From Dave Brigham:
Arlington is a mid-sized town with a fantastic downtown area filled with small shops, restaurants, theaters and Colonial-era homes. Located about six miles northwest of Boston, the town, like many in New England, has an industrial past. On two recent walks through Arlington Center, specifically along Massachusetts Avenue, I also found the town has a commitment to public art.
I can't tell you how many times I've driven (and walked) along some portion of what locals call Mass. Ave., from Boston's Back Bay, through Cambridge's Central and Harvard squares, Arlington and Lexington. Every once in a while, I think, "Man, how long is Mass. Ave.?" Well, I finally decided to find out.
The answer is...unclear. Starting in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, Edward Everett Square to be exact, Mass. Ave. continues for roughly 16 miles into Lexington, where it enters Minuteman National Historical Park. "The road, by the same name, continues northwest and west, through many different cities and towns," according to Wikipedia. "It largely parallels or joins Route 2 and Route 2A, all the way into central Massachusetts, with a few gaps at towns that have different names for the central road." After Lexington, the avenue runs through Concord, Acton, Boxborough, Harvard and Lunenburg, where it finally seems to fizzle out.
Paul Revere also rode along this route, although it was known at the time as the Great Road.
I'll start my tour at the southeast end of Arlington, and work my way north and west along Mass. Ave. I made one long trek, and a shorter follow-up, but of course I surely didn't find everything worth finding.
The first building for us to consider is also the most mysterious.
It's just an unassuming brick building that's been partially painted white, you say. What's the big mystery?
It's the two-letter, triangular mosaic at the (somewhat unfriendly looking) front door. I want - no, NEED - to know what "A.N." stands for. Or, more likely, stood for.
This place, which dates to 1925, according to the town assessor's database, is a mix of residential and commercial. A search of 40 Massachusetts Avenue brings up a company called Sea Sciences, which designs and builds "cutting edge, field-usable tools that enable our customers to perform ecosystem monitoring and breakthrough research supporting better management of environmental issues in ocean and fresh waters," per its web site. Well, that certainly doesn't happen behind those doors.
I'm guessing this place was a social club of some sort way back when. If anybody knows, please let me know.
At 102 Mass. Ave. is Cambridge Typewriter.
Founded in 1968 by Ed Vanderwalle, the modest shop sells, rents and repairs typewriters. Tom Furrier took over the shop (which was originally located in Cambridge) in 1980, after having worked there as a technician. Furrier is somewhat of a local celebrity, having been featured on WCVB's "Chronicle" program and a video produced by two Emerson College students. The shop owner also ran his own blog, Life in a Typewriter Shop, for a while. Having grown up in a household with an old Royal typewriter, and having used a more modern one during college, this place speaks to me. Still, I have no desire to clickety-clack with typewriters anymore.
On the opposite side of the avenue is Minuteman Repair. Check out the soldier in the window.
Next up is #135-137, home of a HearUSA hearing center and Giles Wine & Spirits.
The building, which differs in looks from most along Mass. Ave., dates to around 1920.
Across the street is Za Pizza, which features a fantastic fox mural.
Artist James Weinberg painted this beauty. "The mural is a celebration of local wildlife, while the fox has become a veritable icon of the neighborhood by virtue of the Fox parade during Feast of the East, the Fox Library and its mini fox murals by Shun Yamaguchi, and Artbeat’s Follow the Fox summer art adventure," per this Arts Arlington post. The Fox Library murals are featured below.
There's another great mural on the side of Anthony's East Side Deli, at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Marathon Street.
The mural, which "celebrates the original meaning of 'marathon' in ancient Greece as well as its modern counterpart," was painted in 2014 by Lauren Hefferon and some of Arlington's fifth graders, according to the Arlington Public Art blog. I just love seeing more and more murals around Greater Boston, especially ones in which kids have helped realize the vision.
Below is the fox mural referenced above, on the Fox Library.
Across from the library is the former Arlington Five Cents Savings Bank.
Home for many years to Flora restaurant -- where I did a reading, along with other authors, from a story of mine that was published in Tales from the House Band, Vol. 2 nine years ago -- 190 Mass. Ave. was most recently where Adventure Pub laid its head. I believe the restaurant is closed, as there is no online presence. I guess maybe this place is empty now. Anyway, it was built in 1924.
Next on the tour is one of the gems of Arlington, the Capitol Theatre.
Built in 1925, the theater building also features restaurant and store space, as well as apartments. "It was originally part of the Albert Locatelli theater chain, which included the Ball Square and Central Square Theaters in Somerville," according to MACRIS. "Costing $500,000,the building contained 11 stores, 12 offices, a theater with a seating capacity of 1,700, and 15 apartments on the third floor. Publicity releases listed among the notable features the theater's organ, which the management claimed was 'the lagest of its kind in New England'....In its early years,it was also said to have 'the largest electric sign in New England' and 'a stage equipped to turn to vaudeville.'"
