New York City Flashback: The Transit Museum

From Dave Brigham:

Recently this thought struck me like a runaway freight train: I visited New York City three times between 2010 and 2016 and I didn't post anything about my trips!

Only in more recent years have I become obsessed with chronicling places in Greater Boston and cities that I visit on vacation (Seattle, Chicago, Panama City). As well, I've gotten much better at editing my photos in that time. What that means is a) there aren't as many photos in this and future NYC posts as you might expect and b) those photos aren't always as good as I'd like them to be.

Anyway, I dug through my archives, found a bunch of useable photos, and decided to post whatever the blog equivalent of latergrams is. There will be four posts in total in the coming weeks.

This first post is about two visits my wife, kids and I made to the New York Transit Museum. Located in a circa-1936 subway station in Brooklyn, the museum was founded in 1976 and is a self-supporting division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The museum’s "working platform level spans a full city block, and is home to a rotating selection of twenty vintage subway and elevated cars dating back to 1907," per its web site.

We went to the museum because, as regular readers of the blog know, my son, Owen, loves subways. He and I have gone on countless trips on Boston's MBTA system over the years. He absolutely loved the NYC museum, as well as riding the MTA system during our three vacations in the Big Apple. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him tromp around inside the cars, hang from the hand straps, make mental notes about each car and their features. I had a great time at the museum, too. On one of our trips there, we met up with my brother, his then-wife and their two kids, as well as my sister.

Side note: my mother grew up in Brooklyn, so it was cool to be just a few miles from her childhood home. Someday I hope to visit her neighborhood in East Flatbush.

OK, let's see what we saw.

According to this Flickr post, the car above is a BMT D-Type Triplex Car, #6095. It was manufactured in 1927 by the Pressed Steel Car Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The R-11 Prototype / R-34 Car No. 8013, below, dates to 1949.

From the museum's web site:

"In anticipation of the construction of the Second Avenue subway, the city ordered 10 trial R-11 cars. When a model of the car — equipped with a host of innovations and stainless steel construction — was unveiled to the press The New York Times described it as “The car of tomorrow.” Because of the $100,000 price tag for each car, the R-11 was also called “The Million Dollar Train.” Unfortunately, the “car of tomorrow” never went into full service operation and additional R-11 cars were never ordered. Because the cars could not be readily used with other R types, they were rebuilt to be compatible with existing cars under contract R-34 in 1964-1965."

I've learned from Owen how common it it for subway cars to be ordered, manufactured and delivered to spec, only to require changes to certain components. Happens regularly with the MBTA. I love the interior of this train, especially the vintage ads (which may be reproductions).

In addition to the vintage train cars on the tracks, the old buses, and rotating displays on the upper floor about the system and its history and equipment, I dug the random details, like the collection of wicker seats, below.

I'm not sure the story behind the train car below, the interior of which looks like a hospital ship waiting room.

One of the cooler things in the museum, as far as Owen was concerned, is the tracking map below.

Since he was little, he has loved maps and figuring out how systems connect. On our trips to NYC, he guided us around via subway and never made a mistake. We would tell him where we were going, and he would look it up on a map (or, later, his phone) and figure out what subway line we needed to take. We would question him -- are you sure this is a local, and not an express train? -- and he confidently told us he knew what he was doing. And so he did.

And now for a few random shots taken as we walked the streets near the museum, heading for a subway train that would actually take us somewhere.

Located roughly a block away from the transit museum, on Livingston Street, the New Apollo Diner appears to be a typical New York diner, with about 8,000 items on the menu. We didn't eat here.

Empire Bail Bonds is also right around the corner from the transit museum. This location of the business is also, as the web site points out, "conveniently located one block away from Brooklyn Criminal Court."

I don't recall exactly where in Brooklyn I took this photo. I love the juxtaposition of the walking guy and the biker with the retro helmet.

Make sure to check back for three more New York posts, covering some cool old buildings, some shots taken in Upper Manhattan and Harlem from a double-decker tour bus, and photos from the High Line.

Jamaica Plain, Part I: Shopping & Snapping

From Dave Brigham:

I did a fair amount of Christmas shopping at local businesses this season. For the first time ever, I combined that effort with a photo trek through the main retail district in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Here's what I found.

Along South Street, just north of where it intersects with New Washington Street, I spied Arborway Auto Service.

I was struck by how neat and clean this place looks, with its immaculate brick front and gleaming sign, which was done by Josh Luke of Best Dressed Signs. You can really sense the pride in this business, which was founded in 1971.

