A Saturday Skulk Through Southie

From Dave Brigham:

I've covered South Boston quite a bit on this blog (see the bottom of this post for links) yet somehow I found more to check out this past April. The impetus for visiting this Boston neighborhood yet again was a ghost sign that I didn't know about the last time I was there.

I forget where I learned about this old sign for Bay State Brewery located on the side of The Distillery North apartments on East 2nd Street at the intersection with H Street. "The large brick factory building that sits between East 1st and 2nd Street in South Boston was first constructed in the 1860s as the Bay State Brewery and Malt House for the production of beer," according to the Distillery North web site. A man named Henry Souther started the brewing operation, having "purchased the land from the Sound Boston Association, seeing it as well located beside the water for the delivery of barley from Canada. At the time, the harbor came right up to the property edge...."

"It wasn’t long before the Bay State Brewery was sold to a railroad magnate and Congressman from New Hampshire named Frank Jones." I haven't learned when Jones took over the facility, but I'm assuming no later than the 1890s. That means the ghost sign is likely at least 125 years old, which is pretty cool.

Jones, who during his political career also served as mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, started his brewing business in that small seacoast city. "The Frank Jones Brewery was one of the largest producers of ale in the United States of America," according to Wikipedia. "In 1896, Jones' Portsmouth brewery produced about 250,000 barrels a year."

Jones died in 1902, and the brewery complex was sold to the Felton family of Newton, Massachusetts, per the Distillery North web site. "The Feltons had arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640, already with a background in ale brewing. In Boston they took up rum distilling under the names of Crystal Spring Rum and Pilgrim Rum. After purchasing the Bay State Brewery, it took the Feltons a year to reconfigure the facility as a rum distillery, a process that involved the installation of two dozen 10,000-gallon fermenting vats."

The Felton distillery closed in 1982. "In 1984...Frederick Gordon...purchased the property with its skeletons of disused machinery, molasses streaked walls, and malodorous scents," the Distillery North site continues. "The rough neighborhood and the curious layout of the 100,000 square foot factory, with spaces ranging from shoebox to gymnasium-sized, was a curious real estate puzzle. It was artists who naturally gravitated toward the atypical labyrinth, and word got around."

Currently, the development features both work and living spaces for more than 100 artists and creative professionals. The on-site Distillery Gallery "features rotating exhibitions that highlight the diverse talents of both resident and guest artists," per the web site for the community.

Whew! That was a lot of information. I'm always happy when companies that redevelop old buildings provide the history of the site.

Since I've made photos a lot around Southie, I wandered quite a bit to find new subject matter. I ended up on Silver Street, which runs parallel to the main thoroughfare, West Broadway, between Dorchester and D streets. You know I love back alleys and narrow streets where I can see the true backside.

The first thing to catch my eye was the old rear entrance to the Gorin's department store.

When I made this photo, I felt sure I had made a complementary image of the old tile entryway to the store a few years back. But in reviewing my archives, I realized that the entryway was for Pober's, another old department store. Then I thought perhaps Gorin's had been located in the same building, before of after Pober's. But I checked out Google Street View and realized the stores were located in different buildings along West Broadway.

Anyway, Gorin's was a local chain that started in Woburn, Mass., in 1900. Early on, there were stores in Everett, South Boston, Watertown Square, Central Square in Cambridge and Somerville's Union Square, according to this Bouseblog post. By the 1950s, the chain had grown to employ more than 3,000 people in at least 20 stores. Gorin's "purchase of the Almy, Bigelow and Washburn department store chain added locations in Salem, Danvers and Beverly. Later acquisitions and mergers expanded the company to New Bedford, Mass, Manchester, N.H., Waterbury, Conn. and Rochester, N.Y.," per the blog.

"In 1984, the Gorin family sold their company, by this time 32-stores strong and re-branded as 'Almy’s,' to an investment group. The Gorin’s business had been struggling to make a profit since 1978. By 1985, the new owners had sold most of the Almy’s chain to the Stop & Shop Companies," Bouseblog indicates.

Continuing west-northwest on Silver Street, I crossed over E Street and found a little bit of country in the middle of the city.

