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Boston (Mass.). City Council

 Organization

Historical note

The City Charter (Chapter 121 of the Acts of 1821) established the form of government as a Mayor; a Board of Aldermen, consisting of eight elected at large; and a Common Council, of forty-eight elected by wards; to be called when conjoined, "the City Council." The Mayor and Aldermen were vested with the administration of the police, and executive power of the corporation generally, with specific enumerated powers. All other powers belonging to the corporation were vested in the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council exercised by concurrent vote.

Found in 58 Collections and/or Records:

Board of Land Commissioners proceedings

 Series
Identifier: 0100.010
Scope and Contents An ordinance establishing a Board of Public Land Commissioners was passed . This board was abolished by ordinance passed on March 13, 1855. Ordinance passed December 26, 1856, amended December 28, 1857 and May 8, 1861, established a Board of Land Commissioners which was responsible for the care and management of public lands belonging to the City of Boston so far as it related to improvements, sales and disposal of the same. The Joint Committee of the City Council along with one...
Dates: 1855 January-March, 1857 January-August, 1860, 1863-1864

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 6 November 1996

 Item — Box VHS 2: Series IV
Identifier: 0100002a-002-1
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 6 November 1996

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 20 November 1996

 Item — Box VHS 2: Series IV
Identifier: 0100002a-002-4
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 20 November 1996

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 23 October 1996

 Item — Box VHS 1: Series IV
Identifier: 0100002a-001-14
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 23 October 1996

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 9 October 1996

 Item — Box VHS 1: Series IV
Identifier: 0100002a-001-9
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 9 October 1996

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 2 October 1996

 Item — Box VHS 1: Series IV
Identifier: 100002a-001-5
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 2 October 1996

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 25 September 1996

 Item — Box VHS 1: Series IV
Identifier: 0100002a-001-2
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 25 September 1996

Boston City Council meeting video recording, 1996 December 4

 Item — Box VHS 2: Series IV
Identifier: 0100002a-002-008
Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 1996 December 4

Building Codes

 Series
Identifier: 5410.006
Scope and Contents

Printed volumes of legislation relating to buildings for the years 1886, 1887, 1892, 1895, 1901, 1915, 1921, 1944, 1954, 1962, 1964 and 1970.

Dates: 1886-1970

City Council Committee hearing transcripts

 Collection
Identifier: 0100.002b
Scope and Contents note This collection includes transcripts of City Council committee hearings dating from 1886-1937. It is not a comprehensive collection of all committee hearings from this time period. The transcripts in this collection are filed chronologically in the record cartons. However, the transcripts are organized by committee in this finding aid. The transcripts are typewritten verbatim records of hearings on various topics including building limits, bicycle path on the common, automobile vehicles,...
Dates: 1876-1946 with gaps

City Council Committee on Establishing a City Hospital records

 Series
Identifier: 0140.022
Scope and Contents note

This series is divided into two sub series. Sub series I: Committee records includes the notes, minutes, reports and orders of the Committee. Sub series II: Correspondence includes the letters received in response to the Committee's October 1849 inquiry to specific physicians, and also the letters received in March and April 1850 in response to the circular sent to the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Dates: 1849-1850

City Council Committee on Petition of Isaac Adams records

 Series — Box SB - 008: Series II, Folder: 14-15
Identifier: 0140.027
Scope and Contents note

The South Boston Memorial is a long petition signed by nine men including Isaac Adams which was presented to the Mayor on June 10, 1847. It expressed concerns regarding the need for paved and graded streets, pure water, and expenditures for services such as lighting, police, and schools in South Boston. The Petition for Reservoir and Public Square is a shorter document signed by numerous citizens, dated June 14, 1848.

Dates: 1847-1848

City Council Committee on the Fire Department

 Collection
Identifier: 0140.014
Scope and Contents note The City Council Committee on the Fire Department records date from 1816-1844, bulk dates from 1831-1841. The collection contains fire department records and correspondence which document the transactions, personnel, activities and growth of the department from a subscription organization to a professional fire department. The original organization has been retained as much as possible, including the title Sundry Papers & Returns, which reflect the variety of the contents. The...
Dates: 1816-1844 with gaps (bulk, 1831-1841)

City Council Committee on the House of Industry records

 Series
Identifier: 0140.021
Scope and Contents note This collection is composed primarily of reports. Some reports are from Directors of the House of Industry to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commmon Council. These generally cover such items as property inventories, statements of receipts and expenditures, and tallies of inmates accepted and discharged. Others are from Joint Committees composed of both branches of City Council which are reporting about the House of Industry. A copy of the legislation granting authority to the Directors of the...
Dates: 1822-1826

City Council Committee on Water records relating to Spot Pond

 Series — Box SB - 009: Series I; Series II, Folder: 13-14
Identifier: 0140.026
Scope and Contents note

This collection consists of the records of the Water Committtee during its consideration in 1845 of Spot Pond as a source of pure water for the City of Boston. In addition to motions and minutes, it contains correspondence about measuring the water at Spot Pond, citizen resolutions in favor of the introduction of pure water, and petitions in support of the Spot Pond Aqueduct Project.

