Circling Buzzards Bay

From Dave Brigham:

The heat and humidity weighed heavily on me as I slogged along Main Street in Bourne, Mass. Overhead, vultures traced lazy arcs, awaiting my demise. But I was determined, damnit, to take pictures and live another day! Fans of the Backside of America demand dedication and excellence.

I was traipsing through Buzzards Bay, the village of Bourne that's on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. Every year I spend a week in Pocasset, another Bourne village, with my family. Perhaps you read last year's vacation installment -- October 3, 2016, "Bourne Supremacy." For other Cape Cod-themed posts, see the bottom of this page.

Buzzards Bay was allegedly named by white guys a few centuries back who hadn't brushed up on their ornithology. Spying a large bird near the bay's shore, they assumed it was a buzzard and so called the large body of water after it. Turns out the creature was an osprey, according to Wikipedia. I can attest there are osprey aplenty in this area of the Cape, although evidently the birds were endangered for many years due to pesticide usage, again according to Lord Wiki.

Osprey Bay has a nice ring to it, but it sounds too much like a fancy lady's clothing store to me. Buzzards Bay sounds tough.

Speaking of tough, I bet there were more than a few hard-assed folks in leather jackets, chaps and "MOTHER" tattoos hanging out at the Port O' Call back in the day. And that was just the ladies! Bada bing, bada boom! I'll be here all week....

Seriously, though, this place was a biker bar back in the late '80s, according to this newspaper article from September 2015. The place had cleaned up its act leading up to its closing two years ago, thanks to a new owner. Speculation that the nearby Mass Maritime Academy might develop the site has yet to be realized.

Like many working class hangouts, the Port, as it was known, had its fans and its detractors. On TripAdvisor, which had listed the Port O' Call at one time as a "Must See Attraction in Buzzard's Bay," one commenter had this to say:

It's not even there Anymore. But when it was there it was disgustingly dirty. It's definently not an attraction. Far from it. The place is frequented by not the most up standing customers. Nothing was ever cleaned and it smelled horribly rotten.the back parking lot was a place for shady dealings. Wink wink.The interior was dank smelly and condemable to say the least. Yes the drinks were cheap but I'd rather not have to wear a hazmat suit to have a drink. Completely disgusting.

To be fair, one of the regulars quoted in the article above called the bar "the Cheers of Bourne."

Across the street from the bar, at the entrance to the maritime school, sits the Buzzards Bay train station. Built in 1912, the station is used by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (in collaboration with the Mass Bay Transportation Authority) for its Cape Flyer summer train from Boston to Hyannis. There is an old interlocking tower on the site as well. The building is used by the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce.

Adjacent to the train station is the beautiful Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, which is usually in the "up" position to let boats and ships pass, but which is lowered when the Cape Flyer and other trains pass through.

A short waddle away is the National Marine Life Center, which includes a hospital and education center. And some cool artwork on the outside.

On the opposite side of the street sits one of numerous empty storefronts.

I believe there was a pizza place next door up until early 2016. While there are several restaurants and bars along this stretch of Main Street, there are a lot of teeth knocked out of the Buzzards Bay smile. But why would this place be different than any other town?

This place sells golf carts and services vehicles of all types, I think. Looks like the kind of place where Ward Cleaver might have bought a Packard. 'Twas built in 1941.

Continuing east on Main Street, I saw this building.

Built in 1938, it's a small retail facility that seems as if it's been empty for quite some time. It's currently on the market for just under $400K if you're interested. It has town water and sewer. What are you waiting for?!?!

I focus a lot on the decrepit, abandoned and rusting on this blog, but not everything on the backside is falling apart. I showcased a nice mural above, and now want to share a military memorial.

Staff Sergeant Matthew Pucino was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. This clock is a beautiful monument to his service, and that of others in the armed forces.

As regular Backside readers know, I have a little bit of a thing for churches. For an atheist like me, this is a strange attraction. I rarely go into churches, but often find myself drawn to the simple and sometimes elegant architecture of houses of worship. If you tack a sailor in a boat over the front door, I melt into a puddle of swoon.