Located next to a new apartment building and across the street from the rear of the old Bigelow School, this cute little farmhouse-style duplex was built in 1890, per the Boston assessor. I dig the civic pride demonstrated by the SOUTH BOSTON sign.

I looped around some more side streets until I found myself in front of Boris Pest Control, at the corner of West Seventh and E streets (not where these guys got their name).

I love that whoever created the company's sign paid homage to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish mascot by using a mouse with boxing gloves. Of course, Southie was once a MAJOR Irish-American stronghold. Boris Pest Control has been in business since 1967.

As I stood in front of the pest-fighting mouse, I looked diagonally across West Seventh and saw a subtly unusual home.

This Odd House, as I dubbed it, has just under 660 square feet of living area, with one bedroom and one bathroom. Built in 1900 (perhaps; you know I'm always dubious of that date), it has seemingly been altered a bit over the last 125+ years. Maybe it was once two stories?

I made my way to D Street, then headed south-southwest into a more industrial/commercial section of the neighborhood. Then I turned south on Dorchester Ave. (aka Dot Ave. I'd walked this area outside Andrew Square a few times over the years, so once again, I sought out the nooks I had passed over previously.

On Alger Street, I found my quarry.

The ghost sign at the top says INDUSTRIAL and perhaps CO. I haven't found out what business was/is here. I just love the combination of the weathered bricks with fading paint, the heavy (leaded?) glass windows, the vent, the two doors - so many squares and rectangles.

In a large empty lot across Alger Street, running along Dorchester Ave., stands (or perhaps by this point, stood) a decomissioned Red Line subway car.

Car No. 1643 will be used by the developers of the On the Dot mixed-use project to "enhance the activity space," according to something I read somewhere online. The car was previously located in a parking lot abutting Cannonball Cafe, just up the street.

The Red Line runs underneath this area of the city, with a stop at nearby Andrew Square. The 1600 series Red Line cars came into MBTA service in the late '60s and early '70s.

Some buildings for the On the Dot project are already completed, while others in the planned 21-acre development of life-science, retail, and residential buildings will rise in the future.

To the south of the old subway car/soon-to-be social hangout stands a bit of old-school Boston: Andrew Square Liquors.

The Internet says this business opened in the late '90s. I'm guessing it took the place of a similar operation. I have a thing for packies, as they often have old signs that make for decent photos. Google Street View shows me that Andrew Square Liquors up until four years ago had a cooler sign than the current Budweiser one hanging over the awning.

I doubled back along Dorchester Avenue, cut down Damrell Street, went north-northwest on Old Colony Avenue and then headed onto E Street. After winding my way around, I ended up in front of some stunningly beautiful row houses on F Street.

These gorgeous homes date to the late 19th century.

I trekked up to Dorchester Street (not Ave.) and walked around the lovely and historic St. Augustine's Chapel grounds.

Founded in 1818, the chapel is the Boston Archdiocese's oldest Catholic church. It is open to the public only on holy days. The cemetery is the oldest Catholic burial ground in New England. There is a nice shrine that backs up to Tudor Street; it's obviously also used as a shed. Poor Mary!

I headed northeast along Dorchester Street, popping down West Fourth Street to check out a former fire house.

Completed in 1869, the station housed Ladder 5 until 1917, when the company moved next door to the much larger Engine 1 headquarters, which also served as a municipal district court. The building was converted to condos in recent years.

I headed next to East Broadway, about ready to finish my trip. At the intersection with Emerson Street, I was quite taken by the building housing M&T Oil Company / Metro Energy, which has been in business since 1929.

Upon getting back to my car, I remembered one more spot I wanted to document.

The Galley Diner is located on P Street, just off of East 1st Street. Established in 1995, the diner serves up breakfast seven days a week, and lunch Monday through Friday. Notice the sign also mentions Rumpy's, which is evidently is a brand of roast beef served at the diner.

For more on South Boston, check out the links below:

October 5, 2024, "Goin' ta Southie, Kehd"

August 27, 2020, "Circling Andrew Square"

January 25, 2020, "The Walk of Fame"

June 25, 2019, "Wool-d You Like to Join Me For a Walk?"

