Here, five individuals associated with RAR share their memories of Boston back then, what they gained from having RAR in their lives, and how, in 2019, we can continue to honor the groundwork RAR laid for a better Boston.
DIRTY OLD BOSTON: THAT FUNKY SQUARE
Taken from this world in the late ’90s and turned into an Abercrombie & Fitch—a development that till this day peeves many square vets, the loss being one of those perfect early symbols of accelerated gentrification in retrospect—the Tasty was a one-room diner that was about 30 feet long and a quarter that wide.
DIRTY OLD BOSTON: MISSING JIMMY’S
Jimmy’s, which first opened as the Liberty Cafe and was eventually renamed after its owner, had little competition until 1963, when Anthony’s Pier 4 was opened by restaurateur Anthony Athanas.
THE EERILY FAMILIAR TALE OF SHADRACH MINKINS AND THE CENTURIES-OLD FEDERAL THREAT TO THE COMMONWEALTH
The guards prepared to fight any slave hunters who entered Boston, and specifically patrolled the streets of the West End and the northern slope of Beacon Hill, which at the time was home to the majority of the city’s black population.
BUY ME, BOSTON: CLASSIC ADVERTISEMENT PATCHWORK PROVIDES VAST PORTRAIT OF MASS CULTURAL HISTORY
“I honestly thought that the most challenging thing would be to create this narrative of a city that doesn’t exist anymore purely with raw materials that everyone considers trash. Ads are cutting room floor. It’s like when you make a pie and you have extra dough and you make snickerdoodles out of it.”
PUBLIC TRANSIT IN BOSTON HASN’T GOTTEN VERY FAR IN 130 YEARS
We pulled more than 1,000 words from the episode’s transcript, replaced (a minimal number of) dated terms like “horses” with more neutral or contemporary ones, and excerpted it below for you to have a good laugh (and/or cry) as you read this on an un-air-conditioned Red Line on the hottest day of the summer.
AROUND MY WAY: THE PULL UP
The latest quarterly expression of their mutual affection, the Pull Up, will showcase the area’s emerging and established talent. But for this unique crew, it’s not just about seeing artists perform live—it’s about the building of community that comes from regular connections, and fixing systems that for too long have denied people an equal shot.
JOB PROMISES, THEN AND NOW
From textiles to technology, and the American House to Amazon
CURL TO ACTION
The legacy of Massachusetts curling clubs and the making of a Paralympian
10 WELCOME BACK WALKS
Hikes that will help you get to know Boston better
