From Dave Brigham:
Sometimes I pore over online maps trying to find a place to explore. Other times, a location just pops into my head. That was the case with my recent walk through Boston's Roslindale Village neighborhood. I lived in neighboring West Roxbury for a few years a while back, and thought about returning with my camera. But then I remembered that Rozzie likely had more of interest to me, so that's where I ended up.
Located about six miles south-southwest of downtown Boston, Roslindale was originally part of the town of Roxbury, per Wikipedia. "In 1851, current day Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury seceded from Roxbury. The area voted in 1873 to be annexed to the City of Boston."
The neighborhood's name has an interesting origin story.
More from Wikipedia: "In the 1860s, the area was called South Street Crossing, due to the railroad's intersection with South Street. However, when the community applied for a post office district of its own, the name 'South Street Crossing' proved to be unacceptable to the government. The name Roslindale was suggested by John Pierce, a well-traveled member of the community, who told the assembled citizens that the area reminded him of the historic town of Roslin, Scotland, outside Edinburgh. Pierce thought the area was like a dale because of the hills surrounding it. Thus the combination of 'Roslin' and 'dale' was submitted to the United States Postal Service and the name Roslindale was formally established."
On my short visit to Roslindale, the first thing that caught my eye, because it just seemed so out of place, was Alexander the Great Park.
The statue at the center of the park was presented to the City of Boston by the people of the City of Athens, Greece, in 1997. The park is maintained by St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek Spirit Committee.
Across from the park, on a small traffic island dividing Belgrade Avenue and Corinth Street, which is quite a busy intersection, is a whimsical sculpture.
Called, appropriately enough, "Traffic," this piece was sculpted by George Greenamyer, an artist who has a "moralistic message" and is "not afraid of preaching or offending others," according to his web site. I believe his Roslindale sculpture was installed in 2012.
I headed out southeast on Corinth Street, and quickly ducked down Birch Street. There, I found one of my favorite things to shoot: a social club!
My fascination with shooting social clubs is well documented here. I have a connection, albeit a tenuous one, to Sons of Italy clubs. When I turned 40, I joined a men's baseball league. I got drafted by a team called the Quincy Sons, short for Sons of Italy (see March 31, 2019, "A Slow Jog Around the Bases of My Memory"). I only went to the club once for a post-game drink, but I did get to hang out with a guy named Crusher.
Walking south on Corinth Street, I spied the lovely sign for the Blue Star Restaurant.
A little further south along Corinth, I spied another social club.
I'm not sure how long the club has been here. I found a short article online indicating that the club used to be in neighboring West Roxbury, but was forced to move from that location in 2009.
On the opposite side of the street, along the entire side wall of Family Dollar, is a faded mural.
I haven't been able to find out who painted it.
Across Corinth Street, on the side of Fornax Bread Company, I found another mural. There are so many great ones; a few more will follow below.
This one has been here for nearly 20 years. It was painted by Alex Cook, who has created more than 190 murals in 18 states and five countries, per his web site. He did at least one of the other ones I'll look at below.
At the intersection of Corinth and Washington streets is Mi Finca Mexican Food & Pizzeria.
I love the color scheme and the details on the building.
Across Washington Street is the Roslindale branch of the Boston Public Library.
Built in 1961, this circular building with a blue dome (it was tough to get a good photo, unfortunately) sits on a pentagonal-shaped lot and sits over an underground brook, according to the Friends of Roslindale Branch Library web site.
Directly behind the library, on Poplar Street, I spied the lovely contrast below.
This is a barn or garage behind a main house that was built in 1905, according to the Boston Assessor's Office. Obviously somebody takes nice care of this place. In my dreams, this quaint little building is filled with antiques and an old car or two.
Heading southwest along Washington Street, I was happy to see an old-school Irish bar, B.K.'s Pub.
I continued for a bit on Washington Street, as I knew I had to shoot the locally famous Pleasant Cafe.
In business more than 80 years, the Pleasant is best known for its pizza. I've only eaten here once, and that was many years ago, but I remember the food was excellent.
I swung back in the other direction, toward the heart of Roslindale Village. There, I spied a great mural overlooking the outdoor patio for Mexican street food restaurant Chilacates, which is named after a type of pepper. And yes, that's Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in the mural.
Continuing northeast along Washington Street, I made sure to shoot the former Roslindale Substation.
Built in 1911 as part of the power system for Boston's network of streetcars, the Classical Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Empty for quite a few years (decades?), the substation was renovated in recent years, and is now home to Turtle Swamp Brewing's beer garden and perhaps other businesses.
On the side of Dragon Chef, at the corner of Washington and Basile streets, is the awesome mural below.
This fun and colorful work was done as part of the Boston Mayor's Mural Crew effort to beautify all corners of the city.
The sign for phone and computer retail/repair business Easy Fix caught my eye.
I like the dichotomy of the high-tech store next to Binta's African Hair Braiding.
Next door, at the corner of Murray Hill Road, is a wonderful marketing mural for this village.
This work of art is on the side of hair salon Studio M.
Continuing along, I saw one of the few missing teeth in the area, the former J&P Dry Cleaners.
As far as I can tell, the cleaners moved to Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Not sure if anything is slated to move into this space.
The side of the Roslindale Market -- "Now Serving Dominican Food" -- has a massive homage to the Boston Red Sox, including some high-profile players from the Dominican Republic.
(Top left corner is, I believe, Jason Varitek; lower left corner, could be Derek Lowe; to the right of Varitek, I'm guessing Johnny Pesky; below Pesky appears to be Manny Ramirez, from the Dominican; above Ramirez, I have no idea; next to that guy is Ted Williams; then Babe Ruth; below Ruth is, of course, Big Papi (David Ortiz); and in the upper right corner is Pedro Martinez. The latter two are also from the Dominican.)
The final mural on my tour is located on the side of the Little People's Playhouse on Washington Street.
This lovely work of art was created by Alex Cook, who I mentioned above.
Back in the main square of Roslindale Village, I spied the Prescott Building, which dates to 1929. This place, as with most older buildings, has an interesting history....
...so let's talk about that. Or rather, let's allow Historic Boston Inc. to share its knowledge: "In the early 1930s, [Anne] Prescott filed a permit to include an indoor miniature golf course in this building. Other long term uses included Charlestown Savings Bank, a beauty salon on the second floor, and Blair’s Foodland, for which a small 1 story rear addition was built in 1946. The building’s storefront has been altered several times."
And here I thought that indoor mini golf courses were a newfangled thing (relatively speaking)!
Steps away from the Prescott Building, I found what I'm always looking for, but rarely find these days: a ghost sign!
Located at the intersection of Corinth, Poplar and Washington streets, the sign is difficult, if not impossible to read, unfortunately. I asked a former longtime Roslindale resident if he had any clue, and he said, "Sorry, nope." I believe this building was once the Roslindale Department Store. It dates to 1890. If anyone has any idea about this ghost sign, please let me know in the comments below.
Well, that wraps up Roslindale Village. For the only other post I've written about this Boston neighborhood, see November 30, 2017, "Stone Cold Monuments."
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