Charlestown Jaunt, Part III

From Dave Brigham:

Welcome to the final installment in my three-part series on Boston's Charlestown neighborhood. In this post I'll cover a social club, an abandoned railroad, an old mill and some abandoned stuff within view of the Encore Boston Harbor casino, among other things.

The first two installments are "here" and here.

I really like the back alleys you find in many Boston neighborhoods.

I don't remember exactly where this little pass-through is. I imagine kids using it to ride bikes safely off the main roads, or criminals booking through here after knocking over a bank. So many practical uses.

Speaking of cool features of Boston, how about a pub that dates to 1780?

Named for a patriot who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Warren Tavern has served George Washington, Paul Revere and other famous Americans over the centuries. The tavern has closed for short periods of times over the past 240 years, per Wikipedia, but is one of the oldest pubs in the Bay State.

While we're on the subject of booze, how about McCarthy Bros. Liquor Store....

Located in Hayes Square, the packy has been around since 1888. During the course of those 132 years, the company brewed its own beer, although it doesn't do that anymore. The fifth generation of the family now runs the joint, which is the longest running family business in Charlestown, per the store's web site.

If you're a member or know someone who is, you can also get your drink on at Abraham Lincoln Post 11 of Grand Army of the Republic.

This club has a long and slightly confusing history, so bear with me. Founded in 1867, this chapter of the GAR -- a national fraternal organization for Union veterans of the Civil War -- was situated in a few locations before moving to this one on Green Street in 1888, per the group's web site. "In 1920, the membership changed their charter, and called the new corporation the Abraham Lincoln Post 11/Veterans of the World War. This opened up the membership to any veteran who served in the Armed Forces during time of war," the web site indicates. " In 1932, with many of its Civil War members dead or dying, the charter was changed again, creating the Memorial Hall Corporation. The purpose of the corporation was and still is 'to hold the property at 14 Green Street for the use and occupation by persons who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America in time of war…………and to preserve the building as a sacred heirloom for the future defenders of America and as a Shrine of Peace dedicated by the people of Charlestown to her sons, the Defenders of our Country in its struggle for Liberty, Unity and Humanity.'"

The national organization of the Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved in 1956 after the death of its last member.

In the second post in this series I discussed some buildings in Sullivan Square, such as the former Schrafft's candy factory. Roughly a mile away, over the border in Everett, sits Encore Boston Harbor, the first casino in eastern Massachusetts (see my exhaustive review of this area from May 4, 2019, "Roll the Dice: Encore!"). Wynn Resorts, the company that operates the gambling and entertainment facility, has acquired a lot of property around the casino, with an eye toward developing hotels, restaurants, retail sites and office buildings. Below are a few sites in Charlestown that are currently vacant or close to it. Will these properties be redeveloped as the area around the casino glitzes up?

R. Wesley's Bistro has been closed for several years. I found a Charlestown Patch article from April 2012 that mentions how dusty the place is. There is a parking lot behind the building, and plenty of traffic to bring in customers to a new eatery. The casino might -- once business returns at least to semi-normal -- bring in more folks looking for a quick bite or drink. This building is in rough shape, though, so it might need to come down.

Just to the right of the former eatery's green awnings you can see the Encore Boston Harbor.

Also in the shadow of the Schrafft Center is a property hemmed in by Rutherford Avenue, Mishawum Street and Main Street.

At least part of the building is occupied by Louis W. Mian, Inc., an importer, distributor, fabricator and installer of all types of natural stone, per the company's web site. The company dates to 1948. Now, as for the empty lot in the foreground....I searched quite a bit online and think I found out what used to be here: James J. Duffy, Inc., a wholesale distributor to convenience stores (think Bazooka gum, Magnum Ecstasy condoms, Slim Jim, 5-Hour Energy, etc.). The company is located in Chelsea now, but I found an address for 500 Main Street, Charlestown, online, which matches the address for this lot.

I haven't been able to figure out what, if anything, might be in the works for this lot. I'm guessing eventually a condo building will rise here.

A stone's throw away I found this remnant of a railroad right-of-way.

I believe these tracks are a bit of what's left of a spur off the Boston & Main Railroad that led to Charlestown's waterfront. "Now used to receive shipments of new cars, Mystic Pier was once a substantial freight hub, with the industrial spur providing the industries on the pier with a rail connection to western clients," per this Boston Streetcars web page.

Across from the Louis W. Mian building referenced above is the ugly mess of Rutherford Avenue.

Dating to the 1960s, I believe, Rutherford Avenue is, as this November 2011 Boston Globe article says, a city street masquerading as a highway. A concrete wound slicing between Bunker Hill Community College and various industrial parks on the west side, and the quieter, residential areas on the east, Rutherford Avenue needs to be updated, something everyone agrees on. But for more than a decade, the City of Boston has been conducting studies and working with the community to try and figure out how to balance the need for traffic management, green space, bicycle and pedestrian access, signage, expansion of the Ryan Playground and many more issues. I have no idea when this will all come to fruition. Maybe once the casino opens again, things will pick up as development takes root across the border in Everett.

On the corner of Spice and Cambridge streets, directly across from the Sullivan Square subway and bus station, is the building below, which dates to 1895.

This property is known as the Julian D'Este Brass Finishing Company and Foundry, per MACRIS. Current tenants include Madison Floral and Be Movement Arts.

Let's wrap it up with some Charlestown-themed graffiti.

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge (known locally as the ZBH, or the Zakim or the Bunker Hill Bridge) spans the nebulous body of water that runs between Cambridge, Charlestown and the North Station area -- is it the Charles River? Millers River? Boston Harbor? Anyway, the bridge, which has become an iconic symbol of "new Boston," was named for both the late civil rights activist Lenny Zakim and the nearby site of a famous Revolutionary War battle.