From Dave Brigham:
I lied to you.
Last year, when I published about Hyannis, the main commercial village of the town of Barnstable on Cape Cod, I said that neither that post nor the follow-up would feature anything about the Kennedy clan, who maintain a compound two miles southwest of the shopping district, right on Hyannis Harbor (see September 25, 2021, "Absolutely Nothing About the Kennedy Clan Here").
So let's get my brief mention of America's royal family out of the way, shall we?
Along the Kennedy Legacy Trail, you can visit the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum; the so-called Kennedy Church, St. Francis Xavier on South Street; a Peace Corps memorial; and other sites.
I happened across a wall of large photos of the clan along the side of the Sturgis Charter Public School, which is located at the corner of Main and Pearl streets, and couldn't resist making a photo.
(Joseph and Rose Kennedy with eight of their nine children.)
I didn't know last year that I was lying, so sue me.
OK, moving on.
Speaking of folks with a few bucks to spend, how about George Holbrook, an early 20th-century Richie Rich whose "cottage" and water tower overlook East Beach.
"It began as a water tower and artesian well providing water for the people of Hyannis Port," according to this CapeCod.com article. "Overlooking East Beach it was also a landmark for sailors traversing Nantucket Sound. It became so well known as such that a plaque reading ‘Landmark’ was placed on the tower."
As for the house: "The prime parcel of land in Hyannis Port was developed as a summer estate for George B. Holbrook in 1905. Holbrook was born in September 1846 in the town of Swanzey in the southwest corner of New Hampshire. At the age of fifteen he joined the army and fought in the Civil War, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He would live as a resident of Springfield, Massachusetts eventually becoming the president of the American Writing Paper Co.
"Holbrook would enlist another Springfield resident, George Wood Taylor, an architect, to devise the plans for his Hyannis Port estate. Taylor would go on to build several homes in the village. In September 1910 the estate would burn down in a fire while Holbrook and his son were back home in Springfield. His wife Ellen and their two daughters were there in Hyannis Port but escaped unharmed. The nine-bedroom cement home would be rebuilt by Taylor in time for the summer of 1911. The incredible home would be featured in the July 1, 1912 issue of the popular Country Life In America magazine. Holbrook would retire in 1913 and enjoy his stately home on the water until his death in 1922."
A sign outside the water tower indicates that is being restored. Check out historic photos at the link above. I stumbled across this place after driving past Toad Hall Classic Sports Car Museum, and deciding I wasn't up for a visit.
It's kind of hard to escape the Kennedy name just about anywhere in Massachusetts, but never more so than in Hyannis, of course. As I rambled down a side street to check something out, I noticed the riot of signs seen in the photo below.
"AVENGE JFK'S DEATH" I saw, along with plenty of ridiculous and dangerous ideas. I focused on the YARD SALE sign as a possibility that this person isn't completely off the rails. In a parking lot across the street was a very cool old delivery truck, nicely restored for a local business..
The Local Juice was founded in 2014, and serves up cold-pressed juice and organic foods. As for the truck, it was made by International Harvester, which manufactured the International Metro Van from 1938 to 1975.
The westernmost point on my tour of Hyannis was the Melody Tent.
Opened in 1950, the Melody Tent -- sister venue of the Music Circus in Cohasset -- was the third musical tent to open in the United States, after ones in New Jersey and Florida, per its web site. The tent hosts oldies acts such as the Little River Band, Three Dog Night and KC & the Sunshine Band; comedians including Paula Poundstone and Bob Marley; tribute bands such as the Electric Light Orchestra Experience and Badfish: Tribute to Sublime; and newer musical acts such as country star Chris Young.
Not far from The Local Juice stands a restaurant with a chimney that would look more at home on a small factory.
The Karibbean Lounge's food looks great on its web site. The eatery is attached to the Hyannis Plaza Hotel, which in the recent past was known as the International Inn, and offered a feature called "Cuddles and Bubbles."
Try not to get grossed out by the promotional video below:
As for that chimney...there was a restaurant here called the Copper Chimney Bar & Grill. Other than that, I can't find out much about the building. I assume there is a massive fire place inside.
There are plenty of hotels and motels scattered along Main Street in Hyannis. One that stuck out to me is the Cape Cod Inn, with its accompanying Duck Inn Pub.
While the inn seems like a pretty standard Cape Cod hotel, the pub has an attitude that I like.
