The poster urging a second term for Herbert Hoover — “Keep Him on the Job” — dates the older photo to 1932. (Hoover would lose to Franklin Roosevelt in November.) The block of one-story retail buildings is largely unchanged, at least physically, in the newer photo, though with different stores and, of course, later-model cars parked in front. Businesses in this block in 1932 included: Bell the Tailor; the Vincent Shoppe (a beauty salon); A & R Bros., grocers; and others. The large apartment building at 1440 Beacon is just visible at the left edge of the newer photo. (1932 photo courtesy of Public Library of Brookline)
Ken Liss is president of the Brookline Historical Society.