Bopping Around Brookline Village, Part I

From Guess Who?:

One of the most affluent towns in the Bay State, Brookline was settled by Europeans in 1638 as a part of Boston known as Muddy River. In 1705, Brookline broke away and incorporated as a separate town. The town went from farming community to Boston suburb with no significant industrial period in between.

No expanses of old factories or mills to explore? No problem!

I recently cruised through Brookline Village, one of the town's major commercial areas, and home to many civic buildings, such as town hall and the main library. There, I found loads of beautiful old commercial structures; an amazing apartment building; a Civil War monument; a former bank that's now a house of worship; and much more. And -- wait, what's this? -- there's even a former telephone manufacturing facility! You'll have to wait for Part II for that one....

Welcome to the first of a two-part series about Brookline Village!

I'm gonna start on the western edge of the village, at a bakery and candy maker that has been in business for more than 100 years.

New Paris Bakery opened on Boylston Street in Boston in 1919, according to this Boston Globe article. The founder, Kosmas Constantin, moved the shop to its current location on Cypress Street 10 years later.

(I love the CONSTANTIN'S HOME MADE FRENCH CANDY sign, but I don't love my photo.)

Right around the corner, on Washington Street, is the Stephen F. Rutledge VFW Post #864

(One of the many plaques installed on the facade of the VFW hall.)

Continuing east-southeast on Washington Street, the next landmark is the former Brookline Savings Bank, which was designed in 1898 by Franz Joseph Untersee, according to the High Street Hill web site.

The bank moved to another location in 1922. I'm not sure what was there in the decades afterwards. Currently, this cool little building is home to The Christian Community, "an independent community centered around the seven sacraments in a renewed form, without attachment to any existing church or ecumenical movement," per the group's web site.

Next door to the old bank is Brookline District Court, which dates to 1941.

The building was designed by the architectural firm of Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott. That company was in operation from 1924 to 1952, as a successor to Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, itself a successor to the practice stablished in 1874 by the legendary Henry Hobson Richardson. The firm survives today as Shepley Bulfinch.

On the opposite side of Washington Street, in front of the public library, is an impressive Civil War monument.

Completed in 1915, the Soldier's Monument shows a bugler sending out the call. The sculptor was Edward Clark Potter, who is most well known for the marble lions, nicknamed Patience and Fortitude, in front of the New York Public Library Main Branch, per Wikipedia.

Also on the north side of Washington Street, in front of the town hall, is a large bell.

I haven't found out anything about the bell, other than it dates to 1897.

Back on the south side of the street, next to the courthouse, is the combined headquarters for the Brookline fire and police departments, which features a nicely restored fire house.

Built in 1873, the station is the oldest one still standing in Brookline. I'm not sure when the renovation and addition were completed.

Next along the east-southeast path is The Wolcott, a circa-1903 apartment/office building.

The building's original owner was Alexis French, the town engineer at the turn of last century, per the Town of Brookline web site.

Moving on down, we come to a building that is currently home to DaVita Kidney Care, which provides dialysis services.

Known historically as the Morris Rudnick Building, this place was erected in 1917 as a garage and stores. Over the years, the building has been home to businesses including an auto repair shop, a plumber and a taxi company.

Right next door is the former Stone and Goodspeed Livery building.

"Once a wooden livery stable with three floors, #316-#320 Washington has been substantially altered with the addition of a story, complete change in roof design, and conversion of first floor into a parking area," according to MACRIS. The original building -- at least part of which I assume still exists -- dates to 1868. There were many owners of the stable business over the decades, the final one being Munroe Goodspeed. Goodspeed's clients included the local grocery store S.S. Pierce & Co., which kept its delivery wagons and horses at the stable, per MACRIS.

Moseying along, I was captured by 282 Washington Street, the Reuben Chace Building.

Currently home to the excellent sandwich shop Cutty's (as seen on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives"), this building dates to 1877. Originally known as Hotel Chace, this property has been home over the decades to a bootmaker's shop, a milliner's business, apartments and restaurants. It was also the first home of the Brookline National Bank, which eventually became the Brookline Trust Company, per MACRIS.

Right next door is the Anna Kerr Building, which is actually two buildings, although that's hard to tell with that goldang tree in the way.

Now home to Framers' Workshop, the buildings were home in the early days to a furrier and a druggist, as well as apartments. The building on the left dates to 1896; the right-hand property rose in 1922. Anna Kerr and her husband were the original owners of the older building.

