Monday, November 5, 2007

Happy Elections Everybody!

Since I believe every anonymous thing I read on the interwebs (and you should too)...

I was eating at a local store, when I saw O'Donovan's cronnies from the DPW come in and tell the owner "If you don't take down that Lynch sign, the DPW employess will never eat here again." Ohhh, I'm shakin' in my boots.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Parade Precautions



There are no parade precautions in place as the parade tomorrow will come no where near Winter Hill. Proceed as normal, until next Veteran's/Memorial Day/Honkfest.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Count your blessings

Be happy Winter Hill residents, dance, be joyous for your continued lack of a green line extension, for it is only this lack that forces you to drive and thus keeping each and every one of you safe from having to take a 12:20 train home during the sixth inning of what I'm sure was just another Sox win of typical import. None of us (drunks and tramplers alike) really wanted to see that comeback rally anyway.

Welcome to Winter Hill

Found this site that, at some point, might be a good resource for local business. As of right now, it's a little sparse:
http://www.citysquares.com/somerville/winter-hill

Saturday, October 6, 2007

02145 Statistics

Residents of Winter Hill might be interested in all the data from the link below. I post the most interesting of the information (from my perspective) below:

http://www.city-data.com/zips/02145.html




The Bands of Winter Hill

I am attempting to compile a list of bands that call Winter Hill their primary residence. I'm also interested in putting together a list of any music stores, recording studios, practice spaces, etc. in the area. If you have any information, please send it my way. Arigato.

My initial investigation through a myspace search suggests that zero bands call Winter Hill their home. Hmmm... This is proving difficult. Let's drop the bar to look for bands that have anything to do with Winter Hill for now.

Bands:
Winter Hill: Unconfirmed, but I guess these guys are likely from Winter Hill (although they say Boston).

The Woodrow Wilsons: I think one guy lives in Winter Hill.

Return of the Wintervillian

I'm back from my secret side project. Let's get this Hill a rockin'.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

More for the map...

Ever wonder where there are active or planned projects for bettering the roads in your hood? You can get that info from the Massachusetts Highway Department.

Here's what we got in Somerville:

133109 SOMERVILLE- BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, BR# S-17-009 SYCAMORE STREET OVER THE MBTA RAILROAD Bridge Replacement CONSTRUCTION
601807 BOSTON- CAMBRIDGE- MEDFORD- SOMERVILLE- INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL EQUIPMENT ON I-93 Miscellaneous/No Prequal CONSTRUCTION
602109 SOMERVILLE- RECONSTRUCTION OF SOMERVILLE AVENUE FROM UNION SQUARE TO THE CAMBRIDGE LINE Hwy Reconstr - Restr and Rehab CONSTRUCTION
600811 CAMBRIDGE- SOMERVILLE- BELMONT- BIKEWAY CONSTRUCTION AT ALEWIFE STATION, INCLUDES PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE Bikeway/Bike Path Construction DESIGN 2007
601820 SOMERVILLE- RECONSTRUCTION OF BEACON STREET, FROM OXFORD STREET TO CAMBRIDGE C.L. (1.1 MILES) Hwy Reconstr - Restr and Rehab DESIGN 2010
601821 SOMERVILLE- RECONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLE STREET, FROM BROADWAY TO MYSTIC AVENUE (1600 FEET) Hwy Reconstr-No Added Capacity DESIGN
602219 SOMERVILLE- BRIDGE REHABILITATION, S-17-005, CROSS STREET OVER THE B&M RAILROAD Bridge Reconstruction/Rehab DESIGN 2007
603288 SOMERVILLE- RECONSTRUCTION ON WASHINGTON STREET, FROM BOSTON C.L. TO MCGRATH HIGHWAY (ROUTE 28) Hwy Reconstr-No Added Capacity DESIGN
603916 CHARLESTOWN-SOMERVILLE- MEDFORD- HIGHWAY LIGHTING REFURBISHMENT ON ROUTE 93 Lighting and Electrical DESIGN
603968 SOMERVILLE- SIGNAL & INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS AT MAGOUN SQUARE (BROADWAY, MEDFORD AND DEXTER STREETS) Hwy Reconstr - Restr and Rehab DESIGN
604331 SOMERVILLE- MULIT-USE PATH CONSTRUCTION (PHASE I) Bikeway/Bike Path Construction DESIGN 2008
604645 SOMERVILLE- BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, S-17-025, ROUTE 28 (McGRATH HIGHWAY) OVER GILMAN STREET (AKA - GILMAN STREET BRIDGE) Bridge Replacement DESIGN
11600 SOMERVILLE- 3 BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS, BR# S-17-012 CEDAR STREET ,BR# S-17-008 SCHOOL STREET, BR# S-17-006 WALNUT ST. OVER THE MBTA Bridge Replacement COMPLETE
40550 SOMERVILLE- BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS, BR# S-17-011, LOWELL STREET OVER THE MBTA & B&M R.R. & S-17-015 LOWELL OVER THE MBTA AND B&MRR Bridge Replacement COMPLETE
604215 MEDFORD- READING- SOMERVILLE- STONEHAM- WOBURN- TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION RESPONSE, I-93 SB Miscellaneous/No Prequal COMPLETE
604216 MEDFORD- SOMERVILLE- STONEHAM- WOBURN- TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, I-93 SB Miscellaneous/No Prequal COMPLETE

