Jamming Through Allston, Part I: Rock City

From Dave Brigham:

The first place I lived when I moved to Boston in the fall of 1990 was an apartment in Brighton. During the three years my girlfriend (now wife) and I lived in that neighborhood, we frequented bars and clubs in neighboring Allston. I saw some great bands at Bunratty's, which eventually became the Melody Lounge and then Local 186 and then Wonder Bar and then empty. Another favorite hangout was the Kinvara Pub, where the soundtrack was heavily loaded with Irish/Scottish bands, from U2 and the Waterboys to Thin Lizzy and the Pogues.

In this first of four posts about Allston, I'll talk about those and other locations, and bands I saw there, as well as all sorts of other rock 'n' roll-type stuff I saw on my return to Allston Rock City.

I'm going to start at a more recently deceased club: Great Scott.

(Entrance to the former Great Scott, which had an awning over it.)

Opened in 1976 (replacing a joint called Brandy's), the club closed in May 2020 due to, you guessed it, coronavirus-induced economic hardship. Since that time, the owners have been working to resurrect Great Scott. There was an effort to relocate a few blocks away to the former Regina Pizzeria location in a former train depot, but that hasn't borne fruit. Here's hoping they succeed in these difficult times when COVID, redevelopment and a changing social scene are conspiring against them.

(Electrical box outside the former club, showing the aforementioned awning.)

Great Scott in its early days was a blues and folk club. From 2005 to 2020, however, this club on the corner of Commonwealth and Harvard avenues served up punk, indie and folk rock night after night after night. I saw bands including Giant Sand and the Neal Pollack Invasion here. My buddy Jay of Arlington, Mass.-based Clicky Clicky Blog used to host his annual shindig here, featuring loads of local bands, such as Speedy Ortiz, Guillermo Sexo and Soccer Mom.

The two best shows I saw at Great Scott were both in 2012: Japan's groundbreaking pop-punk band Shonen Knife, and U.K. indie rockers Johnny Foreigner (another great show put on by my buddy Jay).

(Shonen Knife at Great Scott in July 2012.)

(Johnny Foreigner at Great Scott in November 2012.)

(Cool mural on the back wall of the former Great Scott.)

(I peeked through these windows. The floors have been stripped out. Not sure what might go in here.)

Head north across the very busy four lanes of Commonwealth Avenue (as well as two sets of trolley tracks), and in short time you'll find yourself in front of a vacant space at 186 Harvard Ave., where I hung out on occasion alongside grungy rockers, leather-clad badasses, jocks, nerds and, once, a bunch of fake-British fops.

This, ladies and germs, is where Bunratty's (et al) once stood. 'Twas here that I saw bands such as Antietam, a band of Kentucky transplants who landed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the early '80s (check out "War is (the health of the state)," the first song I ever heard by this band); Dinosaur Jr., an Amherst, Mass.-based band that proffers wonderfully sludgy slabs of rock (check out "The Lung"); and the Upper Crust, the aforementioned dandies, who sound like AC/DC and dress like French royalty circa 1782 (for your listening pleasure, "Let Them Eat Rock").

Let's face it, the odds of another rock club taking over 186 Harvard Avenue are lower than the chances of The Rat clawing its way back to its old dingy, dirty home in Kenmore Square now that Eastern Standard has shut its doors. In April 2021, the Boston Licensing Board granted the owners of the Wonder Bar the right to transfer a liquor license to a placed called Han at 186 Harvard Avenue. So in the near future, I assume, we'll see what's been going on behind the plywood.

(Wile E. Coyote hanging out on the plywood covering the old Bunratty's space.)

As for building itself, it's got a cool history. Erected in 1920, the building was originally a vaudeville theater, according to this great article at the Music Museum of New England web site. The site was a moviehouse for a short time, as well. In 1969, Dennis Mullins opened Bunratty's, named after an Irish castle that I visited in August 2018.

