The small building at left was extremely important to the Boston & Maine Railroad 50 years ago. What was it?

The Concord Historical Society has the answer at concordhistoricalsociety.org. Or you can wait until next week's Insider.

During the lion's share of the 20th century, the B&M's presence and influence made Concord a true railroad town. That is just one of the stories told by the Concord Historical Society in "Crosscurrents of Change", the history of Concord in the 20th Century. Publication is scheduled for later this year.

The one-story concrete-block structure at left was the Boston & Maine Railroad’s passenger station that replaced the magnificent brick depot, built in 1887, that symbolized the railroad’s domination of commerce, travel, and political power in New Hampshire. But the B&M had fallen on hard times in the 1950s, and its president, Patrick McGinnis, reckoned that the company could make more money by selling the real estate. On Sept. 3, 1959, the B&M announced that it had sold its railroad stations in Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth to the All State Realty Corp. of Manchester.

The depot became the Capital Shopping Center on Storrs St. The new station, one of a series of standard concrete block structures, was built in 1960 and was itself torn down when the shopping center expanded. This photograph was taken Feb. 29, 1960.

The tragic fall of the B&M is just one of the stories told by the Concord Historical Society in "Crosscurrents of Change", the history of Concord in the Twentieth Century. Publication is scheduled for later this year.