The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part VII)

From Dave Brigham:

We finally made it to the beach!

In my series about Revere, Mass., I've covered commercial districts, diners, a former trailer park, areas under redevelopment and more (for links to previous posts, see the bottom of this one). Now it's time to discuss the most significant feature of this city just north of Boston.

For a not insignificant portion of the world, Revere = the beach. And rightfully so. The beach stretches for three miles along Massachusetts Bay, attracting thousands of sun worshippers, swimmers and people-watchers on any given summer day. The first public beach in the United States, Revere Beach was from the late 19th century through the middle of last century filled with dance halls, an amusement park, restaurants, roller skating rinks, bowling alleys, bars and more. It was a world-class entertainment destination.

While it's still a great place to visit with good food and entertainment and shopping nearby, it's just not what it used to be. I got depressed reading the history of the beach, realizing just how many cool old buildings and attractions had been demolished in the last 50 years or so.

In the late 19th century and for many years, people could access the beach by a narrow gauge railroad (nowadays the MBTA's Blue Line subway can get you there). "From all over New England, families would vacation at cottages, hotels or even in tents high up on Beachmont Hill," according to the history blog post linked above. "They came to enjoy the Coney Island of the East, Revere Beach. The Boulevard boasted rides, dance-halls, movie theaters, carousels, rollercoasters and all kinds of special attractions. Bluebeard’s Palace, Nautical Gardens, The Pit and the Himalaya were just a few. Hotels and restaurants lined the beach. The Pleasanton Hotel, The Strathmore, The Metropolitan and The Point of Pines Hotel were just four of the most noteworthy."

"The Hippodrome originally built in 1903, had a platform that displayed three Carousel horses abreast; it was later extended to showcase five abreast making it one of a kind. The organ music of the two Gavioli organs can still be heard with the memory of this majestic carousel which operated until May 1973. Wonderland Park, Revere Beach’s Mystic City by the Sea, was America’s foremost self-contained amusement park. Conceived in 1905, it opened in 1906. Some people believe it to be the inspiration behind the Disney theme parks of today. The similarities are striking."

Boy, do I wish I couldl've been in Revere a hundred years ago. Or even more recently while these places were out of business but still standing. According to Wikipedia, the amusements at Revere Beach had fallen out of my favor starting in the 1950s. The infamous Blizzard of '78 "destroyed many of the remaining structures, the sidewalks, and the sea wall." The beach was revitalized in the years after that, and today it is known best for its annual sand sculpting festival.

While the beach looks great, I was surprised by how few places to eat and hang out are located alongside. There are high-rise apartment buildings, a few places to eat, drink and be merry, and little to no trace of any of those historic places. If you want to learn more about the beach, read the article linked above, or check out Wikipedia and this article from The Prodigal's Chair blog.

Let me show you what I found.

Located at the corner of Shirley and Ocean avenues, within sight of the beach, BK's Bar and Grill seems to be a nuthin' fancy place where you can drink a few cold ones, watch the Sox or Celtics and have a decent meal. Up until February 2023, as you can see in the second photo above, Sissy Kelley was the boss. Her oldest son, Bobby, runs the joint now, according to her obituary.

I walked south along Revere Beach Boulevard for a few minutes, but, seeing nothing of interest, circled back to Nick's Place, which evidently specializes in chicken kabobs.

Right next door is Sammy's Patio, which features weekly karaoke, concerts, DJ/dance nights, private parties and live entertainment, per its Facebook page. Both Sammy's and Nicks have been located here for many years.

Continuing north along Revere Beach Boulevard, you come to Bill Ash's Lounge.

(Rear of Bill Ash's Lounge.)

This place seems like it's been here a long time.

Steps away is Twist & Shake, which has also been here for many years.

As you continue north, there is a nice tree-lined reservation between Revere Beach Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. And on the west side of Ocean Avenue, there are gigantic apartment buildings. Keep walking past the state police barracks, more apartment buildings, some houses and you finally come to another entertainment venue: La Maquina.

This is a dance club. That is all.

The final food destinations have similar names but very different menu options.

Kelly's Roast Beef has 14 locations across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida, but this one is the original. "Before 1951, no one thought to eat thinly sliced, melt in your mouth roast beef in sandwich form," per the eatery's web site. "We did. Yep, we’re known as the inventor of the roast beef sandwich topped with American Cheese, mayonnaise, and James River BBQ Sauce, affectionately known as the three-way. Just ask anyone from Boston’s North Shore, where we’ve been a staple for over 70 years."

A little further north on Revere Beach Boulevard is Kell's Kreme, which specializes in soft serve ice cream, sundaes, frappes and more.

This place is another local legend that's been around for years.