January 12, 2019, "Power Move in South Boston"

November 17, 2018, "Southie to Lose An Institution"

April 22, 2018, "Fort Point Channel - It's Electric!"

February 1, 2017, "Bon Voyage, Lady"

November 17, 2014, "Whitey Wuz Here"

Boston's North End Makes Me Happy

From Dave Brigham:

This is the fourth post I've done about Boston's North End neighborhood, and I imagine at some point there will be others (see November 21, 2018, "A Little Further Into the North End", July 11, 2018, "North End Stroll" and June 14, 2018, "A Prince of a Building").

Though it's only .36 square miles, the North End is packed with fantastic old buildings, small shops and restaurants, vintage signs, cool churches and so much more. No surprise, given that this neighborhood is Boston's second-oldest, having been continuously inhabited since the 1630s, per Wikipedia. There's just so much to explore, and even I am amazed at how many photos are in this post.

Let's get to it!

On one of my most recent jaunts -- this post comprises two trips, to the best of my memory -- I noticed a lot of buildings with their "born on" dates carved into the facades.

Located on North Street, at the corner of the back alley-like Harris Street, this handsome pair of buildings dates to, left, 1901, and right, 1894.

This place on Commercial Street dates to 1880. Well, the lower four floors anyway.

A little further along Commercial Street is this building from 1895.

Then, along Prince Street, this one from 1889.

On Charter Street, I found this elegant doorway on a building dating to 1884.

Finally, along Henchman (!) Street I spotted an 1894 building (left) and one from 1897 (right). The street was named for "Daniel Henchman (1612-1685) who laid out the street in the 1670s. It appears that he was the grandfather of the merchant Daniel Henchman, making him the adopted great grandfather of [John] Hancock," per this Lost New England web post.

OK, let's move along to named buildings.

The Lincoln Power Station dates to 1901. It was built on 12,000 wooden pilings, according to this blog post, and was a coal-fired plant used to power the Boston Street Railway. The building is now condos.

Below is a full frontal.

Along North Bennet Street, around the corner from St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish, is the back door to the former Samaritan Hall.

Built in 1838 as the First Universalist Church, this property became the Boston Baptist Society in 1864. Samaritan Hall may have been the parish center or a function hall for the church. For many years it has been home to the North End Waterfront Health Center.

Just a few doors down North Bennet Street is the former St. Christopher Friary.

Built in 1905 as St. Anthony Grammar School, in the 1970’s the building became a school for Franciscan monks. In more recent years, the friary was a rehabilitation facility operated by the Franciscan Friars, who put the property up for sale last year. A proposal from Epsilon Partners to convert the old rectory to - wait for it! -- eight condominiums is on the table, but the North End / Waterfront Neighborhood Council opposes a zoning variation for the project.

The North End is still an Italian-American stronghold, so as you might expect, there are a lot of churches and statues and icons. Let's check some of them out.

The grounds of the aforementioned St. Leonard church are wonderfully serene. In the peace garden, which is shaded by a beautiful canopy of trees, there are benches and flowers and statues, including the Golden God below.

This is Padre Pio, aka Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who became famous for exhibiting stigmata for most of his life, thereby generating much interest and controversy, per Wikipedia. He was both beatified (1999) and canonized (2002) by Pope John Paul II.

By the side entrance to St. Leonard, along Prince Street, is the shrine below.

Leonard of Port Maurice was an Italian Franciscan preacher and ascetic writer, per Wikipedia. "St Leonard founded many pious societies and confraternities, and exerted himself to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament," Wikipedia says.

During the summer, with festival season in full swing, many North Enders will decorate their doorways with banners or posters honoring one saint or another. The most common one I've seen is St. Anthony of Padua, who is second only to the Virgin Mary depicted in artwork holding baby Jesus. Below, someone declared their faith in a more permanent way.

Below is St. Anthony's competition.

This is along narrow Salutation Street, the rear of the Maria SS Della Cava shrine. The shrine, on Battery Street, is below.

The shrine was erected in the 1950s by the immigrants from Pietraperzia in Italy, according to the organization's web site. Read about Maria's miracle here. Below is a photo I shot through the window.

The shrine is located directly across Battery Street from the one place I knew I had to shoot on this journey. I'd read about All Saints Way on Atlas Obscura's web site, and just couldn't believe that such a place existed in Boston.