While it was originally a one-screen theater, over the decades the large space was divided into four smaller ones (the last film I saw here was "Avatar"). I'm not sure whether it has operated as a theater continuously for the last 96 years. Below is a banner ad on the north side of the building, above the Derby Farm flower shop.
There are some buildings that caught my eye as I headed north along Mass. Ave. from the theater, but not so much that I wanted to take pictures of them. One that I knew I had to explore a bit was a private home just south of the Walgreens Pharmacy.
I can honestly say that in all my years, I've never seen an enchanting, Greek young man posed seductively on a grape leaf hanging over someone's front doorway. I mean, what a statement piece! But I was actually more interested in what I'd seen behind the house when I had driven by a short time before.
This is the art studio of George Jovellas, who lives in the house (I presume; he's 92 years old). Jovellas has led quite an interesting life -- enlisted in the Army at age 17, went to Japan during World War II; he held jobs as a technical illustrator and a hairdresser, among others; and he's a painter. I'd love to see inside his studio. I also would like to know more about the panel truck parked behind the fence, as seen below.
That type of truck brings to mind the inimitable and irascible Reid Fleming, the world's toughest milkman.
Moving north along the western side of Mass. Ave., I saw a service station that may be the most well-decorated one I've ever seen.
(Arlington Service Station.)
Amid lots of older storefronts, newer apartment buildings and beautiful old homes, one historic building stands out: the former Wayside Inn.
"One of Arlington's few remaining pre-Revolutionary structures, this house was owned in the 18th century by the Cutter family, who were among the first settlers in the area, and in the early 19th century by the Whittemore family," per MACRIS. "In the 19th Century, it may have been used as a stagecoach stop or hotel, as its owner, Phillip Whittemore, also owned the Whittemore Hotel, which later-became Arlington House."
The house was built no later than 1750, according to MACRIS, but it wasn't known as The Wayside Inn until the 20th century. "...'Wayside Inn' did not appear in local documents until the early 20th century, by which time the building was a private dwelling. The Whittemore family sold the house to Ralph W. Shattuck, the hardware merchant. He lived here and maintained his store in an adjacent building during the late 19th century." Currently, the building is home to a few small businesses.
Next door, at 397 Mass. Ave., is a builing that's currently home to The Music Studios of Arlington Center and women's clothing store Helena's.
I took the photo because I thought I'd be able to figure out if the pattern above is evidence of a sign for an older business. I did find a photo on the Arlington Assessor's web site showing a store called Wild Women, but it shows the front of the building, so I'm not sure if there was a sign for that store in the spot shows in the photo above. The building dates to 1930.
Let's take a slight detour, to the corner of Broadway and Alton Street, where I made a photo I really like, below.
Located in this circa-1920 building are a handful of shops and businesses, including Alton Street Boxing & Fitness.
OK, back out to Mass. Ave., and the Fowle Block.
Built in 1896, the Fowle Block was named after Frederick Fowle, who operated a store of some sort here. Other early tenants were a furniture company, the Arlington Advocate newspaper and the Rose Bud Restaurant, per MACRIS. "Shattuck's Hardware Store, founded in 1857 and located originally in various locations across the avenue, moved into the Fowle Block in 1936," MACRIS continues.
Next door is the former Arlington Center Garage and Showroom, which has a cool history.
Built in 1909, this building, which looks nothing like any of its neighbors, and probably nothing like any building Arlington, was built as the first new car garage in town, per MACRIS. "Its construction included a reinforced concrete floor, then a great novelty in town, and a turntable and elevator to move automobiles between the main floor showroom and the service garage below. It was the showroom for the Mitchell car. Hollis M. Gott was the company's president and Warren A. Peirce, Jr. its treasurer; both were sons of distinguished Arlington families. Gott's father Charles had since 1873 maintained a wagon shop on the property."
I'd never heard of the Mitchell line of cars. The Mitchell & Lewis Company made wagons, so I'm guessing that Charles Gott sold that brand. In 1903, the Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company was spun off from the wagon operation. In 1910, the two businesses were combined, per Wikipedia, and made automobiles until 1923. This property is currently home to T.L. Nails & Spa, optician Ronald Riesz and the Z-Kai Learning Lab.
Next up is another great old theater.
Located on Medford Street, the Regent Theatre opened in 1916. "[T]he historic Regent Theatre remains true to its roots as a vibrant vaudeville house," according to the theater's web site. "An intimate 500-seat performing arts center with superior acoustics and comfortable seating, 'Arlington's Show Place of Entertainment' features live music concerts, theatre, dance events, family entertainment, comedy, film specials, and more." I was fortunate to see two plays put on by my son's school here, before the pandemic. It's a very warm and welcoming space - and it has a bar!
