Dorchester Illustration no. 2386 Morton Street at Blue Hill Avenue
Blue Hill Avenue began as the Brush Hill Turnpike. It was chartered in 1805 and although the Town of Milton disapproved, the turnpike was completed in 1809. In 1810 an Act was passed applying to this road, providing that the corporation should not collect toll ” from anyone on military duty, on religious dutv, coming to or from any grist mill, or on the common or ordinary business of family concerns, or from anyone who had not been out of town with a loaded team or carriage.” An interesting comparison with later days may be drawn from a legislature’s assuming that every toll gatherer would be able to tell the nature of his customer’s business and how far he had been or was going. Source: The Turnpikes of New England … By Frederic J. Wood. (Boston: Marshall Jones Company, 1919).
This photograph, dated 1941, shows the intersection of Morton Street and Blue Hill Avenue.
In the photo the building at the left between Morton Street and Rhoades Street, where the Morton Theatre was located, has been replaced by a police station. Notice the number of billboards and the cars and the trolleys. The trolleys no longer run along Blue Hill Avenue. Instead there are now 3 lanes of traffic on each side. The three decker on the right is still there at the intersection. On the left there is still a Mobil station where you can just make out the Mobilgas sign in the photo.