Crossing Through More of Boston's Downtown

From That Same Old Guy:

Boston's Downtown Crossing area is a great place to shop, stroll, eat and look for the city's history. I've covered much of this ground before (see December 26, 2019, "A Little Boston Street With Big History", December 21, 2019, "Just a Typical Day Wandering in Boston" and April 3, 2019, "Sweeping Through Bromfield Street").

In this post I feature some black-and-white photos, which I don't do much but sometimes it just seems right. This post is chock full of things that I either missed or ignored on previous walks through Downtown Crossing. That's why I love exploring Boston and other cities: there's no shortage of oddball, historic, quirky or dilapidated stuff to shoot.

Let's start with a ghost sign that I somehow missed on countless walks through this area.

This is the rear of the former Gilchrist Department Store, at the corner of Washington and Winter streets. I haven't been able to determine what product or store this advertisement promoted. All I can make out is PROGRESS at the bottom of the sign. Built in 1912 and home to Gilchrist until 1976, this building is now home to the Corner Mall and to offices. It has some cool details.

The classic grotesque above is just one of many on the 10-story building.

Directly behind the Gilchrist building is the William T. Andrew Building, yet another gem that I've overlooked through the years.

Built in 1852, this property is a rare "surviving example of mid-19th century Italianate brick commercial architecture, largely intact above the first floor level," per its MACRIS listing. Many buildings of this vintage in the city were destroyed in the 1872 fire, which was stopped at Washington Street. Over the years, this building has been home to, among other businesses, an auctioneer, a dry goods business, a gas fixtures operation, a cafe and a beauty salon. There is currently retail on the ground floor; I'm not sure what, if anything, is located on the upper floors.

Just down Washington Street from the Gilchrist building is the Blake and Amory Building, below.

Built in 1904, the Blake and Amory was designed by Arthur Bowditch, the architect who designed the nearby Paramount Theatre and the Myles Standish Hotel in Kenmore Square, which is now a Boston University dorm. An addition, the 11-story Blake section, was built in 1908. For many decades the building served tenants in the apparel industry.

A little further south on Washington Street is the Opera House.

Opened to the public in October 1928, the Opera House has featured films, vaudeville shows, operas, touring Broadway productions over the years. It was originally known as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theater, named for one of the fathers of vaudeville. I wrote about this place last year, but hadn't noticed this plaque until recently (see September 20, 2019, "A Peek Behind the Curtain of Boston's Vaudeville History").

I'd taken lots of photos a while back along Bromfield Street, which runs between Washington and Tremont streets (see April 3, 2019, "Sweeping Through Bromfield Street"), but I poked my head down an alleyway that I had to skip that earlier trip because of a locked gate.

This is the side of 20-30 Bromfield, which was designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1983.

Across the street is Colonial Trading, which I didn't take a picture of for the aforementioned Bromfield profile. I like the hand-painted sign, but I'm not sure what Native Americans would think of it.

Around the corner from Colonial Trading, on Province Street, is the Hub Pub.

The Friendliest Pub in the Hub has been around since the late '90s, I believe.

Province Street intersects with School Street. On the sidewalk in front of Boston's Old City Hall is this plaque commemorating the first site of Boston's Latin School. The plaque normally looks better than this, but it was covered with ice melt when I was there.

Established in 1635, the Boston Latin School is a public exam school, and the oldest public school in the US of A.

Back down Washington Street, just past the Blake and Amory Building, on West Street, is the fantastic Brattle Book Shop.

Founded in the Cornhill section of Boston in 1825, the store has been in the hands of the Gloss Family since 1949. The shop stocks "250,000 books, maps, prints, postcards and ephemeral items in all subjects," per its web site. "In addition to its general used and out-of-print stock, The Brattle Book Shop also maintains an inventory of first editions, collectibles and fine leather bindings in its rare book room."

One street over from the book shop, on Temple Place, is this cool old-school entrance to the Downtown Crossing subway station.

At the corner of Water and Devonshire streets, next to the hidden gem of Spring Lane (see December 26, 2019, "A Little Boston Street With Big History), is this neat subway entrance.

On Tremont Street, near the Brattle Book Shop, is this most interesting McDonald's.

Located at 146 Tremont Street, this little beauty has been here since 1899. Per the Internet, the property has been home to John O'Neill's singing studio and Arthur Schmidt's Music Store, among other businesses. This place resonates for me not just architecturally and historically, but also personally. Long story short: in college I watched my buddy Jim walk into this McDonald's behind a guy who promised he could sell us tickets for the Echo & the Bunnymen show that night at, hmm, either the Opera House or the nearby Wang Center. The guy bolted with our money out the back and we never saw the show. When our buddy Ken showed up after calling his girlfriend from a payphone, he was pissed, understandably. While waiting for Jim, I stood outside a liquor store nearby and talked to a creepy alcoholic who offered me a sip of his beer he had in a paper bag. I wrote a story about it for -- shameless plug alert! -- my collection of short stories, "(C)rock Stories: Million-Dollar Tales of Music, Mayhem and Immaturity."

Along Bedford Street, where Downtown Crossing, Chinatown and the Theatre District meet, I found this scene out of the past.

I can't find much about Clement's Textile shop online, but since it was located near the hub of Boston's old garment district, I'm guessing it opened a long time ago and went out of business within the last 10 years.

Right around the corner from Clement's, on Kingston Street is J.J. Foley's Bar & Grille.

While it's been open since 1959, this place is the "baby brother" of J.J. Foley's Cafe in the South End, which has been around since 1909.

Let's finish up with some more black-and-white shots. Below is the Merchants Building, located at the corner of Kingston and Summer streets.

Built in 1901, the Merchants Building was designed by well-known Boston architect Arthur Bowditch. A Beaux Arts beauty, it hosted tenants including the Hawes Hat Company, the Bates Shirt Company and Sages Trunk Depot, per MACRIS.

The last two buildings are located where the Financial District, Downtown Crossing and Chinatown meet. Both were incorporated into the 125 Summer Street tower project many years ago, along with two other old structures. "These four buildings form the base for the tower, which then is set-back and rises 18 stories," per MACRIS. "The building has an L-shaped plan which accommodates an existing air-shaft for the Central Artery."

"This building utilizes the practice of facade-ism (sic) in which only the facade of a building is retained, the remainder demolished and the facade incorporated into a new structure," per MACRIS. "Four buildings completed in 1873-1877 are incorporated into this structure in an attempt to retain the historic context and scale of the area." I've written about façadism before (see April 6, 2019, "UPDATE: Cashing Out (And Learning About Facadism").

I haven't found out any specifics about the building above, with "HA" carved in to the facade. As for the building below, however, I uncovered a few details.

The JPC building was commissioned by, and named for, Joseph P. Cooke, as a warehouse for Boyd, Corey and Ahl, shoe dealers, per the Boston Redevelopment Authority's and Boston Landmarks Commission's 1983 report on the Commercial Palace District. It was designed by Ware & Van Brunt, an architectural firm known best for First Church (Congregationalist) in Boston, Memorial Hall at Harvard University, the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge and the Third Universalist Church in Cambridge.