An out-of-focus photograph of Mertie West posing outside the First Church of Christ, Scientist's southern facade in Boston. A brick-paved walkway extends along the bottom edge. Mertie West stands in the near distance at left, along the back edge of the walkway. She stands in profile facing right, but turns her head to the camera. Immediately behind her, a wide, short set of steps, flanked by lampposts on pedestals, descends behind her. From the steps, the walkway stretches back on an angle towards the left side of the church. To the right of the walkway, a small, landscaped lawn sits in front of the church. The First Church of Christ, Scientist stands in the background, off-center to the left. It is viewed at a slight angle from its southern facade. A half-dome, lined with arched windows, extends towards camera. A white haze washes over the majority of the image. Two streaks of bright, white light crisscross at center.
Photograph of Mertie West posing while visiting the Granary Burying Ground in Boston. Mertie West stands in the near distance at center. She faces left but turns her head towards camera. The narrow, stone-paved walkway she stands upon enters frame from the lower left corner and extends on an upward angle to the right. On the near side of the walkway, grave markers stand in a row parallel to the walkway. Behind Mertie, the cemetery grounds sprawl into the distance. Grave stones stand in rows that run perpendicular to the walkway. A tomb rises from the ground, behind and to the right of Mertie. Several trees dot the grounds. In the background, a street and buildings are visible lining the cemetery's back edge.
According to the negative sleeve, this photographic negative was taken in Alexandria, Virginia. The street signs in this image are legible and do not match the geography of Alexandria. They correlate to the geography of Boston, which was also visited by the West's on their "Eastern trip" in October, 1947.
An out-of-focus photograph of Mertie West posing beside a statue of Colonel William Prescott at Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. A sidewalk enters frame from the bottom edge and stretches back towards a statue at center. In the near distance, Mertie West stands to the right side of the statue and looks to camera. Beside her, the bronze sculpture of Colonel William Prescott sits atop a granite pedestal. The pedestal stands slightly taller than Mertie. Engraving on the front of the pedestal reads, "COLONEL WILLIAM PRESCOTT JUNE 17, 1775." Behind both Mertie and the sculpture the Bunker Hill Monument obelisk rises at center, extending beyond the top frame. Four punched holes line the lower left edge.
![Mertie West walks past a construction site and towards Richmond Street, [Boston], 1947](https://iiif.library.ucla.edu/iiif/2/ark%3A%2F21198%2Fzz002j3s89/full/!200,200/0/default.jpg)
