Another Taste of Fenway / South End

From Dave Brigham:

Hi, it's me again. Here with more photos and information about another corner of Boston. This time, the Fenway neighborhood...and a slice of the South End.

I've failed in my online searches to find out anything about this building on Hemenway Street near the Museum of Fine Arts. I believe it was built in 1910; it's currently apartments. The left and right sides of the building are fairly typical looking, but the strip down the middle tells a story that I haven't been able to decode. The plus signs (I don't think they're crosses) and evidence of a reworked front entrance tell me that something more grand than student housing used to be here. Was it church-owned? Or did it belong to a social club? I have no idea.

This is Matthews Arena, which perhaps I'd heard of before stumbling across it. Built in 1910, Matthews is the oldest arena still in use for hockey and the oldest multipurpose athletic building still in use in the world, per Wikipedia. It's the original home of the Boston Bruins and the Celtics. It's now home to Northeastern University 's hockey teams. Pretty dang cool.

I've really come to love the historic plaques of Boston. I stumble across them everywhere, honoring bigwigs such as Massachusetts Bay Colony Gov. John Winthrop and Gen. Henry Knox, and Joe Sixpacks like like Grant Gately. Located on the east-facing wall of Symphony Hall, this plaque for U.S. Navy Ensign Gately memorializes the heroic action he took to save the life of a fellow soldier by giving up his seat in a lifeboat when the U.S.S. Ticonderoga was sunk by a German submarine during World War I.

In the shadow of the Christian Science complex, on Clearway Street, I found two things that brought me great delight.

On the right, of course, is an amazing ghost sign, the biggest and most well-preserved I've seen in Boston (more about this in a second). I was almost more excited about the building on the left of the photo. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

"Why are you so excited about a convenience store?" I can hear you asking. I implore you to click on this photo and zoom in if you are able. Have you ever seen a corner store with such a well-organized window display? Such uniformity of product layout? I doubt it, unless you live in Anal Retentive Town. This innocent-looking storefront is the portal to Bodega, which has been selling shoes and apparel to street-wise hipsters for quite some time. I've heard about this place for years but had absolutely no idea where it was. But as soon as I saw this place, I knew exactly what it was.

No, I didn't go in...I'm not that cool.

Now, back to that ghost sign.

I walked down the very narrow driveway between Bodega and an apartment building to get this shot. I almost got run over as I was walking back out to the street. This advertisement is for Navin & Kelly Co., a clothing vendor once located somewhere in Boston. I thought that, given how amazing and large this sign is, that I would find more information about the retailer. No such luck.

I wish I had the power to summon forth from the Internet every bit of information I seek about random places like this, located at 2 Symphony Road. It's a grand old building. Just look at the fancy turret thing at the roofline! Also, I wish I knew more about proper architecture terms....Anyway, I'm guessing this was once a municipal building of some sort, possibly a fire house or police station. Obviously there once was a door wide enough for cars and trucks (or carriages) at lower right.

Now for a little dip into the part of the South End that borders the Fenway.

These beautiful doors and stained-glass windows are on the Columbus Avenue A.M.E. Zion Church. Built in 1888 as Temple Adath Israel, the house of worship was taken over by the Zion Church, which had begun as a congregation in 1838 and had meetinghouses in other locations in the city.

Across the street from the Zion Church is Newcastle Court, a complex of buildings in a U-shape with a nice courtyard.

Last, but certainly not least, is South End institution, Wally's Cafe & Jazz Club.

"Wally's Café is among the oldest family owned and operated jazz clubs in existence," per the club's web site. "It was founded in 1947 by Mr. Joseph L. Walcott. We feature live music 365 days a year."

For more about the Fenway, see March 27, 2019, "A Small Taste of the Fenway Neighborhood."