Astute followers of the blog will recall this place, which I featured in my write-up about the Thompsonville village of Newton as part of my series covering my adopted hometown (March 7, 2017, "I Seek Newton, Part VII: Thompsonville").
Six years ago, however, I wasn't in the habit of using the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS), so I didn't provide much information about this old filling station. On a recent trip to make photos of some buildings across Route 9 from the old service station that are slated to be torn down, I decided to shoot this singular place again (see May 27, 2023, "Sushi Fortune Pants").
Currently functioning as the fitness center for The Residences at Chestnut Hill, an "apartment community" built in 2004, this lovely old structure is known historically as the Antonio Signori Gas Station, according to MACRIS. Built in 1933 in the Spanish Eclectic style, Signori's "is the only remaining pre-World War II gas station in Newton and is a simple but fine example of gas station architecture," according to MACRIS.
"Construction of the station coincided with removal of the street railway tracks and the widening of Boylston Street, begun the previous year," MACRIS continues. Working on this blog, I often bump up against mentions of street railways. I have a hard time picturing roadways with tracks laid down the middle, rickety trolley cars traveling to and fro, people getting on and off and making their way to school, work, shops, restaurants, home.
More from MACRIS: "Designed by local architect Albert M. Kreider, the station was altered in 1940 by the addition of a two car lubratorium, built by local carpenter Vincent E. Squires." Over the years, the station sold Jenney gas and Mobil, and was owned by the Signori family until at least the late 1980s.
Jenney was a local brand that I'm unfamiliar with.
Click here to see a photo of the station from its Jenney days.
Located, as you might have guessed, east of Windsor, Connecticut, East Windsor is a small town that maintains a rural feel alongside suburban neighborhoods and relics of an industrial past. I visited there recently as part of my ongoing project to explore towns along the route between my home in Newton, Mass., and my mother's house in Windsor.
I started out in the southeast part of town, known as Windsorville, at a wonderful church.
The Windsorville United Methodist Church was built in 1877, replacing an earlier one from 1829 that burned down in 1876. There is a cemetery immediately to the east of the church. I was quite taken by this lovely house of worship.
I even love the storage shed!
From Windsorville, I made my way north-northwest to the Broad Brook village. As often happens when I go backsidin', I researched a few sites ahead of time, but it was the one I was clueless about that turned out to be the gem.
I knew about the Broad Brook Opera House at the corner of Main and Depot streets, but as I steered north on Main Street, I passed a place that had my eyes buggin' out of my head. I'll get to that site in a minute, but first the opera house.
Built 1892, "[t]he historic location has been home to various community groups and businesses throughout the century," according to its web site. "Originally founded by the Broad Brook Company, the tradition of being a family run establishment has stayed true through present day." In addition to live shows (Killer Queen Experience, a Queen tribute band; Reverend Horton Heat with the Delta Bombers; and the Ultimate Variety Show, featuring Vegas impersonators and impressionists), the facility is available to rent for private events.
There's a fantastic mural on the back.
In my research, I learned about a run-down mill across Main Street from the opera house.
Tucked behind a strip mall with a few restaurants and other small businesses, the remnants of the Broad Brook Mill are fenced off, although I'm sure folks get in there and party and spray paint and whatever. The property appears to be owned by Hamilton Standard Controls, according to the town's assessor, with some buildings dating as far back as 1850. That company was part of Hamilton Sundstrand, a Windsor Locks-based aerospace and industrial products company that merged with Goodrich Corp. in 2012 to form UTC Aerospace Systems. So who knows who the hell owns this mess.
These buildings, and possibly a few others, are what's left of the Broad Brook Company mill. To learn the history of this place, for the first time on this blog, I will be turning to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Superfund site for this property:
"The site was used for industry dating back to at least 1835 when a woolen mill was built by the Phelps Manufacturing Co., displacing earlier gristmills, sawmills, and a tannery. In 1849, the Broad Brook Co. bought the mill and continued manufacturing woolen products until 1951....To power the woolen mill, the [company] operated a coal gasification plant, which contaminated the site with PAHs as coal gasification byproducts. In 1954, United Aircraft Corp., now United Technologies Corp., bought the site property and owned it until 1977....From 1954 to 1967, United Technologies manufactured printed circuit boards....From 1968 to 1974, the company made boron filament at the site. From 1974 to 1977, there was a boron filament manufacturing operation at the site, operated by Composite Materials Corp., a subsidiary of Aluminum Company of America. Composite Technology Inc. continued manufacturing from 1977 to 1982.
