A Large Spoonful of Brigham's

From Dave Brigham:

In the Boston area, Brigham is a fairly well-known name, due in large part to two wildly different businesses: Brigham and Women's Hospital and Brigham's Ice Cream, a former independent ice cream manufacturer (and one-time restaurant franchise operation) now owned by HP Hood. The only benefits I receive from these companies is that sometimes familiarity with their names makes it easier for people to know how to spell my surname. Other times, they mess up and want to call me "Bridgeman" or "Bringham" or even "Bingham."

There is a Brigham Circle in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood, named for Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, which became part of Brigham and Women's. There is a Brigham Farm Stand in Concord, Mass. And in your grocer's freezer aisle there is Brigham's Ice Cream, which features flavors such as Just Jimmies, Paul Revere's Rocky Ride and the Big Dig. Unfortunately, the last few hold-outs in the restaurant chain closed several years ago.

And long ago, before the hospital and ice cream, there was Brigham's Hotel & Restaurant in what is now the Chinatown/Downtown Crossing area of Boston. It was at the corner of Washington and Essex streets:

(I believe the building with the black awning -- Wild Duck Wine & Spirits -- was the exact location of the hotel and restaurant, based on photos and a drawing in Boston and Bostonians that I found online. I'll get to the building on the left shortly.)

Robert Bent Brigham, nephew of the aforementioned Peter Bent Brigham (do you think the phrase "get bent" was invented for them?), opened Brigham's Hotel & Restaurant in 1860 or 1861 (dates differ in the sources I've found online). The building had gone up in 1824, however, as the LaFayette Hotel, according to the 1987 "Midtown Cultural District: Historic Building Survey" issued by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Boston Landmarks Commission. From 1848-1860/61, the building was William Bacon's Oyster House, according to the survey.

In 1888, Brigham added a building in the rear, according to the survey.

(These photos show Hersey Place, which, according to Boston and Bostonians [1894, American Publishing and Engraving Co.], was where the main entrance to the hotel was. The restaurant entrance was on Washington Street; guests could access the hotel through the restaurant. I'm not sure whether any of the buildings in these photos were part of the hotel, which had at least 65 rooms.)

(Kaze Shabu Shabu restaurant has nothing to do with any of this, but I love the mural on the back of this building, which is on the opposite side of Hersey Place from where Brigham's Hotel was.)

Next door to the former Brigham's Hotel site, at 630 Washington Street, is this building:

The Sons of Liberty plaque commemorates this site, which was where Garrett Bourne built a house in 1626 and, roughly 20 years later, planted an elm tree. By 1765 the tree had become integral to the burgeoning revolutionary movement in Boston, and effigies of those who supported the Stamp Act were hung here. That year, the tree was dubbed the Tree of Liberty and from that point on many important meetings were held here. Read more about this story here.

Some sources online indicate this as the site of Brigham's Hotel and Restaurant. Perhaps the inn and eatery occupied both of these buildings and at least one more on Hersey Place. This photo at the Historic New England web site indicates that Brigham's Hotel was indeed the building I guessed, and that the one next to it was for a time Washburn Department Store.

Prepared to see something awesome? OK.

At the 3:24 mark in this amazing little movie, you can see Washburn's. Unfortunately, you can't see Brigham's Hotel.

In later years, after the hotel went out of business, this site became a little more, uh, lively, shall we say. From the Midtown Cultural District survey mentioned above: "1900 - Since Brigham's time, the building has had an infamous history of famous bars : 1920's-' 40 's - nationally renowned Silver Dollar Bar; 195Q's-60's - The Palace - one of the most noted and popular bars of college crowd and others. Famous "Twist" joint. Since the Palace, place has slid downhill in a succession of lesser- account bars: Pink. Kitten, Downtown Lounge, 2 O'clock Lounge."

I recall walking through this area more than 20 years ago and seeing a very skeevy dive bar in this general location. Might have been the 2 O'Clock Lounge. History is so cool, isn't it? And the Internet, you also are cool. I love that I can shoot photos of buildings, plug the address into Google and just about always find out some background that allows me to keep this blog alive.