Last Building Standing

From Dave Brigham:

Boston's West End was wiped off the map in the late 1950's and early '60's to make way for The Future, and it was a huge mistake.

Once densely packed and relatively low-slung the way Boston's North End still is, the West End was considered a slum, and so it was bulldozed to make way for low- and middle-income high rises. Those tall, ugly, spread-out buildings make up Charles River Park, and are now home mostly to luxury dwellers, according to the West End Museum.

Oddly, though, there is one building left from the old West End.

Located directly behind a General Service Administration federal building and very close to the TD Garden (home of the Bruins and Celtics) and spitting distance from the Leverett down-ramp from I-93, this building has four floors and is covered on two sides by a revolving series of billboards.

I'm not sure if each floor is a residence, or if there are offices there. I spied four cars on the property when I walked by. One of the cars doesn't look like it's moved since Larry Bird was running the parquet at the old Boston Garden.

There are two stories circulating online about why this building was spared when hundreds all around it were razed. The least interesting of the two has it that the building's tenants simply refused to leave, and the city didn't want to deal with having to haul them out. Seems to me residents of other buildings would have done the same thing, so why was this structure spared?

The other theory about why this building became the sole surviving connection to Boston's more squalid past involves the Mob. The owner of the building reportedly was the bookie of one-time Boston mobster Jerry Angiulo, and had connections to local officials and because of this, somehow he was allowed to keep his building. Maybe he had dirt on local pols, who knows.

Neither of these stories is particularly satisfying, and I don't believe either. Somebody tell me the truth!

Light It Up!

From Pete Zarria:

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

(El Dorado, Kansas)

(Joplin, Missouri)

(Carthage, Missouri)

Fade to Black

From Dave Brigham:

Thirty years ago, this marquee read:

THE SENIOR SNATCH EAGER BEAVERS

My friends and I were in high school, and drove the 15 miles from our hometown to check out these ridiculously awesome, R-rated raunchfests. Through a little research, I learned that "The Senior Snatch" originally hit theaters and drive-ins in 1978 as "Surfer Girls," and "Eager Beavers" was released in 1975 as "The Swinging Barmaids."

The East Hartford Drive-in was actually in South Windsor, Connecticut, on Route 5. The East Windsor Drive-In was six miles up the road. I don't recall if we went to the latter, but I know we also checked out movies at the old Hartford Drive-in, the Berlin Drive-in (X-rated) and Rogers Corner drive-in. Other fantastic titles we saw included "Slumber Party Massacre" and "Last House On the Left."

The East Hartford Drive-in opened in 1954, and closed in 1984, according to the CinemaTour web site. My parents moved a few miles away from here several years ago. When I was visiting them around the holidays last year, I thought about the old drive-ins, but didn't get around to checking into it.

After doing a little research, I learned that the East Windsor theater had been turned into condos, but that there were remnants of the East Hartford place. So this past Thanksgiving, I set out from my parents' house to see what I could find. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to find, and how easy it was to walk around the site. I didn't spot one "No Trespassing" sign.

Here's more of what I found:

For more derelict drive-in movie theaters, see November 9, 2012, "Drive-out" and April 24, 2010, "Cars, Flicks & Weiners."

Maui Wowee

From lostlosangeles:

I'm excited to publish the Backside's first photo of Hawaii, especially in light of the blizzard we just had in the Northeast. -- DB.

(Abandoned high school, Maui, Hawaii.)

What's in a Named Building? (Part 1)

From Dave Brigham:

Architects still design buildings with corporate names on them, but too often these days signs designating a business tend toward the ugly and temporary. The same is true of apartment buildings and condos -- the name may be on a sign out front, but rarely it is etched into the stone.

This is a new fascination for me -- seeking out old buildings with names carved in for all eternity. Or at least until a developer comes along and knocks it down. Below are five named buildings I found on a recent walkabout. There will be more in coming months.

The Otis Building in Watertown, Mass., was built in 1899; an addition was built in 1913. Both were designed by Alberto F. Haynes, an architect who also designed St. John's Methodist Church, which is right around the corner from the Otis Building.

The Natoli Building is also in Watertown. I've been unable to find out anything about its history. Located in a rather unremarkable commercial block, the structure is nowhere near as imposing as the Otis Building.

The Yerxa Building is also in Watertown, and was evidently named after a grocery store that dates back at least a hundred years.

This is the Elks Lodge in Newton, Mass.

Built in 1905, the Evans Hotel in Newton, Mass., was incorporated into an assisted living facility about 20 years ago.

When the Fun Dies

From Dave Brigham:

Tip of the hat to my buddy Ken Tretler for pointing me to this feature on creepy abandoned theme parks on the Weather Channel's web site.

They're not all in the U.S., but once in a while I bend my rules.

The Big Reveal

From Dave Brigham:

A former elementary school close to my house is coming back to life. The city of Newton sold the Carr School decades ago, and then bought it back at a loss, of course. For quite some time, the building housed a nursery school, a Suzuki music school and other non-profit groups. Now the city is spending upwards of $12 million to renovate the facility, which will be used as a "swing" school while other elementary schools in the city are rebuilt or renovated in the coming years.

Recently, I checked on the school's progress. Demolition crews tore down a cement patio, shedding light on this 32-year-old mural for the first time in, well, who knows how long.

I'm not sure what's going to become of this piece of art. I love all of the Boston references here: Boston Celtics mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun; the Hatch Shell along the Charles River; the Prudential tower. And of course I dig the music stuff -- the Van Halen logo; the Lynyrd Skynyrd hot air balloon; and the Grateful Dead skull.

Two by Two

From Pete Zarria:

Remnant of the animal park that was part of the Blue Whale attraction along Route 66 in Catoosa, Oklahoma.

Target Practice

From lostlosangeles:

(East of the Sierras, California.)

New York Escape

From Joe Viger:

East 12th Street, New York City

It's All Downhill

From Dave Brigham:

Like so many New England communities, Waltham, Mass., once had a ski hill. More than one, probably. Prospect Hill, like nearby Cat Rock in Weston (see July 27, 2012, "Cat Rock, Part I"), thrived for years until corporations started building larger resorts.

Here's a view of the slope these days:

And here's what it looked like in its heyday, courtesy of the New England Lost Ski Areas Project web site.

Unlike Cat Rock, Prospect Hill has little evidence of its ski hill past. But as I meandered down the path, I spied something in the woods.

I'm not sure what this little building was, but I'm guessing it was a storage shed, snack shack or power supply cabin.