"In 1977, United Technologies sold the property to Broad Brook Center, [which] leased building space to commercial and industrial users. In 1982, Broad Brook Center...conveyed the site property to James R. Testa and John Bartus, who in 1985, doing business as the partnership Broad Brook Center Associates, transferred title to the site property to Broad Brook Center Associates. In January 1986, the site property was sold to Connecticut Building Corporation. In May 1986, a fire destroyed many of the former mill buildings. In July 1986, Connecticut Building Corporation applied for a permit to develop 21 residential condominium units in the former mill building that had survived the fire. These residential condominiums were developed between 1990 and 1993."
I wonder what it was like living in condos on a former mill site that was almost certainly still quite polluted and contaminated. Well, however that experience was, it didn't last long. "In October 2004, Hamilton Sundstrand acquired this 21-unit mill building formerly used as residential condominiums as well as associated property from the Millbrook condominium association and individual unit owners. Residents no longer live on the property and the site is fenced."
The site seems to have been cleaned up in recent years. "In December 2003, EPA, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP), and Hamilton Sundstrand finalized agreements necessary to defer this site to the state. The state took the lead in the cleanup and EPA provided oversight. CT DEP ordered Hamilton Sundstrand to develop a cleanup plan and put it in place....In April 2021, the EPA withdrew the proposed rule to add the site to the National Priorities List."
What's next for this property? I imagine all remaining buildings will be torn down at some point. Broad Brook bisects this property, so I'm not sure how much of the land is buildable. Seems a good candidate for some open space with historical markers.
Immediately southeast of the old mill site, in the strip mall property, is an old brick building that I'm guessing was once part of the mill.
This building is currently home to Salon Rausch and James A. Houlberg accounting and tax services.
Just north of the mill site, along Main Street, are some nice older homes, including some brick ones, as well as some brick commercial properties.
Next to Broad Brook is 100 Main St., which dates to 1850. Currents tenants are Agonist Gallery and At the Dam Restaurant, which, based on photos online, looks to be a great little diner.
Next to the restaurant and gallery space is another circa-1850 brick building.
I found an old postcard online that I believe depicts the building above. The card is dated 1903 and indicates this building at that time was a hotel and general store. It is now home to the K. Simon Center for the Arts, although I'm not sure if it's currently open.
Due south on Main Street, located in a circa-1920 former bank, is Paul's Package Store.
Across the street is the site that that had me rubbing my eyes to make sure it was real.
The Broad Brook Garage was built in 1918. The small, red-tile-roofed building was where the gas attendant hung out (notice the pump underneath the sign). The main garage "housed at various times a Buick dealership, a Chevrolet dealership and a repair shop which also sold new and used cars," according to this Patch article from April 2021.
This property is like something out of a movie about small-town America in the 1950s, or a suburbex fever dream. If I ever stumble across old service stations, they tend to be fairly plain and simple, attesting to the no-bullshit work that got done there, or, in some cases, still gets done. Driving past this joint, I felt like I was a location scout for "American Pickers." This is the kind of spot that makes Mike Wolf slam on his brakes, turn around and go introduce himself to the proprietor.
If you watch "American Pickers," you know those folks love cars and petroliana. I saw a few old signs, and of course the Coca-Cola clock, and I'm guessing there may be some other gems inside these buildings.
I don't know how long the place has been out of business, but there is good news. When I posted shots of this place on Instagram, the owner of Stand Alone Customs commented: "Currently owned, loved and soon to be restored! The owner has been trying to restore the building slowly and keep it as a pillar of historical value. Discussions have been in place to restore and return the gas house into a functional area and possibly turn it into a coffee shop, hot dog stand, etc."
Man, that would just be fantastic.
From Broad Brook, I continued west to East Windsor's Warehouse Point village. Here again, I checked out sites I'd scouted out ahead of time on Google Maps, and stumbled across some nice surprises.
The main draw for me here, something I'd run across a few years ago while tooling around after exploring nearby Windsor Locks, was the old mill on Main Street.
The former Leonard Silk Company / Warehouse Point Silk Company buildings date to 1874 through 1884, according to this Preservation Connecticut article. "The four-story brick mill operated by the Leonard Silk Company was tragically destroyed by fire on December 16, 1874, however, the company quickly moved to rebuild and resume production," the article indicates. "In less than one month the firm had erected a new dye house and powerplant and had installed enough machinery to begin work. The majority of the existing red brick mill was completed in short order and the Leonard Silk Company was soon up to full capacity. Demand for the company’s products continued through the early 1880s and the two-story red brick block at the northern end of the plant was added to house a new office and stock room ca. 1884. In March 1893 the stockholders of the Leonard Silk Company voted to change the name of the firm to the Warehouse Point Silk Company."
Warehouse Point Silk prospered through World War I and the Great Depression, but its business slowed down and the operation closed up shop in 1944. After that, Montgomery Ward and Co., a mail-order and department store chain that went out of business in 2001, moved into the facility. Current tenants include Keystone Paper and Box Company, which was founded in 1944, and Trim Solutions, which since 2006 has manufactured vinyl siding, windows and doors.