(Bunratty Castle)

"In it’s (sic) heyday, and for well over a decade, the venue hosted two to four bands a night: seven days a week; three hundred and sixty five days a year," the Music Museum article states. Like many rock clubs of that era, Bunratty's (known fondly as Bunz) could be more than a little scuzzy. But it was always a fun place to hang out. While reading that article, though, I learned that on one occasion it was a deadly place. "In August 1987, roller-skating doorman Abel Harris, a well liked kid, was murdered by an angry patron and Dennis sold the bar to his girlfriend and accountant Lorraine Curtis the next year; in 1988. The night Abel was shot the metal band Bang was playing and many people in the packed place thought the loud noise of the gun fire was a part of their show."

Holy smokes, I never heard about that. Anyway, in the ensuing decades the place changed hands and names and the music became tamer. I recall hearing people refer to Wonder Bar as a "fern bar." Wonder Bar closed in November 2020 due to, you guessed it, COVID-related shit.

A little further into the maelstrom of Harvard Avenue is Mr. Music, which has been selling guitars, ukeleles, keyboards and other equipment for 58 years.

I have a vague memory of walking into Mr. Music many years ago, probably not long after I first moved to Boston. I was looking to buy a guitar. I don't recall whether I just browsed, or tried a few out. The primary image in my head is a German shepherd sitting quietly in the corner. I never felt threatened, but I definitely found it odd.

Watch this video for a peek inside this place, which seems pretty great.

Looming behind Mr. Music is the former Allston Storage Warehouse/Yellowbrick Storage, which dates to 1915.

This massive space is now home to Studio 52, which features both band rehearsal and artist spaces.

Below is Studio 52's former location on Everett Street in Allston. It sits on the edge of a major redevelopment project, so I'm guessing it will be torn down at some point.

Continuing northward on our Harvard Avenue rock 'n' roll trek, we come to the former home of Common Ground.

Opened in the mid-'90s, this bar and restaurant also featured bands and DJ's over the years. The place closed in 2019 after nearly a quarter-century in business. The space is now home to Kao BBQ.

I think I was only here once, in the mid- to late-'90s, to see a Boston band called the Push Stars. Somebody my wife knew was friends with a member of the band, I think. They scored a song on the soundtrack of "There's Something About Mary," and put out a few major-label records, but have been on hiatus for many years.

Near the northern terminus of Harvard Avenue is where the Kinvara Pub once stood. It's been home to The Draft Bar and Grill for quite a few years.

The building dates to 1928, according to the Boston assessor's office. The Kinvara was operated by the Briar Group, which runs several restaurants, including City Bar in Boston's Back Bay; Gather, in the Seaport; Hurricane's at the TD Garden; and Six String Grille & Stage at Patriot Place in Foxborough.

Two doors down from the Draft, tucked down an alleyway and located in the basement of a former firehouse, is a Boston institution: Looney Tunes.

(It's crazy how many signs this store has!)

Run by a guy named Pat for the last 40 years, Looney Tunes is one of several Boston-area record stores still kicking after decades in business (Nuggets, Stereo Jack's, In Your Ear). Originally located on Massachusetts Avenue, and then Boylston Street, the store has been in business since 1978. Pat acquired the shop in 1982, according to this 2017 Boston Hassle interview. Judging from the interview, and from what I've heard from friends who know him, Pat is quite the character. As to why he bought the store, he answered: "I am in no way suited for regular fucking employment. I cannot contain myself sufficient to be part of anything that will require me to contain myself. This is expansive. There is an infinite variety of music for one thing, and there’s nobody to tell me to shut up."

Across the street from Looney Tunes is O'Brien's Pub, which has been around a long time. I'm ashamed to admit I've only been there once or twice. Once again, I owe that to my buddy Jay who put on a show there. Among the acts I saw on stage that night was Elizabeth Colour Wheel. They rocked, even after the lead singer somehow suffered a cut to hear head and was bleeding.

My buddy Jay wrote a great piece about them at his late, lamented blog. Read it.

(Elizabeth Colour Wheel, live in the studio.)

Next door to O'Brien's is Stingray Body Art, which isn't a club or record store, but is obviously a place where local rockers go to get inked and pierced. A college buddy of mine who has played in a million Boston bands over the last quarter century used to work at Stingray, before setting out on his own, with Bird in Hand Tattoo.

Another of the few venues for live music still left in Allston Rock City is Brighton Music Hall.