Heading north along South Street, I was captivated as much by the outside of Botanica San Miguel....

...as by what they sell inside.

I'm not sure how long the store has been in business; I found a very positive review from 2010 on Yelp.

Next door is The Jeanie Johnston Pub and Grill, a joint named after what it calls "the legendary Irish famine ship" on its web site.

The ship was built in 1847 in Quebec. "The 408 ton cargo ship was purchased in Liverpool by John Donovan and Sons of Tralee, Co. Kerry," according to the Jeanie Johnston Educational Foundation web site. "As the famine gripped Ireland, the company ran a successful trade bringing emigrants from Ireland to North America and returning with timbers bound for the ports of Europe. She made her maiden emigrant voyage from Blennerville, Co. Kerry to Quebec on 24 April 1848, with 193 emigrants on board, as the effects of the Famine ravaged Ireland. Between 1848 and 1855, the Jeanie Johnston made 16 voyages to North America, sailing to Quebec, Baltimore, and New York."

As for the pub, it hosts open-mic and karaoke events, as well as trivia nights. None of those activities are happening these days, though. The building dates to 1910. I'm not sure what was in the space before the Jeanie Johnston.

A few doors down is Deep Thoughts record store.

Again, I'm not sure when this fantastic store opened, but based on the video below, it seems like the best kind of place for record lovers: stocked with more genres of music than you can imagine; jammed with buttons and books and art - a real orgy for the eyes.

STO 3: Deep Thoughts from Teen-Beat on Vimeo.

I've suggested to my wife's brother in law that he seek out a synergistic marketing deal for his Deep Thoughts Designs fishing gear.

Next up as we head north is Happy Market & Spirits.

The store looks great, but I was most interested in the Budweiser sign hanging outside.

Across the street is a Boston Housing Authority apartment complex. I like the fading mural on what appears to be a storage or maintenance annex.

I love how the artist incorporated the door of the building into this pastoral scene of a small house, a woman gathering fruit from trees, a river and gently rolling mountains in the background.

From South Street, I spied a cool building just a little ways down Carolina Avenue.

Established in 1894, Penshorn Roofing does slate work, asphalt shingles, copper fabrication, gutter work and more. I thought at first that this place was abandoned, but I was wrong.

Back on South Street, something about the signs for Peru Travel hit me just right.

The sign on the side of the building is hand painted and looks pretty old. The one on the front of the store has a fantastic image that makes travel seem glamorous. And the way the phone number is painted -- old-school, no area code -- speaks of a simpler time. By the way, notary services are also available here.

On the east side of South Street, just before it merges into Centre Street, is the Curtis Hall Community Center.

Built in 1868, this beautiful Second Empire building served as the West Roxbury Town Hall from that year until 1873, per MACRIS. From 1876 to 1908 it was the Jamaica Plain Library. Founded in 1630 as part of Roxbury, West Roxbury seceded from its parent town in 1851, per Wikipedia. West Roxbury, which included the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, was annexed by Boston in 1874.

A fire destroyed part of the building in 1908. In 1911, the JP library reopened. In more recent years, Curtis Hall (aka the Memorial Building) housed Jamaica Plain Little City Hall, per MACRIS. These days, the hall features a community room, a computer lab, a fitness center, an indoor pool, a senior center and a teen center.

This brings us to the triangular intersection of South, Centre and Eliot streets. Here is located the Loring Greenough House, just north of Curtis Hall. Built in 1760, the house since 2008 has served as a center for social, cultural, historical, and educational activities, per its web site. It is operated by the Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club, which was founded in 1924 as a ladies-only club and functioned that way until 1993. As you perhaps are figuring out, I didn't shoot any photos of the house, as I'm not really into well-preserved, museum-type places.

Of more interest to me in this intersection was the Civil War Monument.

Dedicated on September 14, 1871, this 27-foot-high memorial to West Roxbury's Civil War dead is one of the more impressive war statues I've seen in Greater Boston. W.W. Lummus -- who sounds like a Dr. Seuss character -- designed the entire monument; Joseph Sala sculpted the statue of the soldier that tops it off.

On the corner of Centre and Eliot streets, on the west-facing side of a one-story retail building, is the cool mural below.

Painted by the Mayor's Mural Crew (have I mentioned how much I love that the MMC is a thing?), the artwork features perhaps two dozen people across all ages and ethnicities and times, including the soldier from the Civil War monument.

Just up Eliot Street is the stunning Eliot Hall.

