This
article appeared in the March 4, 2004 Jewish Advocate.
Digitally
mapping the past
By
Susie Davidson
Advocate
Correspondent
In a
remarkable application of digitized technology, Brookline resident Peter
Kastner not only restored a set of town maps dating from earlier this century,
but has made them accessible to web surfers. His Community Heritage Maps, begun
a little over a year ago to further a long interest in urban history, now
includes ten additional towns, with 60 more cities and towns set to go online
this year. A complete set of 24 maps of Brookline in 1919, based upon a
Brookline atlas of that year, can be viewed and purchased at The Picture Place
at 320A Harvard St.
Kastner,
whose 30-year career in health care management included four years as the
Assistant Director of the Jewish Home of New Haven, took advantage of the
stateÕs early retirement program to pursue the project. ÒFor our lives to
having meaning it is important that we know how about the history of our homes
and immediate neighborhood,Ó he says. He selected Brookline as one of the first
communities because of its significant number of remarkable pre-1919 homes.
For
many years, Kastner had been aware of old city atlas maps. ÒI felt I could
satisfy peopleÕs desire to connect with their communities by providing faithful
replicas of these beautiful maps,Ó he said. The 1919 Brookline maps were
produced at the high point of map art, which merged both industrial printing
and handcraft painting. Many such transitional industrial/handcrafted art
pieces gave way to offset printing following World War II, and have now moved
into digital formatting. Kastner has carefully maintained the 80- to 100-year
old unique character of the hand strokes of the original craftsman, and removed
stray marks and stains. Originally meant for insurance and real estate purposes
and mainly available at rare bookstores, de-acquisition sales at libraries,
insurance or engineering firms, the maps include detailed land use and
ownership information which can provide modern homeowners, architects,
preservationists and city planners with complex community resources, difficult
to assemble from ordinary sources. Ideal for gifts for real estate closings or
special events, the digitized versions can be individually sized.
ÒCommunity
Heritage Maps combines cutting-edge e-commerce technology with brick-and-mortar
local frame shops, historical societies and local gathering spots,Ó says
Kastner, who aims to provide local retail outlets with an online catalogue of
prints showing neighborhood history, which will include individual building footprints,
structural information, ownership, urban landscaping, historical names and
ecological aspects. He is seeking additional viewing spots in community
gathering places like coffee shops and local restaurants.
Kastner, who is married to Clare Kastner, a nurse at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Day Care Program, has two sons, Jonathan of New York and William of Xian, China. He graduated in 1968 from Boston University with a degree in history, where he also earned a masterÕs degree in business administration in 1972. While teaching in 1969, he developed a course outline on "History as Therapy.Ó ÒIt integrated history with family biography and helped students explore their physical world,Ó he recalled. ÒMy own perspective on life was shaped by my fatherÕs memories as an immigrant from Hungry and my motherÕs life in the Jewish Community in the West End and Roxbury and Dorchester,Ó he added. Kastner and his mother lived at her sisterÕs family in Grove Hall until his father returned from the war, and following a time in a basement apartment on Warren Street, they moved to Newton in 1948.
ÒNow,
while restoring the maps of the West End, Roxbury and Dorchester, I am often
reminded of streets that my mother and aunt would reminisce about, adding names
of friends and long-lost local institutions including temples, function halls
and stores,Ó said Kastner, who is active in open space conservation, was a past
president of the Newton Conservators and a past president of the Friends of
Nahanton Park. He is now an alternate member of NewtonÕs Park and Recreation
Commission and the MayorÕs Advisory Comprehensive Planning Committee. KastnerÕs work was on exhibit at the
Hebrew Rehabilitation Center over the month of February.
For
more info, call 617-943-8795, email cpkastner@rcn.com, or visit communityheritagemaps.com.