Boston from Corey's Hill, 1864
Freeman Richardson stood on Corey's Hill in Brookline and looked northeast toward the city. The foreground is semi-rural, trees, open fields, scattered houses, while Boston proper rises in the middle distance, its church spires and State House dome marking the skyline. The Back Bay is still unfilled tidal flat, a wide gap between the Public Garden and the far shore. This ground-level panoramic format was popular in the 1860s, offering a perspective that bird's-eye views could not: the city as a person standing on a hilltop would actually see it, during the final year of the Civil War.
- The unfilled Back Bay between the city proper and Brookline. It's still open water and mudflat in 1864.
- The State House dome is visible on the skyline, a familiar landmark for orienting relative to the modern city.
- The pastoral foreground: Brookline in 1864 was still countryside, with scattered houses and open fields separating it from Boston.
All prints are high-quality reproductions made from museum-grade scans at 300 DPI. Depending on the original scan dimensions, some prints may include white fill along the edges.