Decline of the Dive Bar

A documentation of the decline in dive bar culture throughout Somerville:

From Miller Lite to ... mojitos

Once upon a time, $2 beers were everywhere in Somerville. Today some devotees worry, is it dive bars' last call?

By Danielle Dreilinger Globe Correspondent / September 28, 2008

As Somerville's fortunes have gone up, its dive bars seem to have taken a dive.

In the '70s and '80s, recalled East Somerville bar owner Michael Philpot, Davis Square was so down and out it didn't even have a McDonald's, but there were "all sorts of little pubs down there that are now gone." Now the square draws people for sushi, burritos, crêpes, and fancy cupcakes.

Belly up

Here's what some old haunts have morphed into:

O'Malley's became Thirsty Scholar

Irish Eyes became Cantina La Mexicana

Tabs became Sally O'Brien's

Canty's became Olde Magoun's

Virgie's Rendezvous Cafe became Highland Kitchen

Read more...

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