Wintervillian crazy crossover: Assembly Skwayar

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

End the Ice Cream Boycott

It's starting to cool down outside. A little early since it's practically mid-August, but it's supposed to be 90 again this weekend. Maybe that would be a good time to take a walk through our evolving map of Winter Hill to try to find some ice cream:


View Larger Map

Ugg, looks like the closest places are still too far to walk. Friendly's seems to be the closest joint, but it's across 93 and I think JP Licks in Davis Square might be a better option for the distance. There's always Christina's in Central Square and Toscanini's and Herrell's in Harvard Square. If you're intent on going Eastward, though, there's a Coldstone a little past the Friendly's in Medford. I haven't been to Emack & Bolio's, but hmmm... I feel like I've had this dual name socially conscious rock and roll vibe from some other trademark of ice cream... Well, it looks like I won't be walking to get ice cream this weekend. Let's end the ice cream boycott in Winter Hill.

Winterville Crossover:
Star Market: It ain't Whole Foods, but it get's er done.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Winter Hill Video Series

I bet you think that there isn't any 'Winter Hill' video out there, ceptin' major motion pictures. Well, you're wrong, and this is the place where these videos are showcased:

Winter Hill Diary: A 3 star, 704 view youtube expression.

Umm... finding Winter Hill related video is harder than I thought. Suggestions?

Sunday, August 19, 2007

A Tale of Two Taverns

The next most important factor to a the creation of a hip urban pocket in the center of what is, essentially a sub-to-urban region, is the attainment of a place for the local townfolk to congregate and discuss the issues of the day. No, I will not be writing about the Elks Lodge , and I won't be writing about other clubs in the Winter hills, as this will be the basis of a future post. That leaves us with two other options, churches or bars. I'm going to start with the easier of the two.

Looking at our evolving map of the Winter Hill terrain we can see that there are two bars within walking distance from TCOTU (the Center of the Universe). The first place you hit on the northwestern jaunt is On the Hill Tavern on the corner of Broadway and Medford, and Ye Olde Magoun's Saloon just around the corner on Medford.

We started our Friday night at On the Hill. The place was pretty packed, which makes sense given it's one of, apparently, only two bars in the area. The draws of this place are a) open till 2am, and b) $5 pitchers of Bud Light (well, not so much a draw, but an option). As you can see from their logo, On the Hill is 'sporty'. Monitors with some sort of ball hitting ritual displayed throughout the establishment. Drinks were had. We met friendly and not so friendly people. I think it could be a fun place, but it's way too bright inside for my tastes. So we headed out to Olde Magoun's.

From the few walk-bys I had done before, I was pretty sure that this was an old man smoking bar or something (maybe it was the olden tyme name), but it turns out that this place is pretty hip on the inside, and played ok music. And, like On the Hill, stays open till 2am. For some reason though, on Friday, there was no one there except a couple of softball teams. Maybe next time this will be the first stop.



Crossover:
Winter Hill Rulez map
Futurebucks

Friday, August 17, 2007

So close, so close and yet so faaaar.

