To count down the days to the end of summer, I will be taking you on a virtual walking tour of Arlington–the same one outlined in 1937’s The WPA Guide to Massachusetts. Each entry will include an excerpt from the book about each site visited. Hopefully this will give us a little insight as to how things have changed in the past 73 years. “Retrace on Massachusetts Ave.; R. from massachusetts Ave. on Medford St.; L. from Medford St into Mystic Valley Parkway.”

“The Mystic Lakes are popular as a resort for swimming and boating in the summer and skating and ice-boating in the winter.”

The lower Mystic Lake, at night, reflecting the high rises of Boston on September 5, 2010.