Why isn't this small (capacity: 500) club called Allston Music Hall? I don't know. This place has been in business for about a decade. The last show I saw before the pandemic was here: Battles.

It went like this:

For 40 years prior to the opening of the club, this space was known as Harpers Ferry (likely named after the West Virginia town known best for the raid that John Brown conducted on its armory in 1859). The club was known for a long time as a blues and R&B spot. According to Wikipedia, the club hosted a yearly blues festival and a a Battle of the Blues Bands.

Other types of music thrived there as well. "Harpers Ferry had a reputation throughout the Boston area as being an important venue in the hardcore music scene," according to Wikipedia. "After the closure of The Rathskeller, a famous venue in Kenmore Square, many of the hardcore bands that called The Rat home moved to The Middle East in the Central Square scene in Cambridge...or to Harpers Ferry....The WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble was held at Harpers Ferry in 2007 and 2008....On March 17, 2007, Dropkick Murphys performed their [annual] St. Patrick's Day show at Harpers Ferry."

Harpers Ferry closed in 2010 in light of a dispute between the club and its landlord. Other bands I've seen here over the years, both at Brighton Music Hall and Harper's Ferry, inlcude X, the Scud Mountain Boys, Susan Tedeschi (before the Tedeschi Trucks Band) and Mr. Airplane Man.

What's the most rock 'n' roll place in Allston? Is it the Model Cafe? Or the Silhouette Cocktail Lounge?

Opened in 1932, when it catered to workers in local factories, as well as truck drivers going in and out of those plants, the Model is only a bar now, but it used to be a full-service restaurant, according to this Boston Eater article.

I've never been to the Model. Judging from the photo above, it seems that the cafe added basic food during the pandemic, when establishments that were straight-up bars had to close for quite a while. This is where rockers hang out when they're not rocking.

There used to be a cool neon sign above the doorway; I'm not sure what happened to it.

As for the Silhouette, it's considered one of the best dive bars in Boston.

If nothing else, this place wins the "best signs" contest. I've never been here either. From what I understand, the clientele is a mix of old-time locals and college students. Last October, the 79-year-old owner, Joseph Eliseo, announced his intention to sell the bar to a venture that's been buying up other dive bars in recent years.

The mural on the side and back of the cocktail lounge is called The Famous Joes (in honor of Eliseo, I presume), and was completed by the Mayor's Mural Crew in 2006. From left to right, Pesci, Frazier, Piscopo, Cook (I think) Perry and Bazooka.

That wraps up the stuff that's directly related to this neighborhood's Allston Rock City moniker. Let's move along to some other stuff.

Allston Billiards has been in this location along Cambridge Street, above a body shop, for several years.

I'm not sure if this is a private club. I like that it's here; there aren't many pool halls left in the area.

Alright, let's finish up with some signs.

I dig the Blanchards Wine & Spirits sign along Harvard Avenue.

The liquor retailer was established in 1838 in Boston's Scollay Square. In 1938, the company was bought by John Corey who "grew the company from one retail location into a chain [of] retail stores," according to the Blanchards web site. "He also opened a distilled spirits plant and import division in the 1950’s located in Boston’s Historic South End." The company operates six retail stores in Greater Boston. Third- and fourth-generation Coreys continue to operate the business. Do those words look familiar? If you're a regular reader, they should. I wrote them about another Blanchards outlet, in Jamaica Plain (see January 22, 2022, "Jamaica Plain, Part I: Shopping & Snapping").

As for this Blanchards, I can give you some advice: If you're gonna be out and about in Allston late at night, don't park here. A million years ago, my girlfriend (now wife) and I parked here while out at the Kinvara, and when we returned to the lot, our car was gone. It had been towed to a lot somewhere south of Timbuktu. We had to take a cab to free our car. Pain in the ass, especially late on a long night.

I dig the sign advertising Kimchipapi Kitchen, which has been in business since 2018.

It's a Korean resaurant, but I'm not sure if the image is supposed to be Kim Jong-un or not. Owner Joon Son previously owned a sneaker shop, At the Buzzer, at this location. His mother, Ho Jeo Son, is a Boston restaurant veteran, having run Wuchon House in Somerville for years, according to Kimchipapi's web site.

Now for a sign of a different sort, for a much older business.

