This Elmer Chickering photograph was taken in 1883 from Lower Village looking across the old drawbridge into Dock Square. Elmer Chickering of 21 West St Boston came through town in his handmade photography saloon during the summers of 1882 and 1883. You can recognize his cabinet cards by their gilt Chickering watermark, though the watermark is often faded somewhat on the cards that have survived. The 1883 railroad platform can just be seen at the far right here so we know this picture was taken no earlier than 1883. Notice that the 1878 Brown Block now known as Colonial Pharmacy stands alone on that side of Spring Street. The Norton House wouldn’t be built on the waterfront across Spring Street until spring of 1884. Notice there were hayscales and a water fountain in Lower Village similar to the ones in Dock Square during that era.