Charlestown Jaunt, Part II

From Dave Brigham:

Welcome to the second installment of my three-part series on Boston's Charlestown neighborhood. The first post has the relevant history in the first few paragraphs, along with, in my opinion, some nice photos of cool things (see April 25, 2020, "Charlestown Jaunt, Part I").

For this post, I'm going to start at the western edge, where Charlestown bumps up against Somerville at Sullivan Square.

"Sullivan Square stands on what was once a narrow neck of land referred to as the Charlestown Neck, an area that was originally a thin strip of land connecting the Charlestown Peninsula with present-day East Somerville," per Wikipedia. "Being in a narrow place between larger land masses made Sullivan Square a place where transportation routes naturally converged, and various transportation facilities developed here over the years." There is a station on the MBTA's Orange Line located here, underneath the elevated Interstate 93.

Dominating the Sullivan Square skyline is the Schrafft Center.

Built in 1928 for Schrafft's, the candy, chocolate and cake manufacturer founded in Sullivan Square in 1861 by William Schrafft, this building is now home to numerous businesses, including the Flatley Discovery Lab, FitCorp and RW Sullivan Engineering. Schrafft's eventually expanded to include restaurants, once the company had been taken over by Frank Shattuck. In 1967, Pet, Inc., a pioneer in evaporated milk, acquired Schrafft's. The various businesses were split off into separate companies. I'm not sure if anything survives under that brand today.

"In 2019, James Byrne, a godson of the Shattucks, the founding family of Schrafft's Restaurants, announced the return of the brand with plans to open brick-and-mortar retail in the near term," per Wikipedia. He has launched a pretty good looking web site.

To see some cool interior photos of the Schrafft Center, check out this web site.

Across Main Street from the old candy factory is the headquarters for Teamsters Local 25, below.

Built in the 1890s for liquor retailer John Cauley, it is known as Cauley Hall, per MACRIS. It was built "in anticipation of elevated railway-related patronage," per MACRIS. That patronage came not long after the building's construction, in the form of Sullivan station. The building was located near Van Nostrand Brewery, per MACRIS. Was that beer operation run by this guy?

Across very busy Rutherford Avenue, within close proximity of the MBTA station, is the tidy red industrial building below.

This place is home to Farina Corporation, an HVAC firm founded in 1958. It is located on Spice Street -- named, I believe, for Stickney & Poor, the oldest spice milling company in the United States, which was located on the corner of this street and Cambridge Street, directly across from where Sullivan Square station is now. I'm not sure if the company survives today.

As for Farina's building, it dates to the late 19th century; its historic name is the Henry E. Wright and Son Milk Can Factory, per MACRIS.

I believe that the low-slung brick building next to Farina's shop was part of the milk can factory as well. Now home to construction company Pomeroy & Co., Inc., digital ad agency Maark and other businesses, this property was once home to a, um, I'm not sure. Maybe an electronics repair company...

The ghost sign above is on the back of the old milk can factory. It might say television. There's a sign on the front as well, which definitely says "SALES SERVICE."

Also close to the Schrafft Center, along Bunker Hill Street (near the community garden I profiled in the first post), is a former fire station.

Now home to the Charlestown Working Theater, this building rose in 1884 and was used as a firehouse until 1970.

Just up Bunker Hill Street is the former Charlestown Armory.

Built in 1907 (most likely), the armory went up for, per MACRIS, three Charlestown militia companies with room to accommodate a fourth: the Charlestown Cadets (Company A of the fifth regiment, est. 1858), the Charlestown City Guard (Company H the fifth regiment, est. 1850), and the Charlestown Artillery (Company A of the eighth regiment, est. 1775). In more recent years, the Boston Public Library used it for book storage, according to MACRIS. It is now -- say it with me -- condos.

(Cool door on the old armory.)

Let's look at some other municipal buildings, both current and former, starting with the firehouse below.

Located on Winthrop Street, near the former Winthrop Square Training Field, this recently restored property has some mysteries attached to it. Oh, nothing exciting like murders or ghosts. Just dates and addresses. As often happens when I research old places, I came across three sources, each with a different "built on" date for this place, which has been home to Engine 50 for more than 100 years.

The City of Boston assessing department lists the address as 34-A Winthrop Street, and its year built as 1899. MACRIS lists it as 32-A Winthrop, built in 1915. And a recent Boston Globe article about its renovation has it at 34 Winthrop, built prior to 1853, which is the date it became a firehouse. So who the hell knows how old it is...

Across from the Bunker Hill Monument is the former Charlestown branch of the Boston Public Library.

Sorry for the sun-splashed photo. The building, which is now the Bunker Hill Museum, dates to 1912.

There are some wonderful homes in Monument Square. Below are homes along Tremont Street.

Between Tremont Street and Bunker Hill Street to the north, along a tiny street, I found my favorite Charlestown houses.

These took my breath away when I spied them around the corner as I walked up narrow Nearen Row.

Of course, there are tons of other amazing homes in Charlestown, such as the rowhouses below.

And great details like cobblestone streets....

...and whatever type of window is featured below.

Now time for some random shots, many of them from along Main Street. Below is one of the grander entrances I saw on my journey.

Located next to the Sweet Rice Thai restaurant, this place looks like it used to be something fun. Below is the Chillhouse Recording Studio.

Next door to the studio is Mister Q. Cafe, which opened in the former Boston Juicing spot earlier this year.

Also along Main Street I found the interesting dichotomy below.

In the foreground is the former Bunker Hill Relics antique store. I'm not sure how long it was open or when it closed. On the right is Junebug, a flower and gift shop that's been open for, well, I have no idea how long.

Back over on Bunker Hill Street the monument below is located in front of the Dougherty Playground/Clougherty Pool (Irish much?).

Placed in 1926 by the Bunker Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the plaque says, "CHARLESTOWN HEIGHTS JUNE 17, 1775." That's the date of the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Below is 356-358 Main Street.

I haven't found much about this building, other than the usual confusion. The Boston Assessing department lists the year built as 1912. Well, as you can see if you enlarge the photo, this place went up in 1868. I don't understand this.

Back over in City Square, I saw this funky old bank teller window.

This is the former Charlestown Trust Co. building, which went up in 1915. Notice the trompe l'oiel mural running past the window.

I'm gonna finish this post with another bank, perhaps the most stunning building I saw on my trek through Charlestown.

The Charlestown Five Cents Savings Bank in Thompson Square opened in 1876. "The Boston firm Moffette and Tolman designed this rare local example of High Victorian Gothic early in their practice," per this Society of Architectural Historians web page. "Complicated massing and the varied colors and textures of different building materials distinguish this example."

"Charlestown Savings Bank was founded in 1854 by a group of prominent local businessmen and civic leaders. Their offices were originally in City Square," per this Patch article. The bank worked with the King Solomon's Lodge of the Masons to build this beautiful place. Initially the bank occupied the second floor, while the Masons maintained facilities on the upper three floors. There were shops on the first floor, per the article. There is currently a Starbucks on the ground floor, alongside a Cambridge Savings Bank branch. I'm not sure what is on the upper floors.

I really dig the clock, below.

That's it for Part II. In the final installment, I will discuss and show photos of, among other things, social clubs, abandoned railroad tracks, graffiti and murals, a ghost sign, an old mill and some abandoned stuff near the recently opened Encore Boston Harbor casino just over the border in Everett.