Arcand Sales & Service / Suspension Specialists, Inc. has been in business since 1908. At its founding, "we were primarily a blacksmith shop specializing in springs and suspensions on Carriages and Coaches. We worked on any transport vehicle, motorized or horse drawn," per the company's web site. It's still run by the Arcand family.

Lastly, the most well-known sign in Allston:

Located across North Beacon Street from The Model Cafe, Twin Donuts has been making donuts and coffee (and other foods) since 1959. I've found differing accounts about the age of this building -- 1920, says the Boston assessor's office, the 1800s, according to this profile on the Boston University web site. While the author of the BU article indicates the donut shop was "formerly occupied by the Odd Fellows Hall, a local movie theater," that's not correct. According to this Brighton Allston Historical Society article, the Odd Fellows Hall was located behind where Twin Donuts now stands, on a site where currently are situated a Dunkin' shop, a KFC restaurant and an auto service station. That information is borne out by these photos at a different location on the BAHS web site. Those pictures indicated previous tenants of 501 Cambridge Street include Commonwealth Lunch and Greene Druggist.

OK, that does it for the first installment about Allston. Make sure to check back soon for posts about houses of worship, ghost signs, apartment buildings and inns, a former train station, retail/restaurant space, murals, graffiti and much more. In the next post, I will talk at length about redevelopment, both projects that have already risen, and the many more yet to come.

Developer to Give Legendary Jam Space a Hand

From Dave Brigham:

This building in Boston's Brighton neighborhood may look very average and boring, but it's a historical site that's not long for this world. This is the Sound Museum, you see, and over the past 32 years it has provided rehearsal and recording space to thousands of bands, including locals such as Letters to Cleo, G. Love and Dropkick Murphys, as well as international superstars such as David Bowie, B.B. King and Iggy Pop.

Also, the Danes.

Who?

Don't tell me you've never heard of the Danes! Formed at the dawn of this century, the band toiled away in the Sound Museum for what seemed like a week to record an EP that would forever change the lives of literally ones of people. Comprised of yours truly (guitar, vocals), my college buddies Jeff (guitar, vocals) and Jim (bass, vocals), Jim's high school friend Paul (vocals) and, on drums, some guy brought in by the producer, Jeff's cousin John, the Danes are known best for songs including "Kerry the Okie," "The Shovel Song" and "Teleprompter."

Those songs titles don't ring a bell? Well, then I guess you weren't one of the lucky people to receive a copy of the CD, which Jim handed out to folks at his wedding to his lovely bride, Nikki.

Anyway....

The Sound Museum's original location was in Boston's South End, where it was started 40 years ago. It was founded by William "Des" Desmond "as a vehicle to provide affordable practice space for fledgling bands in the area," per the company's web site. "Desmond is one of the original pioneers of warehousing rehearsal space in the country (a concept that has been copied by many)."

(Sticker on a door of Sound Museum for Leather Lung, which claims a "pummeling passion for 90’s sludge, outlaw country and delta blues.")

As I mentioned, the building along North Beacon Street in Brighton is slated for demolition. Sound Museum indicates on its web site that it has a facility in Boston's Newmarket Square, as well as one in Cambridge's Central Square, although specific addresses are not provided. Last September, developer IQHQ filed a letter of intent with the City of Boston to replace the Sound Museum building with research labs and office space.

While developers kicking artists and musicians to the curb in the name of "progress" is nothing new in Boston, IQHQ seems determined to help local musicians. In February, the Boston Globe reported that in September "IQHQ approached Desmond with an offer to help the Sound Museum build what it calls a 'cutting-edge rehearsal and recording facility.'" IQHQ hired a commercial leasing broker and architect to assist Desmond in finding and designing a new location — which Desmond called “a huge relief,” according to the Globe story.

The facility recently held an open forum for musicians to discuss their "honest thoughts" on the upcoming demolition.

Here's hoping that IQHQ comes through for the Sound Museum. Stay tuned....

(Punk rock minivan outside the Sound Museum.)

Will This Pig Ever Serve Bacon Again?