On the corner of Washington Street and Davis Avenue is the fantastic Seamans Building.

Built in 1889, this property was designed by the aforementioned Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Now home to Skin Center Boston, it was built as a grocery store for James Seamans. In 1912, a stationery business replaced the grocery store.

Regular readers of this blog know that I tend to feature commercial buildings, mills, murals, ghost signs, memorials, statues and the like. I don't make it a habit to showcase beautiful old homes (or creepy old homes), and if I feature an apartment building, it's generally because it's got a name carved into its facade. But I couldn't ignore the Thomas W. Clement Apartment House on Davis Avenue.

Built in 1882-3, the apartment house is "an outstanding example" of the Panel Brick style of architecture, per MACRIS. The original owner was Thomas Clement, a dentist in the area. This building is one of three along Davis Avenue (one other, located directly across the street, is featured below) that "constitute a small extension of the Panel Brick style group of buildings seen on Washington Street and in Harvard Square in Brookline Village," MACRIS continues. They really are quite stunning.

(Another great apartment building on Davis Avenue.)

On the corner of Davis Avenue and Washington Street stands the St. Andrews Building, below.

Built in 1876, this building is another Panel Brick-style structure. As with today, the building at its origin was filled with shops on the ground floor, apartments above. One of the businesses there today is Rare Restoration, which specializes in furniture, showpieces and vintage lighting, per its web site.

I love the entrance to the 4 Davis Avenue side of the building, below.

The St. Andrews Building (the original owner was Scottish) also features a Thai restaurant, Mahaniyom Boston, the entryway of which is shown below.

Continuing south on Washington Street, next up is the Algonquin Building, which dates to 1895.

Perhaps named for the Algonquin Club in Boston or the indigenous tribes of North America, the building has long housed both apartments and business of all sorts (florist, law firm, coal business, insurance office, etc.). It is currently home to The Golden Chickpea Center, a preschool that offers numerous programs; and Zhu Vegan Kitchen, which calls itself "a casual fine dining Japanese restaurant."

Moving along to...another Reuben Chace Building.

Now home to neighborhood workspace The Village Works, this handsome little building is also known as the Village Coach House, for the restaurant that once operated here. Now, y'all know I love (and totally rely on) MACRIS, the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. But every once in a while this fantastic source offers up conflicting information, such as in the case of the built-on date for this building. At one point in the listing, the author indicates the Reuben Chace Building rose in 1869, and that it is "one of the older brick commercial structures in the area." Other places in the listing indicates the bulding dates to 1880. Either way, it started as the shop for Chace, who was a prominent house painter. Over the years, it was also used as a provisions store and home to the Johnson Fish Company.

This is where I'm going to stop this installment. Make sure to come back for the second part, in which I will cover so many more great commercial buildings, as well as some of those private homes that I claim I don't write about much.

For more about Brookline, check out the links below:

March 13, 2014, "What's In a Named Building? (Part 2)."

May 2, 2017, "Who Was Emma Cummings?"

November 25, 2018, "American Church, British Style, Napolean-Inspired Name."

December 18, 2018, "Checking Out America's First Condo Complex."

May 14, 2019, "Ice Cream Works for Me."

October 24, 2019, "Times Not So Super for Brookline Superette."

Another Ramble Through East Cambridge

From Dave Brigham:

Many times over the years on my subway trips in and around Boston with my son we end up at Lechmere Station in East Cambridge, the end/beginning of one branch of the Green line. I've taken a lot of pictures in that area (see November 3, 2019, "East Cambridge-ish Randoms"); here are some more.

Steps from the Lechmere stop, on Cambridge Street between Second and Third streets, sits the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, a beautiful red-brick behemoth dedicated in 1900.

The building was designed in 1898 by Boston architect Olin B. Cutter, who also designed the Middlesex County Courthouse in Lowell and the New Bedford Armory. As stunning as the registry of deeds building is, however, it's the one looming behind it in the photo above that dominates the view and the conversation in this area these days.

The former Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse (named for a former mayor of Cambridge who also served as clerk of courts for Middlesex County) at 40 Thorndike Street has been vacant since June 2014. Built in 1971 and loaded with asbestos, the skyscraper, which also featured a jail near the top, is out of character with the neighborhood and with general aesthetic values. The neighborhood is a mix of small businesses, apartment buildings, office space, historic row houses, an arts center, a mall and a juvenile court. It's a very active neighborhood.