I'm going to wrap up this post talking about things that are actually on Revere Beach. The first is the Shirley Avenue Bath House.

OK, so I don't have anything to say about this building other than it provides an important function as a public bathroom. The building is from the 1930s, I'm guessing.

There are several pavilions located along the beach, as well as the Rep. William G. Reinstein bandstand.

The most fascinating things I saw during this trip were multiple speakers facing the beach, which I assume used to (maybe still do) pump music from the bandstand out to the beachgoers.

I've searched high and low online but haven't found out anything about these relics from times gone by. I absolutely love them.

Alright, that wraps up Revere. Here are the links to the previous posts:

August 14, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part VI)"

August 10, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part V)"

August 7, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part IV)"

August 3, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part III)"

July 31, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part II)"

July 27, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part I)"

The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part VI)

From Dave Brigham:

Around the Backside office, the piece of prose you're currenty reading is known as the "outliers post." Whereas the previous installments in my series of shorts about Revere, Mass., were held together by geography, this one features destinations flung around the city. For links to the previous posts, see the bottom of this one.

Located just east of Route 1A on Butler Street, the Rumney Marsh Burying Ground is one of the oldest cemeteries in the country.

"The first known burial traces back to 1693 when the wife of Captain John Smith (a different Smith, not of Pocahontas fame) was buried in a plot at the cemetery," according to this blog post. "The Captain joined his wife there some years later. While burials continued at the site from that time forward, it was not until 1748 that the land was officially willed to the town for use as a cemetery by Joshua Cheever, son of the town’s first known teacher."

The cemetery is so called because the area now known as Revere was known to early European settlers as Rumney Marsh. While the burial ground is relatively small, it contains the remains of many well-known early residents of this area. Among those buried here are Deane Winthrop, son of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Thomas Pratt, for whom the current day Prattville neighborhood in Chelsea is named; Revolutionary War hero Samuel Sprague; and Lewis Bullard, an Army veteran whose 1929 burial represents the last interment of the cemetery. This site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 2004.

Less than a mile away, along Route 16 hard by Mill Creek, is an old spice mill that's in pretty good shape.

The Slade Spice Mill buildings date to 1823, although, due to multiple fires, this place has been rebuilt (using some of the original timbers) a handful of times. The first structure erected on this site, in 1734, was a grist mill, according to MACRIS. "The 1734 mill was destroyed in 1795 and rebuilt c. 1823," MACRIS continues. "It was burned in 1895, 1901 and 1902, and each time was rebuilt on the same spot." It was a tide mill, which means the tide provided its power.

The mill was used over the centuries to grind corn, snuff, cinnamon and other spices. "By an ancient provision in the original charger (sic), it must at all times hold itself ready to grind corn for any citizen of Chelsea, provided the corn is Chelsea raised!" according to this blog post from the Tide Mill Institute.

The mill was in operation until 1976. In the early years of this century, a group undertook renovations. I'm not sure what's located here now.

Standing in front of the old mill and looking east over the Chelsea River and the railroad tracks, you can almost see my next destination on Railroad Street, a newer mill building.

Located in an industrial wedge of land between the railroad tracks, Winthrop Avenue, Route 1A and Chelsea Creek, this old factory building seems to be mostly vacant.

"The Mill Store Building, a large multi-story factory building, is the marquee feature of the Railroad District," according to Next Stop Revere, a draft master plan for the City of Revere by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. "While Air Freight Specialties is currently located in the building, it is unclear if all the building floors are in use and what condition they are in. Anecdotal reports indicate that the cell towers on the building's roof are its most valuable asset."

According to that 2020 report, this area has been designated by the City for marijuana cultivation and distribution. I've been unable to find out the industrial history of this place. At some point, there was a mill store located within.

A few miles away, at the northeast tip of Revere in the Point of Pines neighborhood, I sought out a place the likes of which I've never featured on the blog.

While I have featured boats, marinas and boat clubs, I have never showcased a boat yard on the Backside.

"The structure housing Fred A. Kittredge Boat Builders, 7 Thayer Avenue...is a steel-frame building with a brick exterior," according to MACRIS. "There are oversized steel, multi-light windows and tall wooden doors on the gable end."

I assume boats were stored and repaired here, and perhaps even built. There doesn't seem to be much marine-related activity here nowadays.

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the final piece on Revere, which is about the world-famous beach. Below are links to the previous posts.

August 10, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part V)"

August 7, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part IV)"

August 3, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part III)"

July 31, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part II)"

July 27, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part I)"

The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part V)

From Dave Brigham:

Surely you must be interested in one of the busiest commercial areas of Revere, Mass.

Well, then, welcome to Shirley Avenue!

