The James Otis Elementary School was first built as a primary school in 1905. It was one of seven new schoolhouses built in the city of Boston. The Otis was built to accommodate 600 children in twelve rooms in a two-story brick and limestone building. It would take the place of the Webb primary school in East Boston. The cost of construction would be in the vicinity of $106,991. Following the building of the James Otis in 1905, the area of East Boston would continue to develop its infrastructure and industry. In 1919 the Commonwealth constructed a small airport at the southeast tip, known as the Jeffries Point Airport. In 1932 the Jeffries Point Airport would mark the beginning of Boston's Logan International Airport. In order to link East Boston to Boston, the Sumner (1931) and Callahan (1961) tunnels were constructed. These radical changes brought new life and development to East Boston.
Information has been shared from the Boston City Archives, East Boston Museum, and the Boston Globe