The title is taken from Frankie Valli, My Eyes Adored You, in case you didn't get it. But, I am referring to how The Good Time Emporium is so close to Winterville, but how the hell am I supposed to get there for some late night Tom-thuggery? MBTA route to come.

Himalaya Ride Bumper Cars Laser Tag
Fun for the Whole Family

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Winterville Starbucks


The first step to rapidly injecting new life into a slowly evolving neighborhood is to open a Starbucks. Sure, sure, corporate greed and all that, but c'mon. I need caffeine and the Dunkin' coffee tastes like burned plastic to me. Don't get me wrong, I dig the Boston Creme, but that isn't gonna go far to wake me up in the morning.

So, how do you get a Starbucks in your neighborhood? Well, although Dunkin' franchises:
https://www.dunkinfranchising.com/aboutus/franchise/franchise-home.html

if you want a Starbucks in your neighborhood, you have to 'request' that they open a store in your neighborhood, because they do not franchise. Or, you can keep dragging your butt over to the one in the middle of nowhere on Somerville Ave.

"How can I request that a Starbucks store open in my neighborhood?
Please refer to the Contact Us section of our Web site to let us know of your interest for a new Starbucks store in your community"

So, that's the task for the Wintervillians today- contact Starbucks and let them know we want one. Let's see how long it takes.

PS: If you like Dunkin' coffee, we do have a few splendid ones right here in Winter Hill:



Address Phone Distance
1 709 McGrath Hwy, Somerville, MA 02145, USA 617-628-3871 0.34 M/0.57 KM
2 220 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145, USA 617-623-9194 0.37 M/0.61 KM
3
498 Mystic Ave, Somerville, MA 02145, USA -- 0.47 M/0.78 KM
4 76 Middlesex Ave, Somerville, MA 02145, USA 617-623-5820 0.59 M/0.98 KM

Winter Hill Star Market

There's a small, but pretty useful Star Market in Winter Hill. They have a pretty good selection of vegetarian-like meat products, including veggie bratwurst. Of course, they also carry all of your standard cured meats. The security guard didn't seem to like me much, but I think he'll come around:

Star WINTERHILL

299 Broadway
SOMERVILLE, MA 02145
617-776-77

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Winter Hill, Somerville MA

Let's start with the basics:

Winter Hill, Somerville, Massachusetts

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Winter Hill is a neighborhood in Somerville, Massachusetts. Located roughly north of Highland Avenue and west of the McGrath Highway, Winter Hill is home to a mix of restored homes and aluminium-sided fixer-uppers, replete with china gnomes and bath-tub Virgin Marys. Once known as the home base of Irish gangsters Whitey Bulger (currently on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list), James "Buddy" McLean, Howie Winter and the notorious Winter Hill Gang, Winter Hill is now, like much of the rest of Somerville, experiencing gentrification and a resulting rise in property values and rents. Despite these changes, the area continues to hang onto its neighborhood flavor and is home to a large community of Irish, Italians, Brazilians, Portuguese, Cape Verdeans, and other ethnic groups.

The area once had a gang problem with MS13 members attempting to take over the area. On January 30, 2003, several MS13 members raped a young deaf girl. [1]

The Theater Coop, one of the Boston area's few new repertory live theaters, is located between Foss Park and the local supermarket. There is also a community pottery studio called Mudflat in East Somerville, adjacent to Winter Hill, and a collective of stained glass artists called Daniel Maher Stained Glass.

Winter Hill also has many old Somerville favorites such as The Paddock restaurant on Pearl Street, Mama Lisa's, Leone's, and Primo's pizza establishments, the Winter Hill Bakery, and Maria's Italian Cold Cuts. Soccer is a popular pastime, and it is not uncommon to see leagues complete with matching uniforms, as well as many of the new immigrants from Brazil and Latin America in shirts-against-skins games, playing in Foss park next to Interstate 93, at the base of Winter Hill. The park also has a large, colorful mural painted behind the public swimming pool.

A planned extension of the Green Line to the Winter Hill area is possible, specifically with stations at Medford Street (Gilman Square) and Lowell Street, though estimated completion has been pushed back to 2014 and no final path has been agreed upon. [2]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Chabot, Hillary, "MS-13 gang rape victim: I can't stay", Somerville Journal, Massachusetts, Thursday, January 30, 2003.
  2. ^ MBTA, Beyond Lechmere Planning

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links