From Dave Brigham:

I drive by the long-abandoned Pig 'n' Whistle Diner in Boston's Brighton neighborhood with some regularity. After a recent photo jaunt through neighboring Allston, I stopped to shoot this place. Longtime readers will recall that I featured this former eatery in the early days of the blog (see September 18, 2010, "Pig Out"). If this post served no purpose other than to showcase better photos than the one I took more than 11 years ago, that would be enough. But thanks to a diner guru who I follow on Instagram, and who follows me, I learned some background on this place.

Built in 1952 by Mountain View Diners, an outfit based in New Jersey from 1938 until 1957, this restaurant was first operated as Circle Diner in Watertown Square, according to Richard Gutman, "Curator, Author and Expert on All Things Diner," per his web site. The go-to guy for all things diner, Gutman has written four books on this uniquely American eateries, including American Diner Then and Now and Worcester Lunch Car Company.

In a conversation on Instagram, Gutman said he's not sure when this diner moved to Brighton. It closed unexpectedly in 2002, and has sat abandoned ever since. The original owners have been dead a long time, according to Gutman. Their descendants still own the diner, apparently, and have tried to sell it over the years.

In September 2017, Pig 'n' Whistle owner Robert Zoffreo said he planned to renovate and reopen the diner. Well, that didn't happen. Zoffreo still owns the site, according to the City of Boston's assessing department. Squeezed between a Gulf gas station and a CVS parking lot, this site is small and would likely be difficult to redevelop.

If the diner isn't reopened, the best the world can hope for is that someone buys the building and moves it again. And for God's sakes - save that sign!

Stay tuned....

For more posts about diners, see below:

August 19, 2020, "Nailing a Great Find in Wareham"

January 9, 2020, "Southie Loses More Eateries"

Wednesday, July 28, 2010, "Two Hearts Beat As One"

March 18, 2010, "Eat, Dance & Be Happy"

La Salette Park Is No Apparition

From Dave Brigham:

La Salette Open Space in Bloomfield, Connecticut, checks many of my boxes:

Cool place to hike? Check.

Scenic views? Check.

Overgrown and somewhat dilapidated barns and outbuildings? Check.

Beautiful old stone house that you can't go in? Who put that on the list?!

History that includes farming, tin-making and a retreat for a Catholic group that named itself after a town in the French Alps where Blessed Mother Mary allegedly appeared to two children in 1846? Check-ity check!

I stumbled across this 140-acre property on Google Maps while searching for someplace close to my mother's house in Windsor to explore on a recent visit to the Nutmeg State. It was everything I'd hoped for, and more.

Let's start with that fantastic house that you can't enter (although that may change in the not-too-distant future).

Built of traprock in 1834, this place is known as the Oliver Filley House. "The floor plan is unusual, consisting of two intersecting wings," according to Wikipedia. "The primary living quarters were in the west wing. Filley's decision to build a stone house was partly motivated by the desire of his son, but he was also aware that a stone house was becoming a status symbol in the area. It would become the third stone house in Bloomfield, following a house built two year[s] earlier by David Grant, and one built a year earlier by Francis Gillette."

Oliver Filley, Jr., inherited a previous house and some land at age 12 upon the death of his father, Wikipedia continues. He acquired more land and added buildings during his ownership. Filley started a tinsmith business in 1806, and expanded that operation to Elizabeth, New Jersey. He built this house for his son, Jay.

To learn more about the house, the Filley family and the efforts to upgrade the property since the Town of Bloomfield took over the site, check out this document.

The Filley family owned the property only until 1849, when the estate of Oliver Filley, Jr., was settled. The site changed hands a few times over the next five years, with Samuel Pinney buying it in 1854, according to the Wintonbury Historical Society. In 1913, the Pinney family sold the property to the La Salette Missionaries, which operated a college in nearby Hartford. "The house and property was first used as a summer home or country villa for those La Salettes living in the Hartford House, a spot for excursions and picnics during the school year or vacation days," per the missionaries' web site. "The first general outing for the entire College to the new property was held on April 14, 1914 — and it created quite a stir and plenty of excitement in the town of Bloomfield. In 1916 the La Salettes broke ground for a $40,000, three-story brick building east of the Filley House. The 82-by-62-foot structure accommodated 50 students and was called the Novitiate of the College of La Salette."