A short distance away, on School Street, past the relatively modern police department building, is the town's social services building.
Built in 1874, this appears to be a former school, which would make sense given the street that it's on. The social services department provides social, emotional and economic assistance to East Windsor residents.
At the corner of School Street and Dean Avenue is a former firehouse.
Now a private home, this was once the home of Hose Company Number 1. The building dates to 1912.
Heading north to Bridge Street, I was pleasantly surprised to spy Mark's Tavern.
The assessor says this building dates to 1900, but the tavern's web site indicates it was built in the 1880s. I trust Mark.
Just a few doors down, heading back east, is a great old building that dates to 1850.
I'm assuming this was originally a private home. Tenants nowadays include The Vintage Shops, which comprises a group of independent antique and collectibles dealers. According to the group's web site, this building was previously a boarding house and a bar. Among the group is CBug's Records, Matt's Military, The Clock Man and Chipping with Charm.
Across Bridge Street from the vintage collaborative is a building that intrigues me.
Dated to 1850, 53 Bridge Street appears as though it might have been affiliated with the old mill complex. It is currently apartments, but its shape, and the fact that there are no windows at the close end, says to me "old warehouse."
A little bit south on Main Street I found two defunct businesses in one low brick building dating to 1920.
Danny's Radio & TV was evidently established in 1978. I like the hand-lettered sign. I'm not sure when the business went dark.
Around the back of this building is the former Wadsworth Press, which was founded in 1947.
I don't know when this place went out of business, either. The company's last Facebook post was made in September 2021.
Finally, in the southwest quadrant of East Windsor, as the clouds were rolling in, the winds kicking up and rain starting to fall, I found my final spot.
Located along Route 5 just shy of the South Windsor Line, Dari Delite is a great ice cream spot that unfortunately closed up last summer.
The shop opened in 1956. I hope somebody can find a way to reopen it.
I wanted to get closer and take more photos of the outside and inside, but the parking lot was roped off, I was parked on the side of very busy Route 5, and the skies were opening up. I had also hoped to make some photos of barns and other rural scenes in town, but the weather cut my trip short.
(Left to right: MWRA wind turbine, Encore Boston Harbor casino, Mystic Generating Station. The Mystic River is in the foreground.)
Only a sucker would've bet against Wynn Resorts developing a new entertainment ecosystem around the Encore Boston Harbor casino the company opened in June 2019, along Broadway in Everett, Mass. Wynn, the Nevada-based gambling-and-hotel outfit run by Las Vegas legend Steve Wynn, made no secret of its ambition to site hotels, restaurants, retail spaces, office buildings and entertainment destinations around its gambling house hard by the Mystic River.
Prior to opening, the casino operator acquired numerous properties along and near Broadway, most of which are currently occupied by parking lots. In its latest deal, Wynn agreed to purchase a partially decommissioned power plant across the main drag from the hotel/casino. Constellation Energy agreed in March to sell the Mystic Generating Station to Wynn for $25 million. The portion of the plant that is still operating will be powered down by June 1, 2024.
"Wynn plans to build a standalone sportsbook, poker room, and nightclub," per the above-linked Casino.org article. "The casino is also mulling a new hotel tower on the property," which spans 45 acres. There is speculation that the Kraft family, which owns the New England Patriots, might seek to build a soccer stadium on this site for its Revolution team.
I've written twice about the area around the casino, first in the summer of 2013, before Wynn Resorts was awarded the license to operate the casino (see June 25, 2013, "Roll the Dice"), and then nearly six years later, when Encore was on the cusp of opening (see May 4, 2019, "Roll the Dice: Encore!").
Currently on the power-station site are numerous buildings, giant smokestacks, transformers, oil tanks and God knows what else. I imagine Wynn Resorts will need to ante up a pretty penny to demolish most (if not all) of the buildings and conduct an environmental clean-up.
In advance of acquiring the power plant, Encore Boston Harbor partnered with Goldman Global Arts to develop two murals as part of an effort to beautify the stretch of Broadway in front of the massive power station. Encore and GGA commissioned two artists, Tavar Zawacki and Okuda San Miguel, for the work.
(Zawacki's work is in the right half of the above photo.)
(San Miguel's work, which he calls Animal Magical, is seen in the three photos above.)
The most interesting building (to me, anyways) along Alford Street (which, once it crosses from Boston's Charlestown neighborhood into Everett, becomes Broadway), is most likely the oldest. I'm unclear whether the Mystic Sewerage building is part of the power plant, and whether it is part of the acquisition that Wynn made.