The next building has thrown me for a bit of a loop.
MACRIS says this place was built in 1950, but it looks older to me. The Arlington assessor's office says it dates to 1960, and lumps it together, address-wise, with the next building I will talk about. That building, known as the Finance Building, dates to 1920, per MACRIS. Anyway, the building in the photo above is currently home to Allure Hair Studio and Acitron, a Mexican restaurant.
So, let's move on to the Finance Building.
Currently home to a number of shops, including Wood & Strings, a music shop; the Portal Crystal Gallery & Wellness Space; gift shop Arlington Centered; and Indian restaurant Punjab, the Finance Building dates to 1920, as I mentioned above. The building continues slightly northeast down a pleasant, tree-lined walkway. Below is a nice detail from that section of the Finance Building.
Further down that path toward a large parking lot is a set of quaint storefronts along the side of an older apartment building. One of the small businesses located there is The Drawing Room, which serves as the gallery and work space for wedding photographer Connie Miller.
As for the building, it was developed by the same folks who erected the Finance Block. The Shingle Style apartment block rose in 1893, according to this National Register of Historic Places document for the Town of Arlington. It was built on the Old Squire Russell estate, according to the document.
On the north side of that shady walkway stands the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum.
(A lot going on here: at the left of the photo is an Arlington Housing Authority apartment building; to the right is the Dallin Museum; in the foreground is a preserved remnant of the former Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad. Whittemore Park, the site of the museum and old rail corridor, is currently in the midst of a revitalization.)
The museum, which celebrates "Utah-born sculptor, educator, and Indigenous rights activist [Cyrus Dallin] who lived and worked in Arlington, Massachusetts for over 40 years," is located in the Jefferson Cutter House. Cutter built the home in 1830; it is owned by the Town of Arlington, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, per Wikipedia.
Across busy Mystic Street from the musuem, at an entrance to the Minuteman Bikeway, is Uncle Sam Plaza.
The statue in the background commemorates Samuel Wilson, who was born nearby and who, in a roundabout fashion, is given credit as the inspiration for the term Uncle Sam when referring to the United States government. "[A] popular legend is that the name 'Uncle Sam' was derived from Samuel Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy, New York, who supplied rations for American soldiers during the War of 1812," according to Wikipedia. "There was a requirement at the time for contractors to stamp their name and where the rations came from onto the food they were sending. Wilson's packages were labeled 'E.A.—U.S.' When someone asked what that stood for, a co-worker jokingly said, 'Elbert Anderson [the contractor] and Uncle Sam,' referring to Wilson, though the U.S. actually stood for 'United States.' Doubts have been raised as to the authenticity of this story, as the claim did not appear in print until 1842. Additionally, the earliest known mention definitely referring to the metaphorical Uncle Sam is from 1810, predating Wilson's contract with the government."
Anyway, makes for a nice story
Continuing on what becomes the north side of Mass. Ave. as it curves past Mystic Street, we come to one of my favorite buildings in this area.
The Associates Block dates to 1901, and was Arlington's first four-story building. I just love the color contrast and the roofline details. And of course, there is history at this site.
SITE OF THE GENERAL STORE OF THOMAS RUSSELL (1750). PLUNDERED DURING THE BRITISH RETREAT APRIL 19, 1775," the plaque on the side of the Associates Block reads.
As if the British plundering weren't bad enough, eventually Russell's store was demolished -- by Americans! -- to make room for a 1905 addition to the Associates Block, according to MACRIS. "The store...had been owned and operated by four generations of Thomas Russells for almost one-hundred-forty years as a general store and informal civic center."
At the corner of Mass. Ave. and Water Street stands a sign memorializing Captain Cooke's Mill Lane.
"THE ROAD TO CAPTAIN COOKE'S GRIST MILL. BUILT IN 1638. THE FIRST WATER MILL IN THIS VICINITY."
"Capt. George Cooke lived in what is now Arlington, Massachusetts, from 1635 to 1645," according to the Historical Marker Database. "Here he owned more than 500 acres and built his water-powered grist mill. After returning to England, he served as an officer in Oliver Cromwell’s army and died during a battle in Ireland in 1652."
Strange that someone would sail across the Atlantic, amass 500 acres, start a grist mill, live there for 10 years, and then turn around and herad back across the pond.
Continuing along Mass. Ave., we come to the Whittemore Block.
Home to several small businesses, including Camilla's Bridal Shop, Mamadou's Artisan Bakery & Cafe, Symmes Mini-Mart and Code Ninjas, this well-maintained, single-story retail block dates to 1920.
The Whittemore family was highly regarded back in Colonial times. "The Whittemores were active in business, state politics and local affairs for many years. William was known locally as 'Squire Whittemore.' He was a selectman of Cambridge from 1803-05, state representative from 1804-06 and state senator from 1820-21. His grandfather Samuel is memorialized in an inscription in the town center in front of the Cutter House. It records his feats during the Revolutionary War," according to the Town of Arlington's web site.
