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Mmm, luncheon beef
By adamg on Tue, 08/08/2023 - 11:18am
The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this scene. See it larger.
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The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this scene. See it larger.
Comments
so it's like spam but with
so it's like spam but with beef
A complete guess
Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.
In....
1 AND 2 pound cans!
I don't know why, but
I don't know why, but luncheon is one of those words that just bugs me.
Strongly evokes memories of my elementary
school brown-bag lunches, invariably some kind of luncheon meat (olive loaf, bologna, something salami-ish but very bland, a kind of processed ham -- sold at the First National in a variety four-pack) on generic white bread with mayo or French's mustard, a little bag of Fritos or potato chips or Bugles, and a Hostess or Drake's snack cake. You bought milk to drink from the lunch lady, a six-ounce cardboard carton for somewhere between a nickel and a dime.
The Ring Dings in those days came wrapped in foil. The move was to smooth that wrapper very flat, roll it into a tube, crush the middle, and flatten the bottom into a simulacrum of the Stanley Cup (our fond memories of the Big Bad Bruins still fresh). Once your boys got to admire it for a second, you had to flatten it with a fist-thump. No idea how that tradition got started, but we all did it, every time.
Ask me about the onion on the belt!
You are invited to
Luncheon! I love the word and use it whenever possible if an old-fashioned affectation is needed to spark a particular mood. Luncheon rekindles memories of an occasion—something celebratory and festive, perhaps a bit fancy. It’s definitely more special than lunch, which is something that’s eaten just about every single day. Luncheon is fine (and quite dandy) with me, as long as it’s not followed by the word “meat!”
salt lane or creek square by
salt lane or creek square by haymarket?
That isn't the Paul Revere
That isn't the Paul Revere house in the North End?
Nah
That house is larger and faces parallel to the street.
But I think you're close.
I doubt this is right, but...
...this to me bears a strong resemblance to Smith Street in Mission Hill, where the Squealing Pig is now. I'm always so horribly far off when it comes to these things though!
Could it be this fella?
There used to be a lot of
There used to be a lot of Irish from the Innishowen area of Donegal that lived in the North End, including my gggg-grandparents. Devlin is an Innishowen name.
Looks like this could be him
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/255623922/thomas-devlin
If its him, looks like it would be Comercial Street in the North End.
Don’t leave us hanging!!!!
Don’t leave us hanging!!!!
Oops! Perhaps an unfortunate choice of words.
Commercial Street, North End
I'm guessing 392 Commercial Street, between Battery Street and Hanover Street, across from Battery Wharf.
Enlargement shows a street number "392" on a sign, just to the left of Devlin's store.
Using that as a clue, I looked at all the major suspects in the old Bromley atlases. Commercial Street was an excellent match: a 3-story brick building with 2 wooden buildings to the right of it, at odd angles, then a 5-story brick building at far right.
A Google search for Thomas Devlin stoves proved fruitless; all results led to Philadelphia where Thomas was a major stove manufacturer.
Photo probably taken just before construction of the Atlantic Avenue elevated, which opened in 1901.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you, chef.
The Answer!
Thanks for playing, folks! 392 Commercial Street is correct. The photograph was taken on December 7, 1900.
We're in the middle of digitizing more photos from this collection, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
That building still exists today