"The Notorious 'DUCK INN PUB', Cape Cod's only year-round UpScale Dive Bar from 8am to After Dark Outlandishness," its web site declares. "It's the Hip Locals Bar of Black & Rouge Reflections and Chest Pounding Pride in selling 16 oz. PBR's. The 'DIP' is not another anonymous bar of self-depicting frozen mugs, smudged mirrors & gummy floors. It's a rough around the edges Hideaway with fairly priced drinks, pool, pinball, jukebox and a solid guest list of local and national legends."
I'll have to hit that place one of these days, along with the nearby 19th Hole Tavern that I profiled in my Hyannis post from last summer.
Adjacent to the Courtyard Resort, which is bordered by North, Winter and Main streets, is a building whose roof style I recognized right away.
Look familiar? If you said, "Howard Johnson's," you're right! Now condominiums, this quirky building was once the office for a HoJo's motel that is now the Courtyard. "The original motel office was constructed as a separate building, and has been converted to condominiums," according to MACRIS. "Despite its conversion, it retains some architectural elements typical of Howard Johnson's motel construction. These include a steeply pitched roof and intersecting gabled wall dormers with overhanging eaves. A cap located on the center of the roof likely served as the base for Howard Johnson's typical futuristic cupola."
Futuristic cupola, as Dave Barry would say, would make a great band name.
While I've never stayed in a motel in Hyannis, years ago I took part in some fun and games with my wife and kids in the building shown below.
During the brief years when my kids were still into playing video games and pinball, we visited the Wackenhammer Clockwork Arcade at the corner of Main Street and Pine Avenue. I don't recall, but at least one of my kids may have ridden the carousel that was outside. Unfortunately, the pandemic put this place out of business pretty quickly, in May 2020. I'm not sure how long it was in business.
(Mural on the side of the Wackenhammer Arcade building.)
The folks who ran the place obviously really loved it, as they continue to maintain a Facebook page, where they post occasional articles about women in science or other Cape Cod attractions or, most recently, a fantasy fiction story about Professor Wackenhammer, Occult Detective.
As for the building, it is known historically as the G. Robinson House and Loriana's Toy Shop and Book Store. The house was built around 1900, per MACRIS, and several additions have been put on over the decades. In the early 1920s, the hosue was converted to an antique store, but in the following decade, it reverted back to a residence, MACRIS indicates. In the 1940s and '50s, the building operated as Loriana's Toy Shop.
I hope something similar to an arcade or toy shop takes over the space.
Steps away along Main Street is The Egg & I restaurant, which is housed in a neat English Revival building.
I'm unsure whether this breakfast place is part of the chain owned by First Watch Restaurants, and frankly, I don't care. What I care about is the building, which was erected in 1925 as a commercial property. MACRIS doesn't offer much in the way of history of this place, which was restored in 1992 to bring it back to the original look it had until a 1968 project.
Further east on Main Street is Torino, a restaurant specializing in Italian food and wine.
I love the boldness of the bull, even though it makes me think of Spain, not Italy. Across Main Street and a little ways up is The Little Sandwich Shop.
The awning and the lights made me think of a marquee, which made me think this building was once a theater. I searched "Hyannis theater history" on Google, to no avail. But good old MACRIS did a solid for me. "The fifth shop front is very narrow and has a canopy that angles up more sharply and out further than the other canopy. This intact shopfront has recessed glass and metal doors, and features large cabinet windows which flank the doors and create an interesting sculptural effect."
The building dates to 1950. The sandwich shop is a family-run operation.
Where Main Street meets Barnstable Road there is an Odd Fellow's Hall.
(Rear of the Odd Fellows Hall.)
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cape Cod Lodge 226 was founded in 1972. I love spotting fraternal organizations and social clubs, and feel like the Odd Fellows are second in number only to the Masons.
Last, but certainly not least, is Jack's Drum Shop.
Located across from the Odd Fellows, the shop claims to be the "oldest ongoing drum store in the country." Founded "around 1945" in Boston, the instrument dealer was run by Jack Adams, who "was an active drummer on the local scene," per the shop's web site. This store in Hyannis opened in 1988; the Boston shop closed 20 years later.
The building rose in 1915 as "a luncheonette, ice cream and candy shop located next to the Idlehour Theatre," per MACRIS.
For more about Hyannnis, check out my post from August 3, 2015, "Steak in the Future?"
nice
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