And what a cool history this church has! Formed in 1938, St. Peter's (named for St. Peter the Fisherman) was without its own building until 1947, when the minister procured an abandoned church and had it shipped by barge from Hull, Mass., to Buzzards Bay. To read the whole story, check out this article.

I also got a squishy feeling inside when I saw this place.

The Bay Motor Inn was built in 1920 and looks great for being nearly 100 years old. I imagine this place has gone through some ups and downs and probably seen its share of oddball tourists and maybe the occasional serial murderer. But it gets good reviews online.

The penultimate stop on this part of my Buzzards Bay/Bourne tour was this sign.

ABB Moonwalks, thankfully, is still in business. Just not at this location. As you might suspect, the company rents bouncy houses, obstacle courses, water slides and more. I'm waiting for them to strike a partnership with The Paddy Wagon Inflatable Pub.

Speaking of booze....

I love the look of Bourne Bridge Liquors. Built in 1962, it has that Midcentury Modern look that the kids love today. And check out the hanging lamps and cool map on the inside, courtesy of Retro Roadmap.

After loading up on beer, wine and Goldschlager, why not head to church?

Here I go with my church thang again. I love how humble this Christadelphian Chapel appears. Who knows, maybe the inside is filled with funhouse mirrors, a meth lab and a shooting range. The building is listed at one real estate web site as having been built in 1900, and on the Town of Bourne site as 1940. I'm guessing the building is 117 years old, and perhaps the Christadelphians took it over 77 year ago.

I wrapped up my latest Bourne sojourn along Route 28, just south of the infamous traffic circle that greets visitors to the Cape.

When I first visited Pocasset probably close to two decades ago, this driving range was active. Been a while since any budding Jordan Spieths or John Dalys have aimed for the ball-scoop cart at this place.

Guessing this is the Buzzards Bay Garage guys' chop shop for boosted golf carts.

Just a chip shot away sits the former Cartwheels II amusement emporium.

Inside these hallowed halls my wife, kids and I once played video games and ate cheesy, salty foods. And on the track below, we raced go-karts until the treads flew off into the safety netting that separated us from the thousands of cheering fans.

And lastly, we donned our knickers and competed fiercely on the miniature golf course that is slowly beginning to look like, well, an actual golf course. The British kind, with high grass, windswept vistas and royalty lolling all about.

I am joking, but it comes from a place of sadness. With so many retail and entertainment options fading away into the digisphere, what will become of brick-and-mortar anything? What jobs will students, foreign workers on visas, -- hell anybody! -- do if all that's left is to pack dry goods onto delivery drones or consult via Skype every time someone's phone gets overheated from too much Snap-Face-Tinder-texting?

You know who's never online? The Honey Dew bear.

Started in 1973 with a single shop in Mansfield, Mass., Honey Dew Donuts has grown to 145 shops in New England. The company competes with hometown heavyweight Dunkin' Donuts and that fancy-schmancy Seattle coffee junta, so obviously once in a while a joint shuts down. This place has been vacant for at least a baker's dozen years. Funny I never noticed it before.

A place called Bruno's Burgers was supposed to open on this site a few years ago, but I guess the grass-fed beef was greener in some other location. The temporary sign for the burger joint is still there.

Here are some other Cape Cod posts:

July 26, 2015, "Cavalier Attitude About Motels."

August 5, 2010, "Dark Side of the Motel." The motel was torn down recently; only the sign remains.

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

Anniversary Post #2: My Favorites from 2011

From Dave Brigham:

Welcome to the second installment of my look back at the past seven years of this blog. Launched on March 1, 2010, The Backside of America has published more than 400 posts covering three dozen states, written by more than a dozen authors/photographers.

The first installment in my look-back, "Anniversary Post #1: My Favorites from 2010," covered the first 10 months of the blog. This post will cover the entirety of 2011. Future posts will deal with the years 2012-2016, and with some of the challenges of running this site, as well as exciting changes coming to The Backside of America.

