Off the Bricks

The 1852 Hunt · STOP 08 · Financial District

Every address in Boston is filed under a fire alarm box, a bit like a zip code.

Every address in Boston is filed under a fire alarm box, a bit like a zip code, and when a call comes in, dispatch names the box. In 1852 a box's name was a rhythm on the city's bells: dots, a pause, a dash. The box numbers around Post Office Square follow a pattern you can check on the corner.

This is stop 8 of The 1852 Hunt. Walk it free in the app.

The plate

Every Address Has a Box

Collected on site

01020304050607080910111213
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Milk Street at Federal Street
Directions

1

WBUR's example of the dispatch voice: 'Nearest Box: 1864 Pleasant and Roche Street,' for a car crash on Pleasant Street in Dorchester, sending Engine 17 and Ladder 7.

More footnotes on the story card, in the app.

Fire alarm box, Firsts, Hidden in plain sight, Works after dark

In these collections: After Dark, Firsts (Contested)

Near Downtown Crossing · Near State · Near Government Center · Near Park Street · Near Aquarium · Near South Station

Sources (9)