Dates: 1845

City Council Committee records

 Collection
Identifier: 0140.001
Scope and Contents note This collection includes records of various City Council committees during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The collection spans the years 1828-1912 with the bulk of the material dating from 1860-1895. These records were kept by the Clerk of Committees and include minutes of committee meetings, correspondence, reports, bids, petitions, programs, etc. Committees represented include Police, Fire, Claims, Arrangements, Common and Public Grounds, Underground Wires, Public...
Dates: 1828-1936 (bulk, 1860-1895)

City Council Committee records

 Collection
Identifier: 0140.031
Scope and Contents

Includes files of the following committees: Government Operations; Education; Public Safety; Information Technology; Environment and Historic Preservation; Hunger and Homelessness; Whole; Residency; Youth Violent Crime Prevention; University and Community Relations; New Bostonians; Human Rights; Housing; Economic Development and Planning; and other miscellaneous committees.

Dates: 1986-2017 (bulk, 2000-2017)

City Council Committees on Celebrations records

 Collection
Identifier: 0140.013
Scope and Contents

Records of committees appointed to oversee public celebrations for primarily the Fourth of July but also including Bunker Hill Day, Patriots' Day, Labor Day, Eulogies, etc. Includes correspondence, applications, programs, tickets, entertainment applications, etc.

Dates: 1859-1896

City Council correspondence relating to the Sale of Eastern Township Land owned by City of Boston in Maine

 Series — Box SB - 008: Series II, Folder: 1-2
Identifier: 0140.020
Scope and Contents note

These materials are primarily composed of letters from Hill & Starrett to Mayor Harrison Gray Otis or Francis Jackson, Land Commissioner. They also include offers or inquiries from various persons interested in purchasing the property. Two or three copies of letters from Mayor Otis are included. A hand-drawn map of the property can be found in the City Council Docket Documents, # 1833-0074-B3.

Dates: 1829-1833

City Council Joint Committee on Alien Passengers records

 Collection
Identifier: 0140.011
Scope and Contents note The records of the Joint Committee on Alien Passengers span the years 1847-1848. Records of the Consulting Physicians from the 1830s which were found stored with the Alien Passenger Committee records were separated. The collection includes records not only created by the Committee but also submitted to the Committee by private citizens, the Inspector of Alien Passengers, the Port Physician, and the Resident Physician at the Deer Island Hospital. The Committee on Alien Passengers...
Dates: 1847-1848

City Council meeting and hearing transcripts and recordings

 Collection
Identifier: 0100.002a
Scope and Contents note The City Council meeting and hearing transcripts span the years 1947-2015. This collection has been divided into 6 series: Series I - City Council debate; Series II - Committee hearing transcripts; Series III - Audiotape recordings; Series IV - Videotape recordings; Series V - DVD recordings; and Series VI - Digital recordings. Transcripts and recordings of City Council meetings and hearings are fairly complete from 1947-1970 and 1996-2015. There appears to be missing transcripts or...
Dates: 1947-2017 with gaps

City Council orders

 Series — Box 1
Identifier: 2200.022
Scope and Contents

Three bound volumes of City Council financial orders sent to the Auditing Department, 1918 October 21-1922 December 4.

Dates: 1918 October 21-1922 December 4

City Council orders

 Series — Box 1: [Barcode: 00000446]
Identifier: 5060.006
Scope and Contents

City Council orders to the Board of Street Commissioners relative to laying out streets, extending streets and providing estimates.

Dates: circa 1871-1910

City Council photographs

 Series
Identifier: 0100.013
Scope and Contents

Includes a framed portrait of members of the City Council of 1925.

Dates: 1925

City Council proceedings

 Collection
Identifier: 0100.001
Scope and Contents note The City Council proceedings includes official records of the Board of Aldermen, 1822-1909; the Common Council, 1822-1909; and the Boston City Council, 1910-2015 with gaps. This collection has been divided into 5 series: Series I - Board of Aldermen; Series II - Common Council; Series III - City Council; Series IV - Published minutes; and Series V - Dockets filed separately. The Board of Aldermen series includes minutes of the meetings of the Aldermen from 1822-1909; indexed...
Dates: 1822-2016

City Council Quarantine Committee reports from keeper of Rainsford Island

 Series — Box SB - 008: Series II, Folder: 12-13
Identifier: 0140.023
Scope and Contents note Rainsford Island, in Boston Harbor, was used as a quarantine facility beginning in 1737. This collection of reports by Island Keeper Moses L. Hobart, includes about 40 items. They cover the period from January 9, 1822 through November 30, 1822. In the winter season the reports have to do with such maintenance concerns as painting and repairs. By the end of May, the reports concern the arrival of sailing ships (mostly brigs, but also schooners and sloops). The name and captain of...
Dates: 1822 January-November

City Council reports and publications

 Series
Identifier: 0100.015
Dates: 1804-1990 with gaps

City Councilor Brian J. McLaughlin records

 Series
Identifier: 0120.002
Scope and Contents

Brian J. McLaughlin served as City Councilor for District 9: Allston-Brighton from 1984-1995. Includes subject files, reports, correspondence, etc. This collection is unprocessed.

Dates: 1984-1995