9 – Around the Neighborhood

My apartment is in a neighborhood that reflects a Boston heritage: three-story frame houses divided into multiple apartments.  In Boston lingo, they’re called “triple deckahs,” and they often fill backgrounds in Boston movies.  There are brick brownstone style triple deckahs, too, although I’ll bet they were purpose-built as apartments. 

  

Triple Deckah

Pretty Doors

Brickah Triple Deckah:  Love the circular towered corners

There are conventional apartment types around, too; blocks from the 60’s (or maybe 50’s), and the modern Mezzo.

Balconies with winter sunshine!

Architecture inspired by ... I dunno, East Berlin?

La Mezzo Moderne ... architecture inspired by Gaudi?

I imagine real estate agents call this a working-class neighborhood.  It’s an appropriate label, I suppose.  There's so little traffic on the streets, I’m comfortable walking Miss Pallas around without a lead.  I think the low traffic stems from two reasons: transit is very accessible, and virtually every street in this part of Charlestown and Somerville is one-way, so there's nobody driving through.

My T stop is Sullivan Station, on the Orange Line. I’ve already described the I-93 viaduct, rusting away above the rail line, waiting to fall and crush the subway cars like a string of empty beer cans.  By the way, T commuter trains run on an adjacent track, with trains running to Lowell, Haverhill (HAV-er-ull), and Newburyport, all within five miles of the New Hampshire state line.

Sullivan Station: Your chariot awaits!  That is, until the rusting overhead viaduct collapses.

A rusty column from I-93's viaduct penetrates the platform roof.
(That's the LOWER viaduct level; the upper level is another 25 feet higher.)

The Tavern at the End of the World and Puritan Garage are also very close.

Haven't been yet.  Waiting on a celebratory event -- or the impending End of the World.
Note the Chimay sign; there's a Duvel neon sign in the window, so beer selection is promising!

Puritan Garage: The mechanics trace their lineage to the Mayflower.

Bunker Hill is across the way, and is quite steep.  I feel for the poor guys that ran up that hill with flintlock shot coming at them.  It's so steep that Pallas and I almost bailed on our first summit attempt, since it came at the end of our lengthy Freedom Trail hike.  Ancient homes with good views, and no yards.  None of the old homes have yards, and I wonder why.  Guess the colonials didn’t like cutting grass.

Steep Bunker Hill street; compare the various ground floors.  The Zakim Bridge is in the background.

Another thing that’s pretty hip in my ‘hood are these pocket parks.  They’re spaces no bigger than one or two house lots that have playground equipment for little kids.  The coolest thing is, there’s one within three blocks no matter where you are.

None of this cool stuff was around during my deprived childhood in Due West.

There's a bit more to the neighborhood; it is so densely packed, there is almost no available space for off-street parking.  On-street parking is only allowed with a city permit window decal, except on the first and third Thursday of the month from 5 am to 8 am when the street sweeper rolls through. ("Good morning, Taylor!  Welcome to Boston.")

That's the news from Charlestown.  We spell it with a w.