The sewerage building dates to 1895, per MACRIS, and "was one of three initially built to serve the new North Metropolitan Sewerage Systems (the other stations were located at Deer Island and East Boston)." I'm not sure how this building is used now.
As for the Mystic Generating Station, I believe it dates to the 1940s. It was originally known as the Boston Edison Mystic Power Station. "The brick and reinforced concrete Boston Edison complex was designed to provide power for towns on the northern side of Boston," according to the Society of Architectural Historians. "The power was produced by self-contained units, which included one boiler and one turbo generator. This process allowed for generators to be shut down or turned on depending on the demand for electricity. The building was continually expanded, and additional boiler/generator units were added (in 1945, 1947, 1957, 1959, and 1961). In 1975, Mystic 7 was put into service replacing the units built in the 1940s."
The coming makeover of this site -- which prior to the power plant was home to New England Gas & Coke Co. -- would allow for clear views into Boston's Charlestown neighborhood, and beyond toward downtown, and continue the transformation of the southwestern corner of Everett from industrial wasteland to gambling and entertainment mecca.
The Brookline Arts Center, a lovely Shingle Style building tucked behind a bustling commercial row in the extreme northeast corner of the city, was designed by a well-known architectural firm of the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
Peabody and Stearns, known as the architects behind dozens of buildings, including Matthews Hall at Harvard University, Boston's Exchange Building and Custom House Tower, and Worcester City Hall, designed this Brookline treasure in 1886 as a firehouse.
"A symmetrical, balanced design, it is quite unusual for a firehouse," according to MACRIS. "Its Shingle Style influence is evident in the use of large cross-gables, banded windows, curved walls at the attic window and the decorative patterns of shingles in the gable peaks and along the eaves. Originally there was an open arcaded porch along the right side."
It really is quite a handsome building, isn't it?
The fire station used chemical extinguishers, hence its historical name as the Chemical Engine House. The engine and horses were kept in the ground floor area, while the engine driver and his family lived upstairs, according to a plaque on the building.
There is a small park next door, which was formerly the site of the Longwood School. That facility was demolished in 1939. There is a small playground in the park, which features a cool piece of art using an old photo of the chemical engine.
As for the arts center, it offers classes (figure drawing, ceramics, printmaking), private lessons and function space. There is also a gallery here.
Before wrapping up my three-part review of Cambridgeport with yet another MASSIVE post, I want to give my loyal readers a feel for what this neighborhood used to be like, before MIT and biotechs and millenials took over:
Located at 300 Massachusetts Avenue, next to a Thai restaurant and a few doors down from a Salvation Army store, the Cambridgeport Saloon was a true old-school dive bar. "The place wasn’t one of those ironic dive bars (Think Model Cafe in Brighton circa 1994). No, this was the real deal. Stabbings, shootings, and brawls were pretty common," according to this Empty Mass Ave blog post, citing an old MySpace (!!) page that's no longer active.
I never went there, but a friend who used to frequent the place tells a hairy tale of a fight that left him with a black eye.
Perhaps in the days of the Cambridgeport Saloon, the bare-knuckle brawlers would make the one-mile walk to Magazine Beach to cool their jets, nurse their wounds and plot their revenge. A crescent at the south-central point of the city, fronting on the Charles River between the BU Bridge and the Riverside Boat Club, Magazine Beach is one of countless places in Greater Boston that I've driven past many, many times without exploring it or really even thinking about it.
The 15-acre expanse of land is called Magazine Beach, but there's no sand nor news stand, and neither swimming nor surfing going on here. There's a boat launch and a small pier sandwiched between a baseball field and an MWRA combined sewer outflow station. There is an outdoor pool, which I'll get to in a moment, but the most interesting site here, for Backside fans anyway, is the Mass Audubon Magazine Beach Park Nature Center.
Trust me.
"Oh, maybe I'll check out this quaint stone building," I thought as I strolled around the park. Often I take a photo of a building just in case it turns out to be "something." And boy did I make the right call on shooting this place. "The Magazine Beach powder magazine is one of Cambridge’s hidden treasures," according to "History on the Charles: The Story of Captain's Island and its Powder Magazine," an article by Nina S. Cohen and Marilyn Wellons written for the Cambridge Historical Society and other local organizations. Built in 1818, the stone structure is "[b]y far the oldest building in the Charles River Reservation."
When the powder magazine -- a place to store gunpowder and munitions -- was erected more than 200 years ago, the land was known as Captain's Island, because at high tide it was separated from the rest of Cambridge. The island was named for Captain Daniel Patrick, one of two military officers who, among other things, oversaw fortifications along the Charles River. After the magazine was constructed, Peter Tufts, Jr. and his son, Charles, were appointed keepers of the storage building, according to the article linked above (I'm guessing that this Tufts family is the same, or relatives of, the one that owned a powderhouse in Somerville, which I mention in my March 25, 2023, post, "Square Dancing Around Somerville").