As you can imagine, there are folks who oppose adding more traffic/people/dogs/e-bikes/beards/latte liberals/scooters/pizza delivery people/vaping hoodlums/etc. to this area. OK, I'm joking. Sort of. The Neighborhood Association of East Cambridge (NAEC) is one of the groups against the development of the 280-foot building. "Others are still angered...with (developer) Leggat McCall for not reducing the structure’s 280-foot height, far above the 80 feet zoned for the area," per this Herald News article. "They argue the courthouse got an exemption in the 1970s because it was a public building, but the exemption should not remain for a commercial building."

While the developer isn't going lop off 200 feet of a skyscraper, Leggatt McCall has agreed to reduce the height from 22 stories to 20, according to the company's web page for the developments it's calling 40 Thorndike. The Brutalist look of the building as it currently stands will also change. "A new terra cotta and glass skin will transform the exterior of the building giving it a more inviting look and feel," per the Leggat web site. "In response to community feedback, the height of the building will be reduced from 22 to 20 floors. A Zen garden inspired urban pocket park, with ample trees to provide shade during summer months and wind protection during cold and blustery days, will be created at sidewalk level along Spring Street."

In September, the Cambridge City Council voted 6-3 in favor of leasing 270 parking spaces in a municipal garage across from the former courthouse to Leggat McCall. The developer had sought 430 spaces. The square footage of office space will be lower than originally proposed, as the developer agreed to increase the number of affordable housing units, per this Boston Globe article.

OK, let's check out what new office workers and residents at 40 Thorndike will see in their new 'hood.

This sturdy house of worship is St. Francis of Assisi Church, located at 315 Cambridge Street. Built in 1837 by the Second Baptist Church, the building is the fifth-oldest church in Cambridge, per this Cambridge Historical Commission document. Next to the church are a couple of cool old brick buildings that appear to have apartments or offices on upper floors, above ground-floor retail.

The Cambridge Assessors office dates these buildings to 1900, but I'm guessing they're older.

Not too far away, on Sixth Street, is Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

I'm not sure when this place was built. The Cambridge assessor says 1860; the city's historical commission says the cornerstone was laid in 1874 and the church was consecrated in 1883. Either way, it was the largest and most expensive church in East Cambridge.

On the church grounds, next to the rectory, is a small monument to the men and women from the parish who served in World War II.

The rest of the shots are random ones from along Cambridge Street.

I bet the Central Bakery sign (above) was pretty cool in its heyday. I dig the clock, too. Here's the part where I admit that I need to pay more attention to what I'm shooting. I have ADD and often am on a constrained schedule to take photos, so I sometimes miss important details. I shot this sign and moved on along the sidewalk. Now, months later, I searched online for "Central Bakery" and found Yelp reviews but no evidence that the bakery still exists. When I search on Google Maps for the address provided on Yelp, I see the sign on "street view," but next door I see the Royal Pastry Shop, which has been in business since 1941. Maybe Royal used to be Central? Or perhaps Central pre-dated Royal and the sign is incredibly old? Anybody got any clue?

Anyway, how about a few ghost signs?

Heading west along Cambridge Street, there is this one for the former Santoro Bakery:

And just up the street, facing east, you'll find this one for Gold Medal Flour:

Those signs are pleasant enough, but nowhere near as iconic as the one below:

Mayflower Poultry Co. on Cambridge Street has been in business since 1932. The sign, however, is no longer accurate. Per the company's web site: "Our sign is a trademarked historical landmark ONLY. We no longer process any poultry on-site."

As cool as the sign is, the building's history is even more impressive and interesting. The larger building with the peaked roof is the sole survivor of a circa-1869 three-structure car barn "built to house the horse cars for the Union Railway’s East Cambridge service," per the Cambridge Historical Commission. "The shorter building with the Mayflower sign went up sometime in the 1960s, and replaced what was a horse stable."

Also along Cambridge Street is the East Side Bar & Grille, featuring this great mural of the Chairman of the Board:

Also, a spot where hipsters take their young'uns.

Sew-Low Discount Fabrics is no longer open.

There's something about this sign that appeals to me. I'm not sure if it's still there.

Finally, a cool old police facility.

Located on Gore Street, this place "was connected to the police station (and fire house) on Sciarappa Street and housed Police Station #1's police wagon," per the Cambridge Firefighters Local 30 web site.

And there you have it.