Richardson v. City of Boston

The archway into which the plaintiff fell was in the front wall of a brick block which was built up to and formed the line of the highway. It was about three feet wide and three or four feet high, and served as an entrance to steps leading down to an arched and covered passageway which ran through the block. No part of the steps, archway, or passageway was within the limits of the highway, except “ a portion of the steps which did not come above the surface, but were covered *146by planking, making the street at that point even and regular with the rest of the highway and of the proper width.’’…