To read about a historic powder house in Dedham, Mass., check out my post from June 17, 2013, "Powda House."
Here are some details, from the above article, about what the magazine looked like during its heyday: "Paul Revere & Son supplied the copper for the powder magazine, as they did for many other state structures. The building apparently had glass windows, as two entries [by contractors] appeared for setting glass, and later, for mending a sash. A painted carpet, characteristic of the period, covered the floor. A small house was built near the magazine, probably for the keeper. Arsonists burned it down in 1855."
As the need to store powder waned, the area around the island was filled in and the magazine was converted to a bath house. In 1954, the Metropolitan District Commission (now known as the Department of Conservation & Recreation) renovated the structure as a garage and office. I'm not sure how long Mass Audubon has been using the old building.
Let's move on to the outdoor pool and the newer bath house.
Built in 1925, the Magazine Beach Bath House was under renovation when I strolled by. Fronting on busy Memorial Drive, the brick building hides a nice pool behind it that is steps from the Charles River.
Located in a stately late-19th century building that I'm guessing was once a home, the boat club was founded in 1869. Founding members were Irish immigrants who worked for the nearby Riverside Press, according to the article linked above about the powder magazine. The company's owner, Henry Houghton, provided a building on the company's site for the boat club. Eventually, the boat club moved to a different building on property next to the Press, before, in 1912, moving to its present site.
(Shells lined up outside the boat club.)
So, let's talk about Riverside Press. The company was founded by Henry O. Houghton, whose last name should be familiar to those with a bit of familiarity with book publishing. In 1852, Houghton, who had been working for a company that typeset and printed books for Boston-based Little, Brown & Co., took over that company and, after renaming it Riverside Press, moved it to a site along what is now Memorial Drive, across from the Charles River. Long story, short: over the next several decades, the company grew, purchased the site it was on, added buildings and eventually became known as -- you guessed it -- Houghton Mifflin and Company (now known as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
There are no traces of the old Riverside Press complex left. The company closed up shop in Cambridge in the early 1970s, and a decade later, after the City of Cambridge acquired three acres from the publishing company, Riverside Press Park was opened.
Riverside Press Park (above) is bounded by Memorial Drive, River Street, Blackstone Street and an office building. The park has basketball and tennis courts, as well as a grassy knoll and a small playground.
Riverside Press/Houghton Mifflin weren't the only publishing firms in this area. The aforementioned Little, Brown had a bindery located across Blackstone Street from Riverside. That company vacated this area in the mid-1960s, according to this Riverside Neighborhood Study, which also provided information about Riverside Press. The 1930 Atlas map of Cambridge also shows an outfit called Standard Diary Company. Perhaps that business was related to either Riverside Press or Little, Brown.
While the Riverside Press buildings were torn down 40 years ago, some of the former Little, Brown buildings are still there.
The buildings above, located between Putnam Avenue and Blackstone Street, date to 1880, 1901 and 1919, according to the assessor's database. There appear to be at least a handful of businesses in this location, including Nihon Kohden, which conducts collaborative medical device research.
Across Blackstone Street is what I believe is the former Standard Diary building.
I think this cool old building is owned by Harvard University, which also owns the steam plant shown in photos below.
Count the power plant as yet another place I've driven past countless times without putting my Backside cap on. It's hard to miss, looming over the corner of Memorial Drive and Western Avenue, casting shadows over the crew races along the Charles River. I was always aware of the beautiful brick buildings, but perhaps because they were so prominent, I somehow managed to mostly look past them.
Originally home to Cambridge Electric Light Company, the sturdy brick buildings and smokestacks of the Blackstone Steam Plant have provided steam power and electricity to parts of Harvard University for nearly 100 years. Built in 1902, the plant was renovated in 1930. Harvard acquired the facility from NStar (now part of energy company Eversource) in 2002.
To get a better understanding of how the plant operates, and what changes the World's Greatest University must make to its grid in the face of advancing climate change, read this article from The Harvard Crimson.
When I posted a photo of the Blackstone facility on Instagram, one commenter expressed concern that Harvard wanted to redevelop the site, not understanding how vital the plant is to the university. That concern, however, isn't completely misplaced. Other such behemoths in the Boston area have been powered down and are under development, or will be in the future (see January 12, 2019, "Power Move In South Boston" for an example of the former, and stay tuned for post about how the Encore Casino in Everett has acquired the Mystic Generating Station).
Cater-cornered from the power plant, along Western Avenue, is a somewhat odd-looking apartment building that was once an important element of the Cambridge music scene.
