Saturday, July 27, 2024

The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part I)

From Dave Brigham:

Named for some guy who rode a horse from Boston to Lexington during the Revolutionary War -- perhaps you've heard of him -- Revere was incorporated in 1871. When I moved to Boston in the early '90s, I became aware that Revere (which locals pronounce "Reveah") was considered a "bridge and tunnel" town, meaning it was populated by people who traveled to the Hub of the Universe via those methods in order to go to nightclubs. This was said while looking down one's nose.

Of course, Revere is also known as a place that once had a world-class amusement park along its beach, which I'm sure plenty of Hubsters visited via, you know, bridges and tunnels.

I recently checked out a handful of the small city's neighborhoods, and will serve them up on the kind of silver platters that Paul Revere used to make when he wasn't, you know, helping invent America. Today's installment deals with Broadway, the north-south road that bisects the city.

I started my Broadway trek roughly in the middle of things. Tucked neatly into the corner of Broadway and Winthrop Avenue, The Good Diner is run by a very nice guy who I met briefly while I was making photos.

The eatery, which replaced The Blues Diner, has been in business for more than a decade.

I headed south past a lot of small shops, restaurants, apartment buildings and city hall before spying Luberto's Pastry Shop.

The family-owned shop has been in business for 35 years. That's a great sign!

The furthest south I reached was Fenno Street, where I was excited to see an Indian motorcycles sign.

As a kid, I would love to hear my father talk about Indian motorcycles, which were manufactured close to the house where he grew up in Springfield, Mass. He didn't know the first thing about riding a motorcycle, and had no desire to learn, but he expressed such pride that America's first motorcycle company was founded in his city in 1901. I've always kept an eye out for the bikes, whether a few decades ago during Motorcycle Week in Laconia, NH, or just randomly on the road.

The shop that sells Indians in Revere is part of a New England chain called MOM's, which was founded in 1973.

I'm not sure this shop is open, as it isn't listed on the company's web site. In addition to Indians, the company sells all other brands of bikes, in addition to ATVs and Polaris Slingshots.

I reversed course past plenty of shops, eateries, drug stores and the like, finally pointing my camera at the local Moose Lodge.

Long-time readers of this blog know I have a love for social and fraternal clubs. According to the Internet, Moose Lodge 1272 has been permanently closed. Too bad.

A restaurant just up the street, Companions, has also closed up shop, according to a sign in the window from my visit earlier this year.

I'm not sure how long Companions was in business, but it was decades.

Continuing north, I saw a place that I guessed was once an ice-cream shop or fast-food joint.

Most recently, this place was home to Nunez Livery, which I believe has an office in nearby Chelsea. Prior tenants included Broadway News & Tobacco and -- wait for it! -- Revere Dairy. There have been plans for redevelopment for this site going back many years. I'm not sure of the status of those plans.

Sadly, the next site is also a shuttered establishment.

I don't know how long Sebastian's provided fine dining, or when it closed.

Next, a place that is still in business, and that has a funny sign!

Since 1989, Sabella's Ravioli has made fresh pasta on a daily basis. Zoom in on the photo.

I turned back south at this point, and found yet another place that's all washed up.

Jay Cleaners appears to be a place that was in business a long time. Again, I'm not sure when it closed.

That's it for Broadway; make sure to check back for the next installment, which will cover a diner and a trailer park.

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