Home to the Footlight Club, which claims to be America’s oldest community theater, having produced performances every year since 1877, this Greek Revival/Italianate beauty was built in 1832. The theater group has used the building since 1878. At that time the hall was owned by First Parish Church, which is located across the street on property once owned by Rev. John Eliot, the so-called "Apostle of the Indians" (see December 18, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part XI: Newton Corner (Section 2)" for more about Eliot and a memorial to him in Newton). According to the church's web site, Eliot is considered "a perpetrator of cultural genocide by indigenous scholars."

I'm not sure if the church owned the hall since its construction. Regardless, by 1889 the parish considered razing the building to "put the property to better use," according to the Jamaica Plain Historical Society's history of the building. "Friends of the Club formed a committee who sold 1000 shares of a trust in Eliot Hall and bought the hall for the Footlight Club. Major renovation was done to convert the hall into a true theater and on January 9, 1890 the Club's 50th production played in the new Eliot Hall," according to the JPHS.

The Footlight Club has undertaken some major renovations to the hall. In the photo below, notice the white/gray structures floating above the main building. I'm not sure when that addition was put on. I believe that's the main auditorium.

More recently, the troupe has undertaken accessibility upgrades. "The work will provide access to four levels of Eliot Hall – from the basement to the first and second floors and to the stage level – ensuring that both audience members and potential cast and crew can access all parts of the building," according to the group's web site. "Alongside the building will run an accessible ramp that leads to a new entrance, the elevator, and a staircase to all four levels of the club. An additional accessible restroom will be added on the second floor, as well as increased storage space in the basement and on the first floor."

Next on our tour, along Centre Street, is an outlet of a local liquor-store chain that was founded 40 years before the Footlight Club's members began to trod the boards.

(Cool sign.)

Blanchards Wine & Spirits was established in 1838 in Boston's Scollay Square. In 1938, the company was bought by John Corey who "grew the company from one retail location into a chain [of] retail stores," according to the Blanchards web site. "He also opened a distilled spirits plant and import division in the 1950’s located in Boston’s Historic South End." The company operates seven retail stores in Greater Boston. Third- and fourth-generation Coreys continue to operate the business.

Blanchards is located next to the Robert Seaver & Company Block, which was built in 1875.

This site was where a provisions store stood in the late 18th century, according to MACRIS. "After retiring from the teaching profession, [Joshua Seaver] bought an old store on or near the site....During the early 19th [century] the store was the first stop for the stage coach on its trip from Boston to Providence." Robert Seaver took over the store from 1833 to 1885, having a new building constructed in 1875. His sons eventually owned the business. I'm not sure when the store closed, or what may have been there prior to the current tenant, Robert T. Fowler & Sons Insurance.

When I saw Costello's Tavern, below, I thought not of the famous comedian Lou Costello, who with his partner Bud Abbott is best known for the "Who's On First?" skit, but rather of two men named Costello I knew just a little bit many, many years ago.

The first was my elementary school principal, who of course we only knew as "Mr. Costello." I think his first name was Paul. In my mind, he looked a bit like Ed Sullivan, with jet-black, slicked-back hair and a perpetually red face. I recall him as being mean, but I imagine he wasn't like that all the time. The second guy is named Mike Costello, and he lived in an apartment building that my girlfriend (now wife) resided in in the early '90s in Boston's Brighton neighborhood. This guy, who was maybe in his early 40s, was nice enough, but seemed to be complete and total lush. I would exchange pleasantries with him, but I felt a bit creeped out by him.

Anyway, Costello's Tavern has been around a long time, I'm sure. It closed temporarily during the pandemic, but reopened shortly after I snapped this picture. The new apartments rising above the bar were added in 2020. According to a commenter on an article at Universal Hub about the apartments, "The space above the former Redds and Tony's had upper floors as part of the original structure. In fact the space on the 2nd floor, historically, was the home of the first silent film house that was accompanied by piano."

Wow! Love that history. The floors were torn down after a fire.

Across Centre Street from the tavern is Galway House, which has been serving up food and drink to the locals since 1960.

There's a fantastic painting on the front door.

The artwork is by Chris Plunkett, depicting a streetcar of the type that used to roll by the front door of Galway House. In 1985, the MBTA temporarily halted trolley service in Jamaica Plain. My son, who is my in-house expert on the T, tells me that temporary order is still in place even though the tracks were torn out a decade ago.

A little further north is the Centre Building.