Located on the corner of Western and Putnam avenues, this building was for years home to Western Front, a popular and well-known jazz and reggae club. Check out this Flickr photo to see the club in its heyday. The club operated from 1967 to 2013, and was one of the few spots in the area offering reggae on a regular basis. Club founder Marvin Gilmore, the grandson of slaves, was a man of action for his community. The year after he opened the club, Gilmore was among the founders of Unity Bank and Trust Co., a Roxbury, Mass.-based bank that was the first Black-owned bank in New England. Further, the World War II vet served on the state's Low Income Housing Commission and was president of the Community Development Corp. of Boston, according to this Patch article.
That article was written in November 2020 about Gilmore's latest venture, a cannabis business that he sees as "an economic opportunity for the historically low-income" folks in Chelsea, where the company -- also named Western Front -- opened its first shop. The business also has an outlet in Cambridge's Central Square.
Oh, did I forget to mention that Gilmore is 98 years old?
Located in the front half of a circa-1890 real-estate mullet (business in the front, residence in the back), the restaurant looks like a pretty fun place. I love the building's split personality.
Even more than that, however, I love the RC Cola ghost sign that was painted over (boo!), making me think this building was a market at some point.
As I strolled along Western Ave., I spied a few plaques. At first I thought they were standard historic markers, but they turned out to be something a little more special.
It's possible that this one wasn't along Western Ave., but that doesn't matter. The one below definitely was.
HOYT FIELD, 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS 1970'S it says below scenes of what appear to be carnival rides and people having picnics. Tucked into the neighborhood between Western Ave. and Montague and Gilmore streets, Hoyt Field features a baseball diamond and a youth center with a basketball court. I played softball there at least once. I probably hurt myself.
The last plaque I spied was the coolest one.
OLYMPIA THEATRE it reads at top right. The address is listed below, as are some dates and times. Near the bottom, it says, PEARL WHITE the BLACK SECRET. The relief graphics include what appears to be a couple reaching for each other, and someone walking a dog in front of what it turns out is the old theater.
The theater, which was located just outside Central Square, is long gone. According to the Cinema Treasures web site, "The Olympia Theater...was located in a unique narrow triangular building, richly decorated and about four stories high. The unusual shape of the structure was dictated by the triangular lot bounded by River Street, Western Avenue and Franklin Street. The theater’s marquee was at the narrow end of the building, facing toward Central Square." The Olympia opened in 1916 and was in business under that name until 1941. By 1950 it was known as the Rex Theater."
As for "The Black Secret," it is "a 1919 American adventure film serial directed by George B. Seitz," according to Wikipedia. "The film was recorded in both Fort Lee, New Jersey, as well as in the nearby Hudson Palisades. Recording took place during a time when many of the early 20th century film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based there. The film is currently considered to be lost. However, a portion survives, and, in 2021, was digitized and released by a YouTube channel based in the United Kingdom."
Here ya go:
Just before Western Ave. intersects with Massachusetts Avenue, there is a very distinctive little building.
Currently home to Aleppo Palace, which specializes in falafels and Middle Eastern cuisine, this compact, castle-like building in a previous life was a White Tower restaurant.
You may be saying to yourself, "Do you mean White Castle?" No, I do not. The White Tower chain of hamburger joints was founded in 1926 in Milwaukee, five years after White Castle restaurants began slinging burgers. The similarity in menu options and restaurant design was intentional, according to Wikipedia. "John E. Saxe and Thomas E. Saxe started White Tower Hamburgers after investigating various White Castle locations, observing operations and hiring a White Castle operator. The first location opened near Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By the end of 1927, there were six locations in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin. In 1929, White Tower put 30 locations in Detroit alone."
Naturally, lawsuits ensued. "In 1929, White Castle sued White Tower in Minnesota for unfair competition and White Tower counter-sued in Michigan as White Tower had arrived in Michigan first. The Minnesota case ended in 1930 in favor of White Castle, forcing White Tower to end its use of similar building designs, slogans and name along with a $82,000 judgment. The Michigan case dragged on until 1934, revealing the hiring away of a White Castle location operator and photographing of the latest White Castle to keep up on design. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit later affirmed the lower court's rulings that they had copied White Castle deliberately. White Castle refrained from forcing a name change for White Tower but did require new locations to pay a royalty fee, and to send photos of the locations. Having to change its look, White Tower first used an art deco, then modernistic designs. Territorially, White Tower and White Castle stayed away from each other from then on."
White Tower at its peak in the 1950s had 230 stores in several states. By the late '70s, the chain had shrunk to approximately 80 locations. The company eventually exited the restaurant business under a different name, Tombrock Corporation, according to Wikipedia. According to the Roadside Architecture blog, the Central Square White Tower opened in 1932 and closed in 1973. It housed Moody's Falafel Palace for a number of years before becoming Aleppo Palace.
Southwest of Aleppo Palace, along Green Street, is a building that gives a glimpse of the past and the future.