This is the fifth installment in my series of short posts about Revere. Links to the previous four are listed at the bottom of this post.

I love walking through commercial districts in the cities of Eastern Massachusetts. Many of the buildings in these zones date from the late 1800s through the 1950s, and have a wonderful human scale to them. I love the old signs, the hints of days gone by, the variety of locally owned businesses. In the first post in my Revere series, I chronicled part of the city's Broadway district. Today, I present Shirley Avenue, which runs east-to-west from Revere Beach Boulevard to the VFW Parkway.

On the side of Ocean Liquors, just steps from the Revere Beach MBTA station, is a mural that was funded through the Revere Cultural Council and private donors as part of the Shirley Avenue Gateway Initiative.

Artist Ann Steinman worked with Alex Gerasev to design and paint the mural. The work features Shirley Avenue businesses and organizations, as well as the nearby Revere Beach bandstand and people of all ages strolling, driving, riding bikes and communing with each other.

Next door to the liquor store block is the Revere Lodge of Elks Club.

Built in 1912, this brick building appears to have been altered over the years. MACRIS doesn't have anything on file about the lodge. The rooftop sign is great. I hope it lights up at night.

Shirley Avenue presents a mix of older and newer commercial and apartment buildings, which is no surprise, as the beach is a very short walk away. When I walk down streets like this, I find myself wishing that I'd been there five years earlier, or 10, so I could've seen more older buildings. At the corner of Shirley Avenue and Walden Street, I spied an older building that appears to be near the end of its life.

Home to seafood retailer and wholesaler Ocean Mac, Inc., this building dates to 1964, per the Revere assessor. I can't tell whether Ocean Mac is still in business; if it is, the building doesn't reflect that. If the seafood company has indeed gone under water, I suspect this property will sell and new apartments/retail will rise.

Continuing west a short distance, I fell for the old-school look of Tobie's Jewelers, with the hand-painted primary sign and fading secondary ones.

The building appears to date to the early 20th century. I found a listing online (the store doesn't have a web site) indicating Tobie's has been in business since 1997. I would guess it's older than that, but what do I know?

At the corner of Shirley and Nahant avenues is a building about which I wish I could find out more detail.

Currently home to Super Convenience Store, ICAN Chiropractic and Thmor Da Restaurant, this place was built around 1900. The main part of building used to have a name chiseled near the roofline, but there's nothing left of it. The stores seem to have been added on later. I'm not sure if this was a small factory, or just an apartment building.

The final place I spied before turning back east is home to Two Brother's Market II.

Offering American groceries alongside "productos de Centro, Sur America y del Caribe," the market is located in a circa-1920 building. I believe the market opened in 2011.

On the south side of the avenue, between a parking lot and North Shore Road, there is another commercial building from the early part of last century. Anchoring one end is Angkor Thom Market, which has been there for quite a few years.

The shop has another wonderful hand-painted sign, this one featuring a misspelling of the name of the avenue, and some symbols or letters up top that I'm unable to decipher. Next door is Ocean Plaza, which also has some pretty great signage.

I have a confession: I made a close-up photo of the sign earlier in my walk, and wasn't planning on taking another shot, but once the guy with the amazing pancho walked across the street, I couldn't resist a photo with him and the sign. Ocean Plaza is a mini-mall, I believe, with several small shops.

The final storefront in this block is empty; it was most recently occupied by a jeweler called El Brilliante.

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for a few more short pieces on Revere. Below are links to the previous posts.

August 7, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part IV)"

August 3, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part III)"

July 31, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part II)"

July 27, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part I)"

The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part IV)

From Dave Brigham:

Thanks to my impatience in the middle of heavy traffic, I found myself one day driving west on Revere Street and I stumbled across some fantastic sites that weren't on my radar. This is my way of bringing you into the fourth part of my series of short-and-sweet posts about Revere, Mass. (see bottom of this post for links to the previous three).

I've stumbled across a few recording studios over the past 14 years of exploring for this blog (see this post, and this one and also this post). But I've never seen one with a sign like Fleetwood Recording Studio.

I practically got rear-ended slowing down so I could turn around to make photos of that place.

The studio is important to music geeks because it's where The Shaggs recorded their sole album, Philosophy of the World. What's that you say? You're not a record-store clerk, fan of "High Fidelity" or someone who wears a "I Listen to Bands That Don't Even Exist Yet" t-shirt? Then let Wikipedia offer a primer on The Shaggs.

