From Dave Brigham:
A preface to this series: most of my explorations of Union Square took place several months ago, and some things may have changed in the interim. Also, as much as I've researched Union Square and the changes that have already taken place and those that are coming, I realize that a few walks through the neighborhood and some poking around online can't match the breadth of knowledge earned by folks who live and work in Union Square. I'm just sharing what I saw and what I think.
In the first installment of this series, I covered auto body shops, murals, repurposed buildings, an egregious architectural gaffe and more; in the second, I wrote about repurposed factories and large and beautiful old apartment/hotel buildings (see August 25, 2019, "Union Square, Somerville, Part I: New Purposes & Grease Monkeys," and November 7, 2019 "Union Square, Somerville, Part II: Factories and Housing").
In this post, I'll discuss bars, restaurants, social clubs, ghost signs, abandoned storefronts, retail outlets and more. Let's get to it!
I'll start with social clubs:
The Demosthenes Democratic Club is named for a Greek statesman and orator who lived from 384 to 322 BCE. A contemporary of Plato and Aristotle, Demosthenes "roused Athens to oppose Philip of Macedon and, later, his son Alexander the Great," per Britannica.com. "His speeches provide valuable information on the political, social, and economic life of 4th-century Athens."
I'm sure the Democratic Club members have plenty of debates, and maybe even some of them center on politics and culture. But they may also discuss which brand of ouzo is best, and where to get the best spanakopita.
Across Somerville Avenue from the Demosthenes club sits the Somerville Sports Club.
A Yelp post about the club from late 2016 says, in part, this: "This is a Portuguese social club in Somerville. It is a cozy place to enjoy an excellent meal with friends. The food is superb with large portions. You can enjoy a good bottle of Portuguese wine or beer." The club's web site isn't active anymore. With so much change coming to Union Square in the form of a new station of the Green Line train extension and related development, it's possible that this place has closed or moved. See the first post in this series for an explanation of how Union Square is changing, and will change once the subway station opens.
On the other end of the square, on Bow Street, is the Greek American Social Club.
The club, assuming it's still in business, is open to the public seven days a week, and available for private functions.
On the eastern edge of the square, hard by the elevated McGrath Highway, sits Nucleo SCP Sportinguista, which translates roughly as "sportsmen's center."
This is another Portuguese club, which isn't surprising. Somerville's Portuguese population grew significantly in the 1950's and '60s after many natives of the Azores were allowed into the U.S. following earthquakes and volcano eruptions, and after President Johnson signed an immigration bill that boosted quotas for immigrants from Southern Europe, per this Somerville News article.
Built in 1910, the building housing the club is known as the Florentine Gardens Building. It was the home of Somerville's first pizzeria, which opened in 1934.
I really like the fact that somebody put that historic marker up there.
It seems logical at this juncture to talk about bars.
Located next to the Greek American Social Club, Thunder Road features local bands and lesser-known (at least to me) touring bands. How much longer the club will do so remains up in the air. Founded in 2015 after the closure of Radio Bar, which itself replaced Club Choices, a dance club that was in business for nearly 30 years, Thunder Road was named after both a Bruce Springsteen song, and an infamous bootlegging route from Tennessee to Georgia by the same name.
This past September, a developer presented plans to replace Thunder Road with a five-story, mixed-use building that would include a dozen apartments and a bar or restaurant on the ground floor. I can't stress enough in this five-part series how Union Square will continue to change with the arrival of the Green Line extension.
A hop, skip and a jump away from Thunder Road is Bull McCabe's.
For 10 years McCabe's has offered live, local music, trivia nights and pub food in a small space. I recall going to its predecessor, Tir na nOg, once or twice back in the '90s. It's a cozy joint, for sure. Named for a character in John B. Keane's play, "The Field," the bar seems to be doing well, but last year the owners had a lease dispute that threatened to shutter the bar. Will Bull McCabe's survive encroaching development and rising rents?
As with Thunder Road and Radio Bar replacing a longstanding local hangout, Union Tavern (below) now fills the space where P.A.'s Lounge once catered to boozehounds and music fans. P.A.'s -- known at its inception in the late '60s as the Portuguese American Lounge -- rolled up the sidewalk in late 2018. The new bar, which offers beer and indie rock, has yet to publish a helpful web site.
Heading back into the square proper, I found The Independent (right, in photo below) and Union Square Beer & Wine (left, below).
Founded in 2001, The Independent is part of a restaurant family that includes the nearby Brass, River Bar in Somerville's Assembly Row, the restaurants Saloon and Foundry in Somerville's Davis Square, as well as The Rockwell theater in the same neighborhood. The eatery's building dates to at least 1900. I haven't found any related history.
