From Dave Brigham:
It's ironic that Anthony's Pier 4, the venerable waterfront restaurant in Boston that was once the place to see and be seen, is being torn down as the neighborhood around it has risen to become the hottest spot in the city.
I went to Anthony's once, to celebrate when my girlfriend (now wife), Beth, graduated from law school. I'd heard of the place from Beth's family, and knew somewhat of its reputation as a special occasion destination and place where celebrities hung out when they were in town.
We took pictures on the back deck, which overlooked Boston Harbor and had great views of the city and the airport. The food was good, not great, but I reveled in looking over the dozens of photos in the hallway leading from the front door into the restaurant: owner Anthony Athanas with Liz Taylor, Judy Garland, Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson and many other A-listers.
Athanas opened his restaurant in 1963. He died in 2005 but the restaurant lived on for eight more years. In its later years, Anthony's Pier 4 fought for customers with a crowd of high-end restaurants in downtown Boston, as well as more options along the waterfront, which was christened the Seaport District in recent years.
I wish I'd taken some photos of the place in its heyday and in more recent years as it sat waiting for its fate. I didn't, but the Boston Globe recently ran some photos from the salad days of Anthony's Pier 4 -- including one of the former passenger liner that was used as a cocktail lounge until it sunk during the blizzard of '78 -- as well as images of the place stripped, unfortunately, of its glory. You can see them here.
Demolition crews began ripping the restaurant down yesterday.
Here are three previous nods to ones that got away:
May 2, 2010, about the former Metz Automobile Factory in Waltham, Mass.
June 1, 2010, about the former Whalom Park in Leominster, Mass.
June 5, 2015, about Veronica's Spa in Waltham, Mass.
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