Decades have passed since Chelsea residents rallied to honor Max Address, the first Jewish boy from the city to die in World War I. The memorial they built—Max Address Square at a busy intersection—has since vanished from memory, along with the square itself.
The memorial is no longer standing. It disappeared decades ago when the Mystic/Tobin Bridge consumed the site where it once stood.
This week, the story resurfaced when local real estate agent John Green shared a photo montage documenting the square’s dedication ceremony from Memorial Day, 1921. His research revealed the remarkable history behind Max Address Square.
Before enlisting in World War I, Address had been active with the Judean S & A Club in Chelsea.
His death in the war made him the first Jewish casualty from Chelsea in the conflict.
Moved to honor his fallen friend, Jack Kriteman, an organizer with the Judean Club, launched a campaign throughout Chelsea to establish a memorial at the intersection of Everett Avenue, Walnut Street and Third Street.
Kriteman brought his petition before the Board of Alderman. Samuel Falkof, then running for alderman in Ward 2, pledged that if elected, he would donate his entire salary toward constructing the memorial and its surrounding fence.
Club members organized a fundraising effort that reached its peak on Sept. 23, 1920, when they held a carnival at the Chelsea Theatre to collect donations.
Falkof won his election with backing from the Judean Club and made good on his pledge by contributing his salary to the project.
The campaign proved highly successful, and the memorial was dedicated on Oct. 31, 1920.
The dedication drew more than 10,000 attendees. Falkof placed a bronze monument honoring all Chelsea residents who had died in World War I at the base of Address Square.
Dignitaries attending the ceremony included Major-General David Shank, Judge David Lourie, Mayor Melvin B. Breath, ex-Rep. Maurice Caro, Alderman Sam Falkof and Jacob Hamberg.
The monument was unveiled by Mrs. Henry F. Hanff, a Gold Star mother of World War I.
The monument committee included Kriteman, Barney Bookstein, Nathan Shapiro, Murray Quint, Jacob Tuton, Harry and Julius Averdun, David Hoffman, William Hoffman, Jacob and Benjamin Baer, Max Siders, Harry Sugarman, Abraham Salvansky, Morris Lichenstein, Samuel and Louis Kriteman, Israel Landi, Edward Silberstein, David Price, Samuel Low, Benjamin Guttenberg, Max Baker, Morris Slotnick, Hyman Silverman, Benjamin Yabovitz, and Louis Alstader.
History has moved forward relentlessly.
Today, Max Address Square occupies the exact location of the onramp for the Mystic/Tobin Bridge on Everett Avenue.
Nothing remains.
Could those 10,000 mourners gathered to remember the first Jewish boy from Chelsea killed in World War I have foreseen that a towering bridge carrying an interstate highway would one day erase their tribute to a fallen soldier?