This building rose in 1920, according to the Boston assessor's office. Current tenants include Eastern Bank and Susanna, a clothing store established in 1982.

I've featured a few murals and front-door paintings in this post, but none of them can hold a candle to the next one.

This is just a detail of the amazing work on the side of Purple Cactus, a Southwestern restaurant. This masterpiece was painted in 2013 by the Mayor's Mural Crew and Heidi Schork, who is the director of the crew. Schork lives in JP and spent eight years living in Mexico. So it's no surprise that this mural has a Day of the Dead look about it. "The Mexican Mural Movement of the early and mid 20th century remains an important influence in [Schork's] mural work," according to the City of Boston web site. "Heidi has led countless mural, installation, and public art events in Boston and in Mexico."

Arguably the centerpiece of this shopping mecca is the original JP Lick's ice cream shop.

Located in a circa-1865 former fire station, JP Licks was founded in the neighborhood in 1981, according to its web site. "The shop immediately began to gain popularity and became a hit with local residents and area college students," the site crows. "Its eclectic look gave the store a distinctive atmosphere and my staff, mostly Mass College of Art students (who one customer good naturedly described in 1981, as a 'freak show of polite, tattooed, body pierced, gay and lesbian kids, and other assorted weirdos'), added to the shop’s unique environment."

The business operates nine stores in Greater Boston. As for the building, it once housed the Jamaica Plain Fire Engine Co. #28 and the JP Hook and Ladder Co. #10, per MACRIS. I'm not sure whether JP Licks moved here in 1981 or not, and when the fire station was shuttered.

Across Centre Street from JP Licks, on the side of Lebanese eatery Cafe Beirut, is another fantastic mural.

Painted by Bob White in 2004, this scene of kids hanging out and playing in a wooded area overlooking a lake and small town was the first completed by the Jamaica Plain Youth Mural Program, according to this 2008 article. "It was designed as a tool to teach the students to paint depth, shading, and contrast," the artist says in that article.

We conclude this tour with a shot of a former service station.

I don't know how long ago this place ran out of gas. Back in 2010, it was known as Mike's Service Station, and it was shut down for code violations, including operating without permits and having abandoned cars, a leaking oil tank and "illegal" propane heaters, according to the linked article. In October 2013, the Jamaica Plain Gazette ran an article indicating that the site was being targeted for redevelopment as a liquor store. At that time, the shop was known as El Rubio's Auto Repair Shop. That proposal fell through. Something will go here someday.

That wraps up my review of this area of Jamaica Plain. Stay tuned for the next installment, in which I venture further north along Centre Street and then east into the Hyde Square neighborhood.

Here are some other Jamaica Plain posts from years past:

January 26, 2018, "Jamaica Plain Has Plenty of Flair"

December 9, 2017, "Artist Thinks: 'I HAF to Fix That Smokestack'"

March 27, 2015, "Blessed Renovation"

There's Always More Waltham

From Dave Brigham:

First off, let me say that if you're reading this post because you are a fan of the band Waltham, you may not want to venture any further than this video:

Actually, if you're a fan of Waltham, then you may be from Waltham, so you should DEFINITELY check out my latest post about Waltham. The city, that is. I've written quite a bit about this former mill town abutting my adopted hometown of Newton, Mass. (see the bottom of this post for proof).

All of the traipsing I've done through Waltham, however, hasn't resulted in my taking photos of the places I feature below.

OK, I lied. I have taken pictures of the old Music Hall on Elm Street, but not since it was restored so nicely. Built in 1879-80 from a design by Henry Hartwell (who designed numerous buildings in Waltham) this Victorian Eclectic building is called the Music Hall, but the auditorium where audiences once enjoyed entertainment in luxurious surroundings was torn down long ago after a fire.

"The Music Hall...was the most modern theatre in the Boston area; a marble staircase led up to the auditorium and the rear of the auditorium floor was motorized for higher or lower levels," according to MACRIS. "Four crystal chandeliers illuminated the 83' x 60' hall." The building that remains was the entrance to the theater. According to MACRIS, the theater had at least six other names during its tenture as an entertainment destination.

Nowadays there are stores on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floors.

Here's what the Music Hall looked like in 2016:

Steps away, at the corner of Main and Lexington streets, is a nice old building that's home to an Armed Forces Career & Recruiting Center.

Known as the Collins Block, this Colonial Revival commercial building rose in 1903. MACRIS doesn't offer much on this place, preferring to spill more ink about its predecessor. "The G.H. Rogers Building was an old, residential structure with a pitched roof and an overhang over the sidewalk to form an arcade." Current tenants in the Collins Building include the U.S. Navy, Marines and Army. There was once a bank here, as evidenced by the night deposit box by the front door.

