[stand at the corner of Green and Rockview Streets]
Rockview Street did not always go all the way up the hill. This road started out as a lane for somebody’s estate and you can still see the gate post that was here marking the entrance (painted granite post on the corner). At the top of the hill was a street called Fessenden Street and eventually the two were joined together.
40 Green Street is a modern building, built in the 1980s by the Boston Center for Independent Living. It is housing for individuals with significant physical disabilities. Before this building was here, this was the location of a private clubhouse. There was a large Victorian house that was the headquarters of the Jamaica Club. You can see it in the image for this stop, along with a magnificent tree that was in their yard -- "the Jamaica Elm". It was said to be among the largest elms in Boston but it succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease.
Here is another example of a retaining wall. This wall is made from Roxbury Puddingstone. Puddingstone is the nickname for Roxbury Conglomerate. It is used extensively in areas where it is native for retaining walls and foundations, since it needed to be removed from the site anyway. Many fine buildings in the Boston area are made of Roxbury Puddingstone, including some great churches here in JP. It is called Puddingstone because the stone resembles an old-fashioned plum pudding. It gets that look from the small pebbles embedded in a sandstone base.