Prides Crossing


Prides Crossing is a neighborhood of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts.

Location

It is bordered to the east by Beverly Farms, and to the west by the Beverly Cove areas of Beverly. Although no formal boundaries have been determined, most locals consider it to exist between numbers 407 and 600 Hale Street.

History

The name is associated with John Pride who was granted land in the area in 1636. In the late 1800s and early 1900s grand mansions were built as summer "cottages' for wealthy business magnates. Henry Clay Frick, who made his fortune in steel was among the best known of these summer residents. He built "Eagle Rock", located between Hale Street and the Atlantic Ocean. Edward Carelton Swift, at one time the owner of the largest meat packing operation in the U.S. built a mansion, "Swiftmoor" on Paine Avenue in Prides Crossing. Eleonora "Eleo" Sears a flamboyant female socialite and world class tennis player owned a residence that still exists where Paine Avenue and West Beach meet. These wealthy residents were known to travel to Prides Crossing in their own rail cars, disembarking at the Prides Crossing Railway Station, located on Hale Street across from the entrance gates to Paine Avenue.
The train station still exists and has been the location of a general store, hardware store and now houses a candy manufacture. The current MBTA Commuter Rail station consists of a single low platform adjacent to the old building.

Notable former residents