Maud Cuney Hare was a multidimensional intellect and virtuoso: pianist-lecturer, composer, playwright, biographer, poet, editor, Black music historian and collector of music. She was also the founder and director of the Allied Arts Center in Boston.[1] She moved to Jamaica Plain in 1904 and lived there for over thirty years. Living in a period of legal segregation, disenfranchisement and lynchings, Maud Cuney Hare stood up to the racism of the time.

The following is an oral history about Alice, who will turn 101 years old in June 2026, and her family, including their experiences living in France during WWII and their memories of living in Jamaica Plain since 1957. Jenny Nathans interviewed Alice (Barro) Lieber and her daughters, Carole and Patty Lieber, on January 3rd and 13th, 2026, at Alice and Patty’s homes on Pond Street.

In December 2025, the property at 55 South Street, Jamaica Plain -- the home of Fiore’s Bakery -- was placed on the market. Anticipating that the multi-use building will take its next steps in the future, let's look into its past, particularly the history of the businesses that have operated in its storefront and the people who lived and worked there after it was first constructed. What follows is the history of 55 South Street in its early years.