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Five-alarm fire destroys abandoned tuxedo store in Chelsea
By adamg on Thu, 05/30/2024 - 9:46pm
Photo by Matt Frank. See it larger.
WCVB reports a fire erupted in the former Russo's Tuxedo at 320 Revere Beach Parkway in Chelsea around 10 a.m. and quickly grew into a five-alarm blaze.
No injuries reported; residents of a neighboring wooden apartment building were evacuated as a precaution.
Matt Frank watched the firefighters work; reports the fire burned for hours. WCVB reports that's mainly because of the building's rubber roof.
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Comments
Can anyone suggest another
Can anyone suggest another place to buy an abandoned tuxedo?
I hope the nearby Tambo 22 wasn't affected. That
place rules.
According to their Facebook
According to their Facebook page they did not sustain major damage and should be open this weekend once the street is passable... Currently the street is closed.
The wind was pushing the smoke in the other direction. I was on the Tambo 22 patio when I took some photos and amazingly was not really getting any smoke there despite being right near the fire area. The fire crews had an impromptu HQ right next to the building on the other side. The rt 16 side though looked like night because it was so dark at points.
I feel lucky because I live a block behind Tambo 22 and only got some minor smoke smell that cleared up after a night of air purification. Not any worse of a smell than if a neighbor was grilling too much etc.
Wind direction really saved them.
I walked by today and saw
I walked by today and saw that they had the door open and tables set up. Although the street is still closed since the building is being knocked down. I'd suggest contacting them if you plan on going and asking the best place to park and walk up the sidewalk to it.
Ironically, the French word
Ironically, the French word for tuxedo is smoking. Having to do with the fact that tuxedos were originially used in dedicated smoking rooms to protect the other clothes from catching fire or reeking of smoke.
https://www.jordan-malka.com/content/11-smoking-homme-paris
There's a connection, actually
The dinner jacket, or tuxedo, evolved from the smoking jacket. That's why the name carried over in French and other languages. Calling it a tuxedo is an American thing since the name originates from a place in NY State.
What about ...
Tennessee Tuxedo?? ;)
I thought that a New Yorker invented the tuxedo
by having his tailor cut the tails off a tailcoat for a more comfortable, jauntier alternative to the white-tie ensemble that was standard dinner attire among the wealthy at the time. He was from Tuxedo Park, NY, hence the name. Wikipedia cites a mid-1800s Prince of Wales as being the pioneer here, with the Americans following his example.
Like a lot of trends toward less formality, this was seen by many at the time as a mortal transgression against decorum and a sign of the end times. Of course, the dinner suit eventually succeeded white tie almost entirely for formal occasions, relegating the tailcoat (and its slightly different accompaniments) to loftier events like affairs of state or conducting an orchestra.
The smoking jacket was always a separate garment, more like a luxurious, heavy, short bathrobe. Its function was to temporarily replace the tailcoat or tailless formal dinner jacket for the duration of post-prandial cigar smoking, which men always enjoyed separately from the ladies, so they wouldn't reek so bad upon rejoining them.
Apparently the use of the term "smoking" in French (and a bunch of other languages) for what in English is called a tuxedo or dinner suit is one of those linguistic false friends.
Popular place to grab a Tux
Popular place to grab a Tux in the 1980s for the Bridge and Tunnel crowd !