This is 285 Green Street, which is the rear of 596-610 Massachusetts Avenue. The Mass. Ave. property, known historically as the Manhattan Market Building, dates to 1896 and is being redeveloped. According to a plan from Peter Quinn Architects, both the Mass. Ave. and the Green Street sides will rise by as many as five stories, with apartments and retail space at each side. In the photo above, you can see the elevator shaft rising.
Across the street from that site is the Green Street Parking Garage, which connects to the Central Square branch of the Cambridge Library.
(Nice book-themed artwork on the garage.)
(Entrance to the library, which was built in 1969.)
On the facade of the library is a mosaic called Celebrating the Marshland.
Created by artist Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg, the work was installed in 1984, via a sponsorship by the Cambridge Arts Council, according to a Save Outdoor Sculpture! form available via MACRIS. Celebrating the Marshland is made of ceramic tiles, seashells and perhaps other materials. Rosenberg's husband, artist Marvin Rosenberg, may have also worked on this sculpture.
Across Franklin Street from the library is the Cambridge First Church of the Nazarene.
The building dates to 1910. That's all I know.
To the north of the church, just before Franklin Street meets River Street, is the headquarters of Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services (CNAHS). The organization works to "acquire existing housing and vacant land, preserving and creating new affordable housing using a range of strategies and policy tools," per its web site.
As for the building, it dates to 1920, per the assessor. I'm guessing this was once a police or fire station, but I haven't been able to confirm that.
A short distance west on River Street is a mixed-use building that dates to 1920. It's currently home to Great Eastern Trading Company, a vintage clothing/costumes/record store.
I dig the store's sign. Named for a legendary steamship, the store was founded in 1969 as an Army/Navy surplus outlet, per the Great Eastern web site. The store has been at this location since 1971. There are Great Eastern stores in Malden and Somerville, as well. I shot photos of the exterior of the Somerville store, which you can see in my post from March 11th of this year, "The Pros and Cons of Winter Hill and Gilman Square."
At the arrow point where River and Pleasant streets meet, you will find Eddie Priest's Barber Shop.
The men's hairstylist is located on the ground floor of 91 River Street, which is a beautiful building that dates to 1902.
I haven't found out anything about Eddie Priest, other than that he gets great reviews on Yelp and has been in business for decades.
Continuing southwest on River Street, we come to Asian restaurant The Nu Do' Society.
The building dates to 1920 and was for many years the location of bar/restaurant River Gods. That establishment, which is where I once saw my buddy Jay do his DJ thang, closed up shop in 2016 after 15 years.
Cutting east into the neighborhood, we come to the corner of Cottage and Magazine streets, and the First Korean Church in Cambridge.
The building dates to 1910. I haven't been able to find out the history of congregations here.
Over at 77 Pleasant Street is a warehouse that dates to 1902, according to the assessor.
Located in the middle of a largely residential neighborhood, this little building is occupied by architecture and urban design firm Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. That firm's projects span the globe, from the Anhui Science Center in China, to Taubman College in Michigan, to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel to a private home on Cape Cod.
Righ around the corner, on Kelly Road, is APA Automotive Transmissions.
The assessor's web site provides a date of 1817 for this building, which I find astounding. I suppose inside this repair shop, which looks as though it could date back 100 years, is the shell of something yet another hundred years older. I wish I could find out more.
Along Upton Street I found a bilingual school, as well as some great rowhouses.
Located in the old Webster School, which dates to 1915, the Amigos Two-Way Bilingual School serves kindergarten through 8th grade students. On the school's web site, the principal/directora says: "While our two – way mission provides opportunities for students to develop high levels of reading, writing and oral skills in English and Spanish, they also develop a range of cultural competencies that will assist them in developing cross-cultural friendships and balancing diverse global perspectives in the 21st century."
Directly across the street is a great row of colorful homes.
They all date to the 1870s, I believe. Aren't they fantastic?
Just steps away, at 56 Magazine Street, is a really impressive house of worship.
Pentecostal Tabernacle is a "multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, bible-believing church that exists to restore lives broken by the consequences of sin, and bring them to the place where these very same lives bring glory to God," according to the church's web site. This "exuberant Queen Anne," as MACRIS calls it, was built as the Grace Methodist Church in 1886 from a design by Franklin Kidder. According to MACRIS, Kidder "was the author of Churches and Chapels and Architect and Builders' Handbook, which went into eighteen editions."
A short walk away at 189 Pearl Street is the former Church of the Blessed Sacrament, a brick behemoth.
Built between 1907 and 1916, the house of worship is just part of the complex that the Roman Catholic Church once operated here. There was also once a convent, a rectory and a school. The school closed in the 1980s and the parish complex was sold to a developer in the early 2000's. Subsequently, the buildings (or at least some of them) were redeveloped as housing.
