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Moxie by the sea
By adamg on Wed, 10/18/2023 - 4:32pm
The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this scene. See it larger.
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1900
I don't know where it is, but the year is 1900. Lillie Langtry appeared in a play called The Degenerates in London in 1899, and was on tour in the US in 1900, in which year May 7th fell on a Monday.
According to Wikipedia, the 1919 silent film Why Smith Left Home was based on a "turn of the century play" of the same name.
Northern Ave near Pier 4?
With Jeffries Point visible across the harbor in the background. Now called Seaport Blvd.
Where Whiskey Priest used to be and the St. Regis Residences are now.
When we find out...
...could someone go there and let me know if they're still selling Moxie?
Wegmans still has Polar seltzers and a few of their soda mixers, but they stopped carrying Moxie. :(
Tonic
Moxie was the definition of tonic. When I say tonic, think "hair tonic."
The original bottles had a picture of a guy wearing a lab coat.
There's soda pop and there's tonic.
Tonic is more of a medicinal drink than soda pop.
I don't know if they changed the recipe over the past number of decades, but I've had old school Moxie and it was pretty strong. Not sugary like Coke or Pepsi.
The closest thing to it today is probably Dr. Pepper.
yes, I think they changed the recipe
the current Moxie seems less bitter than in years past.
The old Moxie was like a strong amaro like Campari but without alcohol.
But could be my taste is jaded
Even weirder, the last time I
Even weirder, the last time I had it, the stuff in bottles was terrible (too sweet) but the stuff in cans still tasted more like I remember (good 'n' bitter). I don't know if that's a consistent difference or random manufacturing variation or something else.
The closest thing to it today
I don't know why people say this. Dr. Pepper is sweet and fruity; it tastes like it's flavored with some kind of berry. Moxie is bitter (even though it has just as much sugar as Coke or Dr. Pepper).
More for your dollah
Market Basket still sells it.. I just saw it last weekend cuz the guy was restocking it while I was getting Diet Coke.
I might have to make a trip
Thanks!
Shaws and Stop & Shop too
The Braintree stores at least.
Moxie was temporarily out of production a couple of years ago, so stores that normally stocked it didn't have any, but it slowly seemed to come back to those stores.
Moxie
Vinal General in Somerville sells Moxie.
My first taste of Moxie was
My first taste of Moxie was at Camp Wing back in the 1960s. Pretty foul tasting to a pre-teen kid. I wonder if I'd like it now that I'm in my 60s in the 2020s?
I like it
Any time I'm up in Maine, I get a bottle of Moxie - it's a strong but good soda.
Speaking of moxie, can we get
Speaking of moxie, can we get an update on whether our BPHC received current COVID vaccines and if they still keep track of wastewater levels?
Google is your friend
Waste water tracker:
https://www.mwra.com/biobot/biobotdata.htm
Current Covid boosters are not available at BPHC stand alone sites, but are available by appointment at many local pharmacies:
https://www.boston.gov/government/cabinets/boston-public-health-commissi...
Carson - L Street beach area?
Stumped
A few things:
1. It is near a trolley depot or station because at least two of the people in the pic are trolley operators based on the uniforms.
2. Anyone notice the outdoor shoe shining chair?
3. There is a cupola in the background that might be a church or it might not be one.
4. My gut is Dorchester Avenue near Andrew looking west.
Not enough water?
I'm wondering if this is on like Condor St in East Boston looking across Chelsea River at Chelsea in the background.
I noticed that cupola in the background
It looks Bulfinchian, similar to the steeple of St Stephen's in the North End, or the cupola on the Boylston Market, which today graces the Calvary Methodist Church in Arlington. Per Wikipedia, Boylston Market was demolished in 1887 and Calvary Methodist was given the belfry in 1921. I wonder where it was between 1887 and 1921....
The Answer
Thanks for playing, folks! This photo was taken on Main Street in Charlestown in 1899. This is a print from a glass plate and there is a location and date etched onto the bottom, but its quite faint. We can make out Main Street and 1899, but aren't sure of the exact location on Main St. Your ideas and sleuthing are welcome!
Where on Main Street ...
... can you see the ocean or harbor in the background?
Not the harbor
Unless you count the Mystic River as a harbor. It is in the area where the roads come together into the rotary near Rt. 99. It now has a low spot set to flood Charlestown.
529-553 Main St
I believe I've solved it.
In the 1900 Multi-City Bromley Atlases, there are two building outlines on Main St in front of Schrafft's Candy Factory and they share the same approximate shapes as the building's pictured (left more square, right more rectangular (deeper than wide)). Although in earlier and later atlases, those squares are filled with buildings of changing sizes, suggesting the area was redeveloped from scratch often. It's possible we're looking at just a few buildings in one of those squares and not both squares...hard to compare scale.
https://imgur.com/a/L2HihOz
Additionally, the trainmen in the photo would likely have walked over from the Sullivan Square Station (just a block away past the Playground).
What I think is the killer though is on the left side of the picture, there's the cupola people are trying to place. I think I found it:
In the 1912, Bromley Atlas, 40 Alford St is identified as "Bunker Hill Breweries" and the cupola and flag pole on top are a perfect match for the one above the Moxie sign.
Additionally, in a planning drawing for the Charlestown Playground in the far back left corner near the bridge, there's a flagpole designated and I believe that's the very large flag just a bit to the right.
So, I think these buildings are on Main St in front and to the left of Schrafft's.
Well done, and that is the Boylston Market/Calvary Church belfry
A little sleuthing I did this afternoon revealed that when the Boylston Market was demolished in 1887, its belfry was moved to Bunker Hill Breweries on Alford St (roughly where the MBTA Training Center is today). A.G. Van Nostrand, the owner of the brewery, was passionate about architecture, and had spent time as a student drilling in the market hall, so he had it moved to the brewery when the market was demolished. After Prohibition, the brewery fell on hard times and the belfry moved to the new Calvary Methodist Church in 1921 (an almost exact replica of King's Chapel, except made of wood). It's a little ironic that it ended up there, considering Methodism's role in the Prohibition movement. (source: the outline of "The History of Calvary United Methodist Church's Bulfinch Belfry" by Brian Rojo)