When I told my sister, who lives in West Hartford, about my trip to this park, she recalled seeing what I believe what was the former La Salette dorm in prior years. The building is no longer standing. As you'll see below, the buildings that remainn on the site are in various states of dilapidation.

Eventually, the La Salette community turned their farming hobby into a self-sustaining business. "[B]y 1940 the farm was self-sufficient, and the novices were an integral part of this reality. In addition to farming, the La Salettes grew and sold produce, operated a dairy farm, raised livestock, slaughtered their own cattle and pigs. They were well-versed in plumbing, carpentry, electrical wiring, bricklaying and cabinet-making. They built their own swimming pool."

A swimming pool - I love it!

So just what the heck are novices? What is a novitiate?

A novice is a person who is in training, so to speak, to become a full-fledged member of a religious order (priest, nun, monk). A novitiate is both the building in which these trainees live, and the time during which the novices are on probation before taking their vows.

The missionaries closed this facility in the 1970s, due to dwindling enrollment in its novice classes. The group moved its novitiate to Altamont, New York. The La Salette organization, which is named for a "small hamlet" in the French Alps where in 1846 the Virgin Mary is alleged to have given her "message of reconciliation" to two young children, maintains a shrine in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The La Salette organization eventually sold the farm. In 1992, the Town of Bloomfield purchased the site from Milton Levine (I'm not sure if Levine acquired the property from the La Salette folks). In 1993, the Town signed a 99-year lease for the house to the Wintonbury Historical Society, which has completed some renovations on the house.

Of all the buildings on the Bloomfield property, the house is by far in the best condition. But I was more intrigued by a small outbuilding along the main driveway.

I thought perhaps this was once a farm stand, or even a ticket booth for events held at the farm. But, as I learned from some Wintonbury Historical Society documents I found online, this little hut is a well house. I wasn't sure exactly what a well house is, so, crazy as this might seem, I searched on Google for more information. I came across the Into the Woods blog, which has since become a favorite. "A wellhouse was a common outbuilding in the days before electricity," according to the blog. "The well itself, with a windlass and bucket for drawing water, generally was near the wellhouse door."

Having grown up in a town -- Simsbury, which abuts Bloomfield -- that's still dotted with old tobacco barns, I have a certain affinity for these old farm structures (see this post, as well as this one, also this one, and this 'un here). So I was psyched to see some wonderfully decaying samples here.

(I wasn't expecting to see graffiti here.)

(Awfully tempting.)

(This was a workshop of some sort.)

(I'm proud that I knew this is an old corn crib.)

(It was like that when I got here.)

Could the pile of bricks below....

...have once been part of this ruin?

Perhaps. I just love this relic. A new storage area has been fitted into the old structure.

I'm guessing this is where supplies for the adjacent community garden are stored.

OK, let's get to the open space!

While I was certainly very interested in seeing the wonderful old stone house on this property, as well as the falling-down barns, I chose this site to explore because I needed a little fresh-air walkabout. I knew from a write-up at the excellent CTMQ blog ("Destroying the myth that there is nothing to do" in Connecticut) that La Salette offered views of downtown Hartford, as well as some nice paths through both active and former growing fields.

(The clouds obscured the Hartford view a bit.)

I enjoyed seeing Heublein Tower, which sits in Talcott Mountain State Park. As a kid, I climbed the mountain many times with my family. I also loved watching hang gliders soar above the ridge while I played baseball or football on the school field next to my house. I haven't climbed to the tower in probably 20 years.

The property connects to the Wintonbury Land Trust's Hawk Hill property, which I didn't check out. A nice older couple walking their dogs told me that's also a great site, and that it features at least one old barn.

(A frozen pond at the bottom of a hill, near a housing development.)

(I'm not sure what this structure used to be. Perhaps another corn crib?)

The site is still actively farmed, which I was happy to see.

I'm guessing this is a corn field. I don't know who does the farming, what types of crops they work, or where the produce is sold. Perhaps at nearby Wade's Farm Fresh, which traces its roots back to a dairy farm established in 1919.

For more about Bloomfield, check out:

June 2, 2018, "Three Blessings and a Curse"

December 29, 2016, "What's Auers is Yours"