I need to mention that Joe Viger has contributed some amazing photos and fantastic write-ups over the years, but I'll be linking to very few of them in this series. Why? Because Joe -- an amazing photographer who has served as a mentor of sorts to me in that regard, and a great friend I've known for nearly 30 years -- has changed the security settings on his Flickr account so that many of his photos that have run on this blog show up as broken links now. I will instead direct you to his wonderful online portfolio.

Without further ado, here are the highlights, as I see them, from 2011, the first full year of the blog.

I brought my then three-and-a-half-year-old daughter with me to take pictures of a long-abandoned section of Route 128 in Milton, Mass. She danced happily along the moss-covered roadway while I snapped away for my January 24, 2011, post, "End of the Road."

The blog has featured other abandoned roadways, as well as some that were built but never put into use. Search the site....

On January 30, 2011, we published the inaugural post by Kristen Smith, a great photographer who'd been recruited by Joe Viger, one of The Backside's original contributors. "Demolition -- Par for the Course" chronicled the demise of a miniature golf course in New Hampshire.

I was extremely excited by David Burke's February 20, 2011, post, "Lose, Place or Show." This marked the first and, to date, only time the blog has run something about an old horse track. Surely there must be other abandoned tracks like this. Maybe you or someone you know would like to take pictures of them....

I would absolutely love to get inside the former O'Hara Waltham Dial Company in -- where else? -- Waltham, Mass.

On February 27, 2011, I posted some photos and background about this building just over the line from Newton's town dump -- see "UPDATE: What a Dump." I returned a second time for a look at the backside of this backside building. I'll probably post that link in a future installment.

In her March 14, 2011, post "Lost Bomber," Kristen Smith showed readers a World War II-era crash site of a B18 bomber in the woods of New Hampshire. I was absolutely floored by her photos, as well as by the idea that such a site existed.

On March 24, 2011, the blog published the first post by Michael Cevoli. Titled "Working In a Coal Mine," the post featured gorgeous shots from Pennsylvania coal country. I had hoped we might feature a lot more of Cevoli's work, but I believe we only published one or two other of his posts. You can see his work at his web site.

"Mysterious. Odd. Mournful. Ramshackle. Puzzling. Even whimsical. Yeah, I’m talking about those weird little shacks on the side of the road that make you go 'hmmmm.'" That's how Kristen Smith introduced her beautiful shots of abandoned cabins in Vermont, New Hampshire and Montana, in her June 10, 2011, post "Roadside Attractions?"

Discovering new places to explore is great, but I find that when the stories we post here on the blog have a personal angle, I like them best. Mick Melvin went back to his adopted hometown in New Jersey and took photos and wrote about childhood memories in the June 23, 2011, post, "The Gut." Spoiler alert: "As it turns out, the families we met in the Gut will be friends of ours for life," Mick writes.

Folks like those of us here at the Backside of America who enjoy taking pictures of the dilapidated, abandoned and forgotten parts of this country sometimes get accused of exploiting the poor and downtrodden and trafficking in "ruin porn." I maintain that we are documenting the past and, sometimes, providing a forum for reminiscence to those who recall certain places and times.

Still, sometimes I make assumptions about places that I know nothing about.

The Reef was a bar in Waltham, Mass., that closed down several years ago, and has since been replaced by an apartment building. I never went to The Reef, and when I wrote about it in my August 25, 2011, post, "Goodbye Reef, So Long Bill," I was somewhat dismissive, writing, "I picture lots of skinny, old guys wearing tank tops and smoking in and around the door. I hear old country music leaking out the grimy windows. I smell pickled eggs on the bar."

This post received numerous comments -- a rarity for the blog -- from former customers who missed the bar, but also mourned the former owner, Bill. "It might have looked scarey (sic)," one person wrote, "but there where a lot of awesome people who hung out inside."

I learned not to judge a book by its deteriorating cover from those comments.

