Corinth Street at Belgrade Avenue, Winter 1945-1946
This great photo was taken at the top of the stairs leading from Robert Street to the Communter Rail T Station during the winter of 45-46, according to the Chevrolet billboard for their newest 1946 model. The Esso gas station, which you can just see the top of, was in the small area now known as the Alexander The Great Park. When we were kids in the sixties, the owner of the gas station was nice enough to let us use his bathroom, which is unheard of nowadays. The building's back and sides were dug into the cliff only about six feet - it was a very unique building, and if you visit the park you'll be able to see its outline.
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The ornate building on the left corner of Corinth was built as the Roslindale Cooperative Bank; it now houses the wonderful Square Root Coffeehouse. The group of storefronts on the right corner are now home to Sullivan's Pharmacy. If you look closely down Corinth, you can also see a gabled three-family home almost on the corner with Cohasset Street; that home has been replaced by the large one-story brick structure housing a bank. And if you peer all the way down Cornith, you can just see the old Firehouse on Washington Street where the Library is today. And Corinth was a two-way street!
Corinth Street at Belgrade Avenue, early 1970s
Hard times hit Rozzie Square when the Dedham Mall opened in the mid-sixties. Most of the businesses closed as people flocked to the malls to spend their money. Many of the buildings sat boarded up and empty. This block of buildings, a former beehive of commercial activity in the 1946 photo, was soon torn down; Sullivan's Pharmacy was built on the site and is still there today.