A poorhouse, a casino

The Alford Street Almshouse, one of several in Charlestown, was located in what is now Sullivan Square, near the rotary. Less than a mile away, across the Alford Street Bridge toward Everett, lies the newly built Encore Casino. The close juxtaposition, of a house for poor people, with a casino, where people might find themselves ultimately headed for the poorhouse, was too fascinating not to explore.

Almshouses (poorhouses) were first established in Britain in the tenth century. Their purpose was to provide to the ‘poor and distressed’ a place to live. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony the first almshouse was built, in Boston, in 1662. After it burnt down, the town voted to rebuild it, specifying its use to be for ‘relief of the poor, the aged and those incapacitated for labor.’ Its charity would reach the unemployed, and those who spend their days in ‘jolliness and tippling’. Almshouses were built in towns throughout Massachusetts, and on a few of the Boston Harbor Islands. At their height there were more than 220 almshouses in Massachusetts.

Alford Street Almshouse
In addition to smaller almshouses on Elm Street and in Winthrop Square in Charlestown, this large house was built on Alford Street in 1849. It was four stories, made of brick with two wings. On either end were sun rooms. One half of the building was for men, the other half for women. Each section had two or three dormitories and the large dormitory had as many as thirty beds. The two living sections were kept separate from each other, each with its own dining room. The kitchen and laundry were common areas. Husbands ate with their wives in the women’s dining room. There was an infirmary but no hospital. Those needing extensive medical care went to the hospital at Long Island.

When Charlestown merged into Boston in 1873, Alford Street Almshouse changed its name to the Boston Almshouse for Women and Aged Couples. Chandler Eastman, a veteran of the Civil War, was its superintendent.

The following are brief narratives about Peter, John and Mary, residents at the almshouse. Their names are fictional. Their stories are composites.

• Peter Doherty. Age 78, was born in Ireland. He lived in Boston since 1842, except between 1859 and 1872, when he was in California. Before he went to California he built and owned two houses. On his return from California he was robbed of a considerable sum of money. Since 1883 he has been in the almshouse 30 times. He is occasionally intemperate .
• John J. ORourke was born in Charlestown in 1863. His father at one time paid taxes on real estate. John is a teamster, intemperate. He left his wife about eight years ago on account of her intemperate habits. He has never needed aid until the present. He needs medical treatment.
• Mary Griffin. Age 69 was born in Scotland. Very intemperate. She has been in the House of Correction 24 times for drunkenness and vagrancy. The last time was in June, 1897. She has been in and out of the almshouse 15 times in past 15 years. She is extremely troublesome wherever she is. https://www.seniorliving.org/history/1898-bostons-pauper-institutions/

Encore Casino

Encore Casino opened in June, 2019. The casino covers thirty-three acres and was built for the total cost of $2.6 billion. Wynn Resorts paid $35 million for the land, a little more than one million dollars per acre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encore_Boston_Harbor.

There are 671 hotel rooms in the main Encore Boston Harbor tower. For opening night a room started at $777. https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2019/07/15/encore-boston-harbor-opening-week-revenue/

The Fate of the Almshouse

In 1911, the Boston Infirmary Trustees, with the approval of Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald, voted to sell the Alford Street almshouse to the Boston Elevated Railway Company for $72,000. The sale included the 2.3 acres surrounding the house. ($24,000 per acre in 1911, about 2.1 million in today’s dollars). The Alford Street house was demolished and the land used as
part of the elevated railway extension into Malden.