Working Our Way Around Winthrop

From Dave Brigham:

I've happily traveled to Winthrop, Mass., several times in the past few years to help my son, Owen, spot airplanes landing at Logan Airport, and, more recently, to hunt for Pokemon (see February 27, 2015, "Digesting Deer Island"). We've been to Deer Island (where I took the above photo) and Coughlin Park, but just recently realized that there's something called "the center of town." Recently we checked out that little downtown, as well as more of Deer Island and the Point Shirley beach neighborhood. Here's what I found.

(Samuels Pharmacy was established in 1952, according to the Better Business Bureau, and incorporated in 1983. Not sure how old this building is, but it certainly pre-dates 1952.)

(This facade is on the same block as the pharmacy, and might be an old entrance to the back of the shop.)

(This amazing place is the old Winthrop Theatre, which was built in 1914. There is now a gymnastics academy there and probably other businesses.)

(Masonic Temple / Zenith Lodge #42, International Order of Odd Fellows. According to an article I found online, Freemasons and Odd Fellows are not affiliated with each other, despite their numerous similarities, such as the symbols and initiations they use, and the regalia they favor. This temple was built in 1892.)

(Detail of Masonic Lodge/Odd Fellows Hall. The Daughters of Rebekah was initially a female-only auxiliary of the Odd Fellows, but now admits men.)

Just down the street from the temple is Sudden Impact, a video game and toy store.

(Urkel doll and other stuff at Sudden Impact.)

(The Wadsworth Building looks great. A longtime Winthrop resident bought this building and others in town over the last several years, and rehabbed many of them.)

(Cool marker in a nearby cemetery.)

Walking a few blocks out of the small downtown, following Owen and one of his buddies as they sought out Pokemon, I saw this index card-sized metal marker on a sidewalk.

A search for the name "FJ McQueeney" online brought up a printer in Boston listed in "Leading Manufacturers and Merchants of the City of Boston," in 1885. No idea if this is the same guy. I've never seen a marker like this anywhere else.

Outside the quaint town center I stumbled across this cool sign.

The sign appears to be newer, but I love it anyway, especially the palm trees that frame the clock. Bolster's is an auto and marine service company. I was unable to find out anything about the company or the building, but I'm guessing the building dates to at least the 1930's, and perhaps the company does too.

On the way to Deer Island, which is home to the second-largest sewage treatment plant in the United States as well as some nice walking paths, we passed through the Point Shirley neighborhood. The area is on a spit of land between Boston Harbor and the open ocean, and has a Cape Cod vibe going.

(Incorporated in 1944, the Port Shirley Association hosts functions in its quaint hall.)

(Directly across the street from the Point Shirley Association sits Holy Rosary Catholic Church.)

(Just before you hit Deer Island, you'll see a small beach.)

(There are all sorts of rocks, concrete slabs and other oddities used to build beach walls.)

(The remnants of a pier just below Deer Island. No longer separated from the mainland, Deer Island has over the centuries served as a prison, a hospital, an almshouse, a sewage treatment plant and, more recently, a recreational area.)