Southwest of the old parish complex, along Magazine Street, is a neat old building with a nice surprise.
Built in 1922, as you can see in the round medallion above the front door, this building is currently home to an office of landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Jones. Founded in 1983, the company has completed projects across the country, including open space for MIT in Kendall Square.
I was pleasantly surprised to spot a ghost sign on the side of the building, which leads me to believe that at some point, this was a pharmacy.
Swinging back out to River Street, we come to the former location of Keezer's, which claims to be America's oldest used clothing store.
Now located just outside Porter Square in Cambridge, sharing space with Le Couturier House of Alterations, Keezer's has been in business since 1895. Currently the space, which dates to 1934, is occupied by interior design firm Analogue Studio. I rented a tux at Keezer's for an inauguration party in 1992.
Heading southwest, you come to the River Street Firehouse, which was under renovation when I swung by.
Built in 1890, this Queen Anne-style brick building is home to Engine and Hose Company No. 6. The station will reopen after the updating work is completed.
Adjacent to the 19th-century fire station is a building that allegedly dates to 1900, and which has been converted to condos.
I've been unable to determine what used to be here. I'm guessing a store or two at some point.
Continuing on River Street toward the river, I spied the great mural below.
Designed and created the Community Art Center's Teen Public Art Program, this beauty was painted in the spring of 2021.
Just a paint can's throw from the mural is The Coast Cafe, which has been serving Southern soul food since 1997, in a building that dates to 1902.
Just around the corner, on Putnam Avenue, is a takeout place that wouldn't be out of place on the coast of Maine.
Yes, you can buy fresh lobsters, clams and other seafood out of a small market located about 800 feet east of the Charles River, which definitely does not have any shellfish in it. Not the kind you'd want to eat, anyway. I'm not sure how long Alive & Kicking has been in business.
Built in 1930, the little building has been home to Gospel Hall since 1964.
At the corner of Pearl Street and Putnam Avenue is Gallery 263, which, more importantly to me, is the former home of Organic Furniture Cellar.
Sometime in the mid- to late-'90s, my girlfriend (now wife) and I got a hot tip about Organic Furniture Cellar. We were living in Somerville and needed some inexpensive furniture. We ended up buying a chair and a chest from the store, which was chock-a-block with great old pieces. We still have those pieces of furniture. The store went out of business around 2009, I believe.
Out on Memorial Drive is a building that I refer to as "the old Polaroid Building," which short-changes this place.
Currently home to the Harvard University Information Technology department, this building with the prominent clock was built in 1937. Constructed in what's called the International Style, 780 Memorial Drive was originally home to Boston Blacking Company, a subsidiary of United Shoe Machinery Corp. "The Cambridge, plant produced adheslves for use in shoe maufacturing and other Industries," according to MACRIS.
"[T]he building was occupied as a laboratory by Polaroid from 1966 to 1996, when the company transformed the factorylike interior spaces into its corporate headquarters," according to this Society of Architectural Historians web page.
Down the road at the Trader Joe's, artist David Fichter has created quite a stunning mural.
Called "Sunday Afternoon On the Charles River," the 25' x 120' mural "depicts local people eating, playing, relaxing, and walking on the banks of the nearby Charles River on a Sunday afternoon when the highway is blocked off," according to Fichter's web site. "The far left side, painted in grisaille, is a depiction of Harvard Square in the early 1900's."
To wrap up Cambridgeport, I'm going to talk about the most iconic sign in the entire city, and certainly, other than Boston's Citgo sign, the most well-known in Greater Boston.
"Constructed in 1933 for the Shell Office Building on Commonwealth Avenue, [the sign] was moved to its present location in 1944," according to MACRIS. "Except for the much more recent Citgo sign [in Kenmore Square], it's the only example of 'Spectacular' lighting display to survive in the Boston area."
Spectacular neon lighting, as far as I can understand, is defined by big, bold, colorful signs with movement of lights. The Citgo sign, of course, flashes up and down, with the red triangle receding into the distance and then coming back to the foreground, while the Shell sign lights up from bottom to top and flashes. Both of these iconic signs have been replaced by LED technology in recent years
So for 79 years, the Shell sign has lit up the portion of Memorial Drive across from the outdoor pool and bath house. It's a landmark like no other in the area. I find it hard to believe there used to used to several more signs along Storrow and Memorial drives, as well as in Kenmore Square.
During the heyday of neon in the 1940s and '50s, "an extensive array" of signs between the Boston University and Longfellow bridges included ones advertising White Fuel ("with its animated oil spilling from a derrick"), a Dawson's Ale sign and a Coca-Cola sign in Allston, according to this Boston Landmarks Commission report about the Citgo sign.
