Here's another view.

I remember Dudley Street Station in the late 1960s -- the streetcars had been replaced by buses. It was a dreary, dirty place. I doubt they had spent a dollar on paint in a generation. On the approach from the south on the elevated train, there was a sharp turn to get into the station. The train would lean hard to one side, and scared the life out of many people. The wheels would squeal and the train would come to a stop right as it leaned over the farthest. On the other hand, it was a lot faster than buses or streetcars.

The design signified "barber shop." Another one can be seen here: https://www.shorpy.com/node/5742

I was interested in the sign for the Blue Store. According to Wikipedia, "A store known as The Blue Store was located at the intersection of Washington and Warren streets in Dudley since 1699. Many remember the furniture store there known as Ferdinand's Blue Store, as the elevated train bisected the building. This area was also the home to several famous Boston business firms, W. Bowman Cutter's Hardware Store with the upside down sign, Timothy Smith's Department Store, and J. S. Waterman and Sons, funeral directors to many prominent Boston families."

More interesting pictures of this station here.

at the minutiae of the wonderful pics on Shorpy is sucking great amounts of my time away. Thanks, I am having a wonderful time. I get the eerie feeling that if I stare at these pictures long enough I might see myself looking back.

across the bottom left of the picture, in front of the "Calvary Cemetery" train. presumably there's a high chimney off to the right behind the photographer. Had me confused for a while there.

The entire iron-supported elevated Orange Line is gone (torn down after service ended 1987; I remember riding it), and the line relocated nearby. In this picture, the Orange Line cars are the ones that go into the center of the station, using a third-rail system for power.

The Roslindale trolley was probably from a route along Hyde Park Avenue, and may have had a branch line turn to Mount Calvary Cemetery, not far off the avenue, along Cummins Highway.

The big white side of the building is the J.S. Waterman Undertaking Establishment.

...rtaking establishment?

Amazing - I don't see one bit of detectable debris on the ground anywhere in this picture. The buildings and utility fixtures for the most part appear to be in great shape, too. An example of good city custodial work.

The ideal cover for "Model Railroading" magazine.

Nothing like the name "Old Grist Mill Rye Flakes" to get that morning appetite going!

I wonder what that sign next to the exit below the elevated tracks represents? Reminds one of the Japanese "rising sun" war flag, but surely it is not? The Japanese flag had 16 "rays" and a red "sun" at center; this has 14 rays and a white sun. Interesting.

[Barbershop sign. - Dave]

The elevated trains stopped running on this line in the mid-1980s, but this building is still in use, with some modifications, as a bus station:

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I grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston in the '40s and '50s and was familiar with the Dudley Street Station both as an MTA rider and as a motorist on the darkened streets under the elevated railway. "L," to those not familiar stands for "elevated." I assume all that ugly steel superstructure is all gone now.

what the Elite "Toilet Parlor" was all about. Thanks for yet another great study-it-all-day photo.

["Toilet parlor" = beauty salon. - Dave]

"The Frank Jones Brewing Co. will be pleased to answer any inquiry in connection with the advertisements displayed on these signs."

Were they selling the space, or anticipating complaints? In either case, very elegantly put, much more so than "YOUR AD HERE" would be.

I love the contrast between the advertisement-laden station and the steeples in the distance. Very interesting picture.

The car on the left has a "Calvary Cemetery" sign on the front. I wonder if that was an ad or a destination. Or maybe a prophecy.

Just looking at how neat and tidy the place looks and the more or less orderly signs on the walls when I realised something was missing. If that photo was taken today those same walls would be covered in ugly graffiti and tags and there would be a lot more rubbish around too.