This pair of images shows the same two buildings, both significantly altered. On the right in the historic photograph is the five-story Morse Building, constructed in 1893 by Asa P. Morse, a prominent Cambridge businessman. (J. H. Corcoran’s was one of Central Square’s premier department stores.) Today the building is only two stories high: three stories were removed during the Great Depression to lower the property taxes. The four-story building next door (1869) has kept its height but lost its decorative cornice.

Historic image: Boston Elevated Railway Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission, 1907

Photograph: Phyllis Bretholtz, 2010

“Central Square: Then and Now” portrays the history and vibrancy of Central Square over the past century. The project is a collaboration of the Clear Conscience Café, the Cambridge Historical Society, the Cambridge Historical Commission, and Phyllis Bretholtz.