Sylvia Plath: A life in photographs: 1932-1942

The photographs on this page show images of Plath's childhood Jamaica Plain and Winthrop, Massachusetts. When the Plath's moved to Winthrop in 1936, they lived on the bay side of Boston Harbor, where the water is tidal, but mostly calm. Plath's maternal grandparents lived on a house which backs onto the rougher, open waters of Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Otto Plath died in 1940, but the family remained in Winthrop until 1942. The next photograph gallery covers the period of 1942-1950, when Plath lived in Wellesley.


Please contact me regarding use of the photographs on this website. No photographs may be used without my consent.


robinson_mem

Reference:
The Jennie M. Robinson Memorial building. Sylvia Plath was born here at 2:10 pm on 27 October 1932. Now a part of the Boston University Medical Center.

24_prince

Reference:
24 Prince Street, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Plath's first home.

winthrop8

Reference:
Winthrop, Massachusetts, from an airplane. Winthrop is a peninsula east of Boston.

johnson

Reference:
92 Johnson Avenue, Winthrop, Massachusetts. Plath's home from 1936-1942.

johnsonbeach

Reference:
The beach behind 92 Johnson Avenue, on Winthrop Bay. Plath played here as a child.

winthrop15

Reference:
View of Point Shirley, Winthrop, from a plane. Visible are the Water Tower and a portion of Deer Island which feature in all of Plath's works.

winthrop2

Reference:
892 Shirley Street, Winthrop, Massachusetts. The house of Francis and Aurelia Schober, Sylvia Plath's maternal grandparents.

point_shirley

Reference:
892 Shirley Street, Winthrop. See Plath's poem "Point Shirley" for a description of these stones.

winthrop10

Reference:
Yirrel Beach, Winthrop, on the Atlantic Ocean. The beach behind the house at 892 Shirley Street.

winthrop3

Caption:
Deer Island, Winthrop, Massachusetts. Once a prison, now a water treatment facility.

water_tower

Reference:
Water Tower Hill (Great Head), Winthrop, from an airplane. Read Plath's poem "Point Shirley" and Chapter 12 of The Bell Jar.

sunshine_school

Reference:
Sunshine School, 77 Bartlett Road, Winthrop, Massachusetts. Plath attended pre-school here starting in 1937.

eb_newton

Reference:
E. B. Newton School
Winthrop, Massachusetts. Plath attended the Newton school from 1940 to 1942.

methodist

Reference:
Methodist Church, Winthrop, Massachusetts. In the town center. Location of Otto Plath's funeral.

winthrop11

Reference:
Winthrop Cemetery, Winthrop. Otto Plath's grave. See Plath's Journals, page 473, Chapter 12 of The Bell Jar, and the poem "Electra on Azalea Path".

otto_grave_winthrop

Reference:
Winthrop Cemetery, Winthrop. Otto Plath's grave. See Plath's Journals, page 473, Chapter 12 of The Bell Jar, and the poem "Electra on Azelea Path".

otto_grave

Reference:
Winthrop Cemetery, Winthrop. Otto Plath's grave. See Plath's Journals, page 473 and Chapter 12 of The Bell Jar.

azaela_path

Reference:
The marker for Azalea Path, Winthrop Cemetery. See Plath's poem "Electra on Azelea Path", as well as the Journals, page 473, and Chapter 12 of The Bell Jar.