On my second trip through this area, I checked out the former Arlington Police Station on Central Street.
Built in 1927, the old station is home to numerous businesses, including Amaze Escape, which features one game, Escape from Death Row, in which participants start in actual jail cells. Pretty cool!
On the corner of Central Street and Mass. Ave. is a quaint building that was once home to a restaurant, but which is currently the ministry center for a neighboring church.
Built in 1930, this lovely building housed the Town Hall Restaurant at some point in its history. According to MACRIS, other businesses located here over the years included a barber shop. The affiliated house of worship is Highrock Church, part of the Evangelical Covenant Church. The church is currently renovating the former B&R Auto Center around the corner on Mill Street, which is located adjacent to another Highrock building.
The new space will feature a larger sanctuary, community space, meeting rooms, and a prayer chapel, according to the church.
Further down Mill Street, up until sometime earlier this century, there stood the Brigham's Ice Cream factory. I really wish I'd seen that place in person, both because of my last name (although I'm not related to the founders) and because I love their ice cream. Anyway, the factory was torn down and replaced with Brigham Square Apartments.
Anyway, getting back to our tour.
This is 24 Mill Street, home to R.W. Shattuck/Ace Hardware. It was built around 1926. Shattuck has been in business since 1857, but I'm not sure how long it's been at this location. Also along Mill Street is #22, below, which features an older part and a newer part, which combined are home to apartments and businesses.
Built in 1905, the older part was home to the Hack & Barge Company, according to this Arlington Historical Society web page. Hack is an old term for a cab or carriage; a barge, of course, is a water conveyance. I'm not sure whether the company was a manufacturing outfit, or a transportation business.
The next stop on this first tour of Arlington is the Jason Russell House.
"Jason Russell built this simple house in the 1740s, using re-salvaged materials from his grandparent’s older home," according to the home's web site. "...The furnishings in the house date from the 18th and 19th centuries, reflecting its long development. Many of the furnishings belonged to the Russell family who occupied the house until 1896. The Arlington Historical Society...acquired and restored the house in 1923. On October 9, 1974 the National Park Service and the Department of the Interrior approved the addition of this historic house to the National Register of Historic Places."
As you can tell by my not-so-great photo, I was more interested in the "Mini Me" house. This little architectual wonder is what the historical society calls a "donation house." Folks walking by can drop coins or bills into a slot on the top of the clear plastic casing.
"The model dwelling atop the pole is a replica of the Jason Russell House as it would have looked in 1775, when Russell and 11 others lost their lives at the hands of retreating British soldiers," per this Your Arlington web page. The small house was built by Clif Fonstad, "a retired MIT professor who has built other intriguing miniatures around Arlington, including the book house in Menotomy Rocks Park."
During my second trip, I recalled that I'd missed a Masonic Temple behind Town Hall, on Academy Street.
Built in 1923, the temple was designed by Charles Dunham. Our friends at MACRIS believe, rightfully so, that this Classical Revival beast isn't quite suited for the residential neighborhood in which it sits. "...Dunham...gave his clients a fairly representative example of a neo-classical English country house which would probably be better situated amidst a Capability Brown deerpark than in its somwhat awkward suburban setting. This building, in the context of the adjacent institutional buildings (Friends of the Drama, and Central School) provides an interesting interlude in an otherwise strictly residential neighborhood." MACRIS sent me to Google with the Capability Brown reference. Lancelot Brown, better known as Capability Brown, "is remembered as 'the last of the great English 18th-century artists to be accorded his due' and 'England's greatest gardener,'" per Wikipedia.
The Mystic Valley Lodge A.F. & A.M. still meets in this building.
Now to the other buildings that MACRIS mentions in its write-up of the temple.
Arlington Friends of the Drama (aka AFD Theatre), which was founded in 1923, is located in the former St. John's Episcopal Church. Built in 1877, the building "is a handsome and well-preserved example of the Stick Style of ecclesiastical architecture," per MACRIS. "It has a rural air that echoes a preference for sermon over ceremony."
Finally, the former Central Junior High School, on the corner of Academy and Maple streets.
Now home to the Arlington Center for the Arts and the town's senior center, the former school rose in 1894. The building "is architecturally distinguished, and one of Arlington's handful of really monumental structures," according to MACRIS. "Its form was as much based on theories on public health as that of scholastic organization or architectural effect -- the outsized 'chimneys' are actually ventillation stacks. The building combines the proportions and gravity of Richardsonian Romanesque with Chateauesque dormers and symmetrical elevations, that foreshadow the Classical Revival."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
OK, there you have it! Make sure to check back for part two of my Arlington series, in which I will venture further north along Massachusetts Avenue.