"Peter Baldassari has been collecting trinkets and mementos depicting the saints since he was a child," the Atlas Obscura article starts. "Now at 63 (this article dates to 2013), his collection has grown into a street side shrine, a display of the canonized including photos, statues, prayer cards, and more in an alley between 4 and 8 Battery Street in Boston’s North End."

It's just so cool, and humbling, and I hope one day to get through the door, as the curator does occasionally let people inside.

Below is Sacred Heart Church in North Square. I love the church, the star, the Jesus statue, the windows - everything.

And here's the story, from Wikipedia: "In 1829, a group of Boston Methodists formed the Port Society of Boston to provide charitable aid and religious services for the city's sailors. They acquired the vacant Methodist Alley chapel located in the North End, which was the heart of Boston's shipping industry. The Port Society renamed the chapel the Seamen's Bethel, and at the end of the year Edward Thompson Taylor was hired as Mariner's Preacher. The chapel in Methodist Alley proved too small for the growing congregation, and a new church was built at 12 North Square in 1833. The new building was purchased by the Saint Mark Society, a group of Italian immigrants, in 1884, and was named Sacred Heart by Archbishop Williams in 1888. The church was ministered to by the Scalabrini Fathers from its opening in 1889 until 2004. It is now part of St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish, and is staffed by the Franciscan Fathers."

Around the corner from the Maria SS Della Cava Shrine, on Hanover Street, is the St. Agrippina Society. I found their doors quite alluring.

The society honors Agrippina of Mineo, who was venerated as a virgin martyr in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Christianity, per Wikipedia.

On Henchman Street, I spied a similarly styled stained glass window, but not on a church.

This is a private residence. I've never seen a personal stained glass window like this. Enlarge this photo. This is a couple who appear to be posing for a formal portrait. It's a bit cheesy, but I like it.

Let's move on to something that's not a church, but is religious.

This is the rear of the Knights of Columbus, Ausonia Council #1513 on North Margin Street. Founded in 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut, the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic charitable group with nearly 16,000 councils across the United States and the world. In late 2018, the Ausonia Council announced a plan to convert the its quarters to 23 affordable, elderly apartments and build new council quarters.

OK, let's move along to ghost signs and signs for defunct businesses.

Located at the corner of Commercial Street and Atlantic Ave, this sign appeared to me to be one thing, but it turned out to be another. I assumed it said "Danca Stable & Co., New York & Boston," and was advertising a company related to horses and wagons. But while doing some research on Flickr, looking at other Boston ghost signs, I learned that this is an old advertisement for Banca Stabile & Co., which was a bank founded in the late 19th century and operated in New York and Boston. The name translates to "stable bank," and was designed to inspire confidence in Italian immigrants to this country, per this Fading Ad blog post.

I don't know what the sign below, located at the corner of Foster and Charter streets, says. I planned to re-shoot it, but my trips into the city have been curtailed due to the coronavirus.

Below is a sign for the defunct Living Room restaurant and lounge.

Located in the historic Mercantile Wharf building, which now houses apartments and commercial space, the Living Room closed last year after 15 years in business. It wasn't related to the late Providence nightclub where I saw, uh, some band a long, long time ago. Perhaps the Ramones?

When I saw the sign below, while watching a festival parade, I didn't think much of it, other than that I liked it. I knew that the business was closed, but I wasn't aware of what it was.

Prince Postale was a pack-and-ship store, the loss of which would be bad enough in a tight-knit neighborhood. But this place was also a burrito shop (!), somewhat of a rarity amid so many Italian restaurants. The store closed in May 2017.

At least I could read the Prince Postale sign. The one below, not so much.

Located on Richmond Street, right next to the Callahan Tunnel, which runs from the Central Artery, below Boston Harbor and out toward the airport, this is one of the oddest ghost signs I've ever seen.

After quite a bit of headache-inducing zoom-ins on the photo and plenty of online research, I learned that the sign, which used to light up, was for 108 Restaurant & Lounge. The neon spelled out the address -- One O Eight Richmond -- and was a beacon inviting folks into an Italian restaurant that seems to have been well liked. The place went belly up in the '90s and is now apartments.

