Lost Theatres of Somerville - 14-page essay now online

[ron_newman]

David Guss's essay "Lost Theatres of Somerville", published in the First Quarter 2006 issue of Marquee, the journal of the Theatre Historical Society of America, is now online at

http://www.losttheatres.org/Lost_Theatres_Marquee2006.pdf .

This is an extensive history of the many neighborhood movie theatres that used to be scattered all over Somerville, including one in Ball Square, one in Teele Square, and one that used to stand at Day and Herbert Streets, where the metered parking lot is today. The Day Street theatre had to overcome four years of opposition from local residents, and even the president and women's dean of Tufts University, before the city finally granted it a license to open in 1913. It burned down in 1942.

Guss's article also contains many old photos of and advertisements for these theatres.

(The file is a 17-page scanned-image PDF, so unfortunately you cannot search or copy the text.)

If this subject interests you, also check out the rest of Professor Guss's LostTheatres.org website, as well as CinemaTreasures.org where each theatre has its own ongoing discussion page.

free beer bottles

[evilcrayon.livejournal.com]

I know this has been posted before, sorry if it is supposed to go somewhere else, but I have about 60 beer bottles (all domestic, i think all screw caps originally, no caps now) that I'm sick of looking at/waiting for the motivation to go to the recycling center. So if some home brewer can use them, they're yours. (or if they aren't usable, I don't know if screw rings are bad or good for home brewing, let me know and I'll just put them in normal recycling this week)
I'm slightly outside Davis off of Broadway and can put them out one night this week if someone wants them.

Restaurant review -- Brunello Bistro

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

A bit outside of Davis Square, but I'm trying to talk this place up, and it's not that far of a trek, really. X-posted to my personal journal, edited slightly for reposting here. I had a really good experience here and I'd love to see this place succeed.

So my sweetie browngirl, our mutual friend WG, and I went to Brunello Bistro for dinner last night. It's located in Winter Hill, on Broadway, in the same shopping plaza with the Walgreens.

Cuisine is mostly Italian-influenced, with some American. Dishes are mostly familiar, but each dish has some good imagination thrown in to make it different from similar fare elsewhere. It's definitely not "same old, same old." Overall it's way better than what one would expect at this price point. I opted for the house salad, which came with a vinaigrette dressing. My entree was the cheese ravioli with red sauce. Both were superb. My dining companions gave high marks to the roast duck with risotto and to the lobster bisque as well.

Service was excellent without feeling intrusive. Given the lovely evening, we opted to sit outdoors, so I really can't comment much on the décor and ambience. They've done pretty well at insulating outdoor diners from traffic noise, considering the restaurant's location on Broadway, one of Somerville's most heavily-traveled streets.

The chef, Manuel, came out and chatted with us for a while when we were done with our meal.

The only downside to the restaurant is the location. It's in Winter Hill, well east of the expanding wave of gentrification in Somerville. Unfortunately the restaurant was empty aside from us and a couple of customers at the bar. Not a good sign. Manuel, the chef, had told us they were busier on Fridays and Saturdays. I do hope Brunello Bistro survives, because it certainly deserves to, given the quality of the food and the service. The upside is that it has plenty of parking, is on several major bus routes, and it's a longish walk from Sullivan Sq. T stop. It's certainly worth the shlep from Davis Sq., if you're so inclined.