Ah the elusive “angled building” (as I like to call it). It's been a mystery in my research about the building you see to the left side of the photo, across from the block of 4 box cars on the right (it's also been the banner photo for 4 years now). It's dark & angles not only off of Hayward Street, but also along the PRR's tracks. I guessed at what the building was, but without a lot of information, it was just guesses.
Then Patrick Kelly shared a Sanborn Map of Cambridge from 1930 & lo & behold – it's Cambridge Wholesale (thank you Patrick)! He shared the Sanborn map with me back in May 2020 & you can clearly see “Cambridge Wholesale” on the map.
Take a look at the 1918 Sandborn Map. You'll notice that Lot 217 & 219 are occupied by residential buildings, but in the 1930 Sanborn Map, Cambridge Wholesale occupies both lots.
I don't have a ton of information on Cambridge Wholesale other than they dealt with getting groceries wholesale & selling & distributing to the surrounding area. They don't show on the PRR's C.T. 1000 E, dated November 1, 1923 (which makes sense because they're not showing in the 1918 Sandborn Map, but show on the 1930 Sandborn Map). I don't know how long they were in business, but they don't show on the PRR's C.T. 1000 E, May 1, 1945, but E.M. Skinner, Jr. & Company does.
So now this begs the question – did Cambridge Wholesale change hands & become the E.M. Skinner, Jr. & Company? E.M. Skinner was also a wholesale grocer.
Looks like I need to do more research, but this appears to be a start.