Moving west along Main Street, we come to the Whitford Building.

Home to, among other businesses, Leo's Place Diner, an eatery founded in Harvard Square that moved to Waltham in 2015, the Whitford Building (or Block) dates to 1877. Its architect, George F. Meacham, also designed the Boston Public Garden, as well as numerous homes and monuments and commercial buildings in Greater Boston. In its heyday, the Whitford contained two "large elegant stores...on the first floor, with a flight of marble steps leading to the upper stories. Interiors were modern and spacious," according to MACRIS.

"Originally owned by G. H. Whitford, the block contained shops on the 1st floor, offices on the second, and the Odd Fellows Hall on the third," MACRIS continues. "Though ownership of the building has changed several times over the past century, the block remains in a fine state of preservation and continues its original uses, save for the third floor which has been converted to a ping pong game room."

Wait...what?! That report dates to 1984, so I doubt there's a ping pong room up there anymore. And the condition of this High Victorian Gothic building seems pretty good...except maybe for one spot.

Actually, I'm sure that's fine. What we're seeing here is an outline of the original gable on the Eagle-Mansfield Building in the forefront. That building dates to 1854, although it was remodeled in 1948. There was some wooden bracing up there at one point.

Next, on the corner of Main and Common streets, is the Lawrence Block.

Known in recent years as the home of video production for local TV personality Rex Trailer (please click this link; Trailer was a one-of-a-kind entertainer), this Colonial Revival building dates to 1900. When it was built, the Lawrence building "had stores on the street level, and offices, social rooms, and apartments on the second floor," according to MACRIS. "The Mass. Telephone & Telegraph Co. originally leased the entire third floor of the building for their exchange." Current ground-floor tenants include David Hawthorne, a violin bowmaker; Cafe on the Common; and Sebastian & Alexander's Ice Cream and Sorbet. There are offices on the upper floors.

(Side entrance to the Lawrence Building.)

My strategy when shooting buildings like this is to get a photo of the entire building, or as much of it as I can, and then some cool details. I lucked out with this place, as I spied tenant directories on either side of the main entrance.

I have no idea whether any of these businesses -- lawyers, dentists, watch repairmen, civil engineers, architects -- are still located here.

The final stop along Main Street is the distinctive building that now houses Main Street Music on the ground floor and basement, and offices on the upper floors.

Built around 1872 and remodeled in 1936, this place is known historically as the Knights of Columbus Building. "The Knights of Columbus (KOC) Building at 719-723 Main Street, corner Spring Street, is dated 1872-1874 by deed and atlas research to Martin Greely as the original owner, later purchased by the KOC in 1917 and subsequently remodeled in 1936," according to MACRIS. "The upper floors of the KOC Building held offices of related social organizations, including Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Mass Catholic Women's Guild."

The building is a little rough looking as you get close to it. There is even graffiti on the side of the roof. According to MACRIS, the building is an unusual Mansard commercial block "with Tudor-like pseudo half-timber effect. One of few wood-frame, three-story buildings in downtown Waltham."

In business since 1993, Main Street Music specializes in piano sales, service and restoration, according to its web site. The store is a bit cluttered and seems to operate best through customer appointments. I dropped in once to buy a music stand and cord for my guitar, and the salesman took a long time to find those items, although he was friendly and entertaining the entire time.

Lastly, a small brick building that is one of my favorites in Waltham.

Located at 94 School Street, this place is, according to MACRIS, "The only brick (quasi) row-house in Waltham." As the writer indicates, this circa-1860 residential building would look more at home in Baltimore than in Greater Boston. It was added on to the rear of 16 Park Place, which dates to 1850, according to the Waltham assessor's office.

Fun fact/rumor about this quaint little abode, per MACRIS: "Reported to have a brick vault in the basement and to have served as a courthouse."

OK, that wraps up this quick jaunt through downtown Waltham.

Below is a less-than-exhaustive list of previous Waltham posts.

August 25, 2011, "Goodbye Reef, So Long Bill"

February 27, 2011, "UPDATE: What a Dump"

May 12, 2010, "Dead-End Tracks, Part I"

March 20, 2017, "Brigham in Waltham, Part III"

January 5, 2017, "Brigham in Waltham, Part II"

November 9, 2016, "Brigham in Waltham, Part I"