Mick Melvin made personal connections with his return to a place he once lived. I, too, have profiled a few places in my hometown of Simsbury, Connecticut. The most personal was the ruins of a home that I'd walked through as a teenager, not long after it had been abandoned with every personal possession intact.

The house was torn down decades ago, but I was amazed to see upon my return that there was plenty left behind in the mud. As I wrote in my September 20, 2011, post, "In Search of President Little," "I had no reason to expect that anything would be on the site. I'm not a spiritual guy whatsoever, but I feel like something drew me here to discover the remnants of a forgotten place."

Finally, on November 20, 2011, I published the second of a three-part series about long-abandoned waterworks in and around Newton, Mass., where I live. "History Flows On, Part II" covered the old structures of Cutler Park, specifically the section in the town of Needham, just east of Route 128, and the graffiti-covered tunnel running under the commuter train tracks.

Make sure to check back for the third part, covering all of 2012. Highlights will include photos of the remains of an old boathouse on the Charles River in Waltham; a spooky old barn in New Hartford, Conn.; and the remnants of a World War I-era rifle range in Concord, Mass.

Game Over

We cover a lot of ground here on the Backside, from abandoned train stations to old aqueducts, ghostly gas stations to dilapidated ski lodges.

Many of these places speak to lost jobs, broken lives and raise more questions than answers. But I find extra sadness in places where children once laughed and played that have been abandoned or forgotten. Below are photos from five members of the Backside Gang -- DB.

(Photo by Kristen Smith, Bedford Golfland, NH. For more of Kristen's photos, check out her blog.)

(Photos by Dave Brigham, Newton, MA)

(Photo by lostlosangeles, Los Angeles, CA)

(Photo by Mick Melvin, Simsbury, CT)

(Photo by Mick Melvin, New Britain, CT)

(Photo by Joe Viger, Stoneham, ME. For more of Joe's photos, check out his web site.)

Demolition -- Par for the Course

We here at the Backside are pleased to welcome Kristen Smith to our ranks. Check out more of her terrific photos at Wicked Dark Photography .

From Kristen Smith:



I can’t claim any nostalgia over Bedford Golfland other than in general. I only went there once in high school even though it existed all through my childhood and only became defunct a few years ago (I think the year on the day planner in the office was 2006). Even though I wasn’t a customer, I was used to seeing the place, if you know what I mean. It was the kind of thing you’d use to give someone directions –- go through the light at the mini golf place.

The site is due for a date with the bulldozer in the spring. Like the world needs another supermarket, right? As you can see, vandals have gotten a head start on the destruction. I seem to recall this trap was a little New England scene with a barn or a water wheel mill or something. Cutesy, but typical of the old-style mini golf set up.



For some reason we also had a tribute to Gilligan’s Island.



No one bothered me while I shot although I’m sure folks in the passing cars wondered what the hell I was doing out in the wind and cold. Eventually I made my way over to the former office. Had to wait until some hunters played through though. After I heard a couple of very close rifle shots, I looked over my shoulder a few minutes later and noticed a hunter standing in the walkway between the driving range and the office. It was a little weird, but he didn’t say anything and I didn’t see him again. The destruction inside the office was near total. Only more sturdy structures like walls, the counter and the ice cream treat freezer remain intact. It made for some interesting still lifes.



I like this photo because the card was found as it is, but not where it was. I moved it to a better location and shot. The light was pretty damn great and having the camera on a tripod helped. All of these were shot with a tripod, something I don’t do often enough, but felt that I should since it wasn’t like I would be walking miles. The additional range of options it gave me really helped. I wasn’t cornered into using a high ISO or wide-open apertures.

Although the light isn’t the best in the outdoor shots, I like enough of what I got to feel satisfied with the shoot and what I was able to document.

It makes me a little sad that a supermarket is going in there. People complain that families and friends don’t do anything together anymore. That we’ve become a society of passive watchers only, instead of active doers. As long as we keep tearing down miniature golf parks to put up supermarkets, is there any wonder why?