"The Shaggs formed at the insistence of their father, Austin Wiggin, who believed that his mother had predicted their rise to fame. Philosophy of the World was recorded in 1969 in Revere, Massachusetts, and released in limited quantities by a local record label. It received no attention and the Shaggs disbanded in 1975 after Austin's death. The Shaggs had no interest in becoming musicians and never became proficient in songwriting or performing. Philosophy of the World features bizarre songs with badly tuned guitars, erratically shifting time signatures, disconnected drum parts, wandering melodies and rudimentary lyrics about pets and families. It has been described as both among the worst records of all time and a work of 'accidental genius'."

Let's listen together to my personal favorite of theirs:

In addition to The Shaggs, Fleetwood recorded local rock bands, school marching bands, glee clubs and other music.

Fleetwood appears to be closed, which is a shame. Directly across Revere Street from the studio there is a private residence with some cool monuments lining its perimeter.

(Leaning Tower of Pisa.)

(Mount Rushmore.)

At the corner of Revere Street and American Legion Highway, I spied the back of an extremely narrow building.

I also made a photo from the front.

But the best way to see how oddly shaped and sized this building is, is via Google Maps.

I've only found a few details. Known as Picardy Corner, it was built in 1936. Sometime between 2013 and 2016, this little slice of architecture was converted to two condos. The last commercial tenant was a psychic.

I'm not the only one curious for about the history of this place. At this web site, somebody posed the question, "[H]ow is there room for anything inside?" this building. One commenter indicated that his uncle, who grew up in Revere, "told me that when they built the highway the state took part of the building by eminent domain. They tore down most of the building then built the exterior wall you see today that faces the highway."

If anybody knows anything else about this place, I'd love to hear it.

Cater-cornered from Picardy Corner is an outlet of Blanchards Liquors, which features a great sign.

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for a few more short pieces on Revere. Below are links to the previous posts.

August 3, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part III)"

July 31, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part II)"

July 27, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part I)"

The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part III)

From Dave Brigham:

So far in my series on Revere, Mass., I have covered a bustling main thoroughfare, as well as a diner and remnants of a trailer park (see July 27, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part I)" and July 31, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part II)"). In this installment, I share a little bit of the Beachmont neighborhood.

This neighborhood lies at the southeastern tip of Revere, between Revere Beach to the north, Winthrop and East Boston to the south and Route 1A to the west. My primary quarry on my trek through this area was a one-time diner that most recently was home to Beachmont Roast Beef.

Under the siding lies Worcester Lunch Car #811, which was built in 1948, according to this Diner Hotline Weblog post. "The Shamrock Diner was delivered on June 15th, 1948 and is the first Worcester with the new flat overhangs over the end walls....This diner is...disguised..., having been made more into a roast beef sandwich and fried food place [around 1980]. The counter stools have been removed although the counter is still there. It now has a raised section to utilize it as more of a serving counter. The ceiling has been dropped and the original booths are gone."

As you can see, the property is fenced off (although not all that well). In its heyday, this place must have been jamming with both workers and visitors to the Suffolk Downs racetrack, located just across Washburn Avenue, along with other other locals and beachgoers. The track closed in the summer of 2019, and more recently, redevelopment of the site has been under way. To see what the view used to be from the roast beef joint, before the race track closed and buildings were demolished, check out my May 10, 2019 post, "Feeling Downs in the Dump."

To see a different side of the old racetrack, check out my June 30, 2018, post, "Losing Bet at Suffolk Downs."

As for the redevelopment, HYM Investment Group plans to "transform 161 acres into a new resilient mixed-use neighborhood served by two stops on the MBTA Blue Line," per its web site. "Suffolk Downs will create 10,000 new units of housing to meet critical demand in the market, and will provide a mix of senior, workforce, family and young professional housing, including over 900 affordable units."

In addition, there will be hotels, retail and office space and 40 acres of open space. Development is progressing quite slowly.

I imagine this former diner site will be redeveloped before too long. I have no idea if the diner building will be saved. After checking out the old Beachmont Roast Beef, I took a quick walk through the neighborhood, where I spied some nice signs on businesses that may also be affected by the new development.

Located on Winthrop Ave. east of the MBTA stop, Beachmont Liquors has been in business for a quite a while. That's my guess. They get mostly good reviews on Yelp.

Across the avenue is the oddly named 7 Day Convenient Store.

"Convenient store" is less typical than "convenience store," but is still a term I've seen used in Greater Boston. I feel putting "7 Day" in front of it is unnecessary, as, you know, are there any of these types of stores that aren't open all week? Anyway, the real prize here is the picture of the frolicking horses. I love it! I have no idea why it's there, but it's just great.

Last but not least is Torretta's Bakery & Ice Cream at the intersection of Winthrop and Unity avenues and Bennington Street.

I assume Torretta's has been in business a long time, too. I hope it lasts for many more years.