1842 - Commercial activity

It is easy to assume that the block was always a green space, but very early on the church divided their block into lots for rental income. This 1899 map shows that the area became significantly built up with commercial buildings and cross streets—Francis Street and the east-west Commercial Street. Maps as early as 1842 show that there were homes along this stretch. The area was populated with poor Irish Catholic families before they were displaced by the growing manufacturing pressures.