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Brewery hopes to make Roslindale substation a permanent beer hall
By adamg on Tue, 04/30/2019 - 8:01pm
Turtle Swamp Brewing of Jamaica Plain is looking to obtain a zoning change that would let its current seasonal beer hall at the Roslindale Square Substation stay open permanently.
The brewing company holds a community meeting on the proposal at 6 p.m. on May 8 at the substation at Washington Street and Cummins Highway, Robert Orthman writes in the Keep Roslindale Quirky Facebook group.
The large space, which once held transformers to power the streetcars of the Boston Elevated Railway, is currently zoned for restaurant use; Turtle Swamp would need the Zoning Board of Appeal to approve a variance for a brewery-related use.
The news comes as Distraction Brewing readies its brewery on the other side of Roslindale Square, in the space once occupied by Select Cafe on Belgrade Avenue.
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Comments
Just remember
NO DOGS ALLOWED
Unless it's at the city
Unless it's at the city promoted beer garden at City Hall Plaza.
Let's not mention having the
Let's not mention having the brewery/breweries & possibly other restaurants in the square having a few tables in Adam's Park in the good weather. This would be a great use of community space and get people to come to Rozzie Sq. The Farmer's Market shouldn't be the only game in town. The park is a ghost town most of the time.
Last time that came up as an idea people were complaining about not wanting drinking near children...because apparently if you drink in front of kids it automatically makes them alcoholics.
If only this was done closer
If only this was done closer to the actual city (you know where you could walk to and not drive through Forest Hill).
The foot's on the other shoe now, eh?
For those of us who live in the southern third of the city, who are almost always ignored by all those "Best of Boston" guides that include places in Cambridge and Somerville, what can I say, but: Hah!
As for getting there: Orange Line to Forest Hills and then one of the roughly 6,000 bus lines that heads down Washington Street into Roslindale Square.
Closer to the actual city???
Actually city? Um what? Hey friend, Roslindale is the actual city, and yes, neighbors can walk there, or take the train of bus. That’s sort of how neighborhoods work yah know?
Pro tip: when all of the transient college kids, and post-college southie bros move back to the suburbs after a few years in Boston, its the long-term people in Boston’s neighborhoods that make this city so great - the people who have roots here, send their kids to school here, and invest here. The neighborhoods are Boston’s strength. Our character.
So I agree with Adam. When Boston mag and improper would always include Somerville and Cambridge in the annual Boston’s best list (for years) while overlooking Rozzie, west Roxbury, Hyde park, