THE NANCY, NANTASKET BEACH, FEBRUARY 20, 1927

The Nancy, a five masted schooner, was shipwrecked on Nantasket Beach during the storm of February 20, 1927.  Until she was salvaged, dynamited and burned to the sand, thousands visited the scene.

GRANT’S ROLLER COASTER, NANTASKET BEACH, 1893

Grant’s Roller Coaster was reconstructed in 1898 for the third time after being destroyed by two previous storms.  Located on the beach prior to the first amusement park, each amusement was a private concession.  John Au’s carousel is located to the right and the Nantasket Livery to the left would board your horse for $.50 a day.  In this second reconstruction of Grant’s Roller Coaster, a portion of track is shown spanning the roof of the old Rockland Café.

NANTASKET CAFÉ AND NANTASKET BRANCH TROLLEY circa 1920

A long arcade joins the Nantasket Hotel to the Nantasket Café which culminated at the large chimney of the hotel laundry.  The Café restaurant was devoted to chowders and fish dinners; the hotel fare leaned toward choice game and meats.  A perfect complement to the Nantasket Hotel, the Nantasket Café catered to transients visiting the beach from steamboats and trolleys.  The Café lodged hotel help, unescorted women, and children.

GOVERNOR ANDREW AND HULL YACHT CLUB 1895

WAITING STATION, NANTASKET, circa 1940’s

Wade’s Crossing was the site of the Nantasket Beach Station at Steamboat Wharf. In 1895 steamboats from Boston would bring travelers to the station and transport them by open-air electric cars of the Old Colony Rail Road Company to various stations and hotels along the line. Many beachgoers would disembark here for a stay at the luxurious Nantasket Hotel and return to Boston via cooling rides on the many various steamboats.  Happy travelers waited  here, refreshing themselves with ice cream and salt water taffy before beginning their journeys.

HULL VILLAGE SCHOOL and METHODIST CHURCH 1920’s

Prominent in Hull Village in early 1800 was the Hull Village School, located across the street from the 1848 Town Hall and next to the 1880 Hull Methodist-Episcopalian Church. The school was demolished after World War II. The cupola and clock tower were saved and installed on the new Hull Memorial School at L Street.

HURLEY’S BATH HOUSE, NANTASKET circa 1930

The original building, located in Paragon Park, was bought from Mr. Jacobson by Arthur Hurley and his mother, Maria Hurley in 1925. They relocated and enlarged the building at the foot of Atlantic Hill. They rented bathing suits, towels, and beach umbrellas; providing showers, private dressing rooms and lockers to bathers. Hurley’s was especially busy during World War II as young men took their dates on outings to the beach using public transportation. Hurley’s Bath House operated until 1971 when it was demolished.

Winner: Honorable Mention, Weymouth Art Association, April, 2001

CENTRAL FIRE STATION – JULY 4, 1930

The Central Fire Station was the home of Hull’s original fire department organized in 1886.  Firemen were always kept busy fighting fires originating in the many wooden structures in Hull. 

Winner: Third Place, Weymouth Art Association, December 2001

HULL LIBRARY AT ELM SQUARE 1940

Once the summer home of Boston poet and editor of “the Pilot,” John Boyle O’Reilly, this Queen Anne style building has been the Hull Public Library since 1916. A favorite meeting place for young and old, the library is a famous landmark in historic Hull Village.

NANTASKET AVENUE 1915

Looking south toward Green Hill and the luxurious Atlantic House, Nantasket Avenue stretches throughout the Town of Hull. Throngs flocked to the great hotels and enjoyed riding the electric trolleys, as they visited the sights and the numerous hotels throughout the town. The imposing Hotel Nantasket dominated the wide Avenue and leads the eye to the original entrance to Paragon Park with the beginning of the Giant Coaster visible in the distance. 

Winner: Honorable Mention, Hull Artist's Studio Connection, April 2003

ICE SKATERS, HULL VILLAGE

Winter weather brings out the hockey players and ice skaters on the flooded playground we called The Hull Village Pond.  Many happy hours were spent here, watched over by the Methodist Church, Telegraph Tower and the historic old Town Hall/Village Fire Station. We would lace our skates and warm our feet in the back of the firehouse.

CLAM DIGGERS

Many a delicious shellfish dinner is enjoyed in New England and beyond due to industrious clamdiggers working to supply our many restaurants. Tourists will view many clamdiggers at work along the bays and inlets of the Massachusetts coast.

DALEY AND WANZER

Daley and Wanzer, Hull’s landmark movers, began business in the 1880’s. Charles H. Fleck, Sr. purchased the business in 1915 and incorporated in 1916. Daley and Wanzer has remained in the Fleck family for four generations and  maintains an additional  establishment in West Palm Beach, Florida.  In 1905, their new Mack truck is loaded for a trip to New York. Mr. Wanzer (in white) Mr. Daley (the driver) posed for this historic photo with their crew.

THE DAMON SCHOOL circa 1930's