opening reception of the exhibit at 6pm on Tuesday, November 9 at Historic Newton, 527 Washington Street. Admission is free that night.