Just steps from The Independent is Bronwyn, which offers the "new food and drink of Germany and Central Europe."
Just up the alleyway from Bronwyn is Backbar, which seems to be a hipster speakeasy. At the end of the alley is Field & Vine, a restaurant serving locally sourced food made from scratch. Also in this building is Warehouse XI, a wedding and event space. These latter three businesses appear to be located in a former auto body shop/warehouse space.
Tenants in this rehabbed Bow Street building (below) include Tree of Life Tai Chi Center and restaurant/coffee shop Bloc Cafe.
From the Bloc description on Yelp provided by the cafe's owners: "Before we occupied 11 Bow Street, it had been a bank for over 70 years. We have maintained all the original vaults. We found evidence of it being The Somerville National Bank, Shawmut Bank, and East Asian Savings." Very cool!
Now to a couple of former restaurants.
On the left is doggy daycare company RiverDog; on the right is a sign for Union Square Bistro. The sign indicates the eatery is "award winning" and "around the corner." In 1994 the eatery won Best Seafood, Crab Cakes in Boston magazine's Best of Boston. Sounds good, yes? Well, unfortunately the restaurant has been out of business since at least 2003.
And across Somerville Avenue sits another long-shuttered restaurant.
For years the brightly colored building in the photo above was home to the New Asia Chinese Restaurant. When I lived in Somerville's Davis Square I made the short drive to New Asia a handful of times. I always liked this place and am sad to see it's gone. From what I've found online, looks like the place has been out of business since some time in 2011. I'm sure the building won't be vacant too much longer....
Just steps away is this pair of food industry buildings.
The small building on the left once housed Fiesta Bakery, the sign for which is still there. This Haitian bakery and restaurant was damaged by a fire in 2013 and appears to never have reopened. The building dates to the latter half of the 19th century, according to online reports, possibly even to the Civil War era.
On the right is La Internacional Food Corp., which seems to specialize in Latin American food and beverages. Or perhaps that should be past tense. I'm not sure.
Below is 31-33 1/2 Union Square, a very cool building that formerly housed Elegant Furniture.
Now home to co-working and office space provider Workbar, Third Life performing and healing arts studio and perhaps other businesses, this building went up in 1884.
A stone's throw away is the Union Building.
I only know that's what it's called because Google Maps shows a version of this building before it was evidently renovated, covering up the painted name above the second-story windows. What a shame. Anyway, the building dates to 1922 and is home to Mama Gina's Pizza and Smoke Valley vaping shop. Tenants over the past 100 years have included a men's clothing store, a confectioner, an insurance company, a lunch counter, a lawyer, a dentist, a hairdresser and a barber, per this brochure from the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission. Minor repairs were made to the building after a fire in 1942. During the 1950s, Goodwin's Furniture and Bernie's Record Shop were located in this building, per the brochure.
Right next door is Union Square's oldest extant building. The photo below was the best I could get, as there is a lot of construction going on in the square.
Home to Mid-Nite Convenience for many years, the building at 15 Union Square was built in 1845. The Greek Revival building "once had a side porch and an attic window with shutters," per the above-referenced brochure. And how's this for a random historical note? "In October 1860, Queen Victoria’s son, later to be King Edward VII, rode through the Square, passing this building on his way back to Boston from a gala reception at Harvard College."
Perhaps the good (future) king availed himself of a haircut and a pack of smokes at Recinos Barbershop and Lucky Corner?
Directly across the street from newfangled apartment complex 197 Union Square, this proud old building rose in 1895, and also features apartments.
Just up Washington Street, on the side of a mixed-use building, is this fantastic ghost sign.
I believe Mansfield Market was located in this building; among the items the store sold was Royal Crown Cola. I just love this sign.
Almost done. One more ghost sign and the building that it's on.
Now home to a Brazilian market called Mineirao One Stop Mart, this building was formerly Somerville Savings Bank, as you can see in the ghostly script above the windows. As for the building itself, it's known as Barrister's Hall.
Barrister's Hall is also home to El Potro Mexican Bar & Grill and other businesses. I haven't been able to find out anything about the building. The Somerville assessor's office lists the building's date as 1900, but I suspect it's older. For what it's worth, a "barrister" is a term for lawyer in the United Kingdom, so I'm guessing this place was once home to lawyers offices or a fraternal organization.
In the fourth, and penultimate post, I will discuss churches, former churches and statues.
No comments:
Post a Comment