Most of the circuits seen along the right provided electric lighting service to local customers at the time. Sudbury is a Boston suburb about 30 miles west of the city. Boston Edison either owned these electric lines when this photo was taken or soon did, since during the teens and thereafter they were buying other smaller privately owned electric utilities in the Boston vicinity (none purchased were municipally-owned, just fyi) (and all existing at that time are still are strong as ever with community ownership with the benefits of Public Power as enjoyed in the rest of America).

Most likely telephone openwire communications were strung along the left of this town's centre. Click "Next" for a similar view photographed along an adjacent street around the same time.