The roaring '20s

Medieval Boston chronicles downtown Boston from the 1920s through today via a series of photos and narrative. Don't worry, not all the photos will get you depressed about what Boston used to be - check out the photo of the large "Premium Ham" billboard that used to be where Samuel Adams now glowers at the tourists in front of Faneuil Hall.

Striking is the medieval way space runs in the streets as rivulets defined by buildings. From the standpoint of figure-ground, this is the exact opposite of suburbia, where individual buildings sit objectified in infinite space that extends from here to Nepal and beyond.

Via Shimon.