Below is the wonderful storefront for the Green Cross Pharmacy, which closed in March 2019.

Opened in 1964 by brothers Giuseppe and Fernando Giangregorio, Green Cross -- aka Farmacia Italiana -- catered to the Italian immigrants in the neighborhood with the usual pharmacy items, as well as espresso makers and greeting cards for every occasion, in Italian, per this news article. A nearby CVS took over some of Green Cross's inventory. The daughter of one of the owners hopes to take over the location.

OK, now let's switch to places that are still open, or at least were when I took these photos last year.

I dig this sign, which looks like it dates to the '70s but may not actually be that old.

How about one of the most iconic signs in the North End?

Sal's Lunch seems like it's probably been on Thacher Street since before your great-grandmother was born, but maybe not. The eatery was open when I shot this photo last fall, but I read something on the Internet saying it's closed. Not sure whether that's a coronavirus-related thing or not. Hoping it's bad information.

Bob's Grocery Store on Endicott Street has a fantastic sign.

"Everything Under the Sun," it says at the top. It also lets the shopper know that beer and wine are available. Under the "BOB'S" it says, "Lottery," and then, "If We Don't Have It, You Don't Need It."

What's not to love about a place called Mangia Mangia?!

Located on Endicott Street, the restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring "subs & goodies."

Over on North Washington Street, Tony & Elaine's has a wonderfully retro awning over the front door.

Named for the owner's parents, Tony & Elaine's has a self-conscious old-school vibe, with its "red-checkered tablecloths, wood paneling, cozy banquettes, black and white tiles, and mismatched photos," per this Boston.com review.

North Square Oyster & Wine Bar is located across the street from Sacred Heart Church, profiled above.

The eatery is tiny, with just 10 seats and presumably a bit of standing room.

Firicano's Barber Shop, below, is located in a gorgeous building.

OK, I guess I've entered the "cool buildings" portion of this post.

Located at 90 Endicott Street, this place looks like maybe it had a retail space on the ground level at some point. At first I thought this was a metal facade, but now it looks wooden to me.

The place below definitely had a shop on the ground floor at some point.

They did a pretty good job with the renovation.

How about a named building?

But not just any named building - it's Joe Piscopo's place! Well, could be.

How about a boring building with a cool feature?

This clock on Moon Street evidently lights up green at night, and plays music.

OK, things are winding down here. Below is a shot I like of the former storefront for some business offering services of some sort to the older residents of the North End.

Who was Willie Styles?

I don't know, but he died way too young and made enough of an impact on the neighborhood that somebody put up this memorial. Maybe he was nicknamed after the Will Smith album....

Right down the street from Mangia Mangia I spied this scene.

The bench, the street lamp, the neighbors talking, the sign for the alleyway. I love it all.

The sign below -- DESIGNED AND BUILT FOR NORTH TERMINAL CORPORATION, it says in part -- was erected at 600 Commercial Street in 1925. I haven't found out much about the company, but given its proximity to the waterfront, I'm guessing it was a trucking operation. The building and the site are notable for a few reasons. The bottom of the plaque indicates, "ON THIS SITE ILLUMINATING GAS WAS FIRST COMMERCIALLY MANUFACTURED IN New England IN 1826." Well, that's cool.

As a nearly 100-year-old parking garage, the building is rare. Additionally, this place was the site of the famous Great Brink's Robbery of 1950. In the robbery, which was memorialized in no fewer than four movies, an 11-member gang led by Joseph "Big Joe" McGinnis stole $2.775 million ($29.5 million today) in cash, checks, money orders and other securities, per Wikipedia.

OK, I'm wrapping up this post with a building that mixes old and new.

The Michelle is yet another luxury apartment building, offering "modern amenities with historic charm." Some of the apartments retain the original exposed brick, per the building's web site, in addition to "elegant curving stairs, decorative fireplaces, and private balconies."

Built in 1867, this granite-block, Greek Revival building has served numerous used in the ensuing 150 years, from furnace manufacturing to a marble works operation to a freight car heater outfit to a plumbing business. I'm not sure why it's called The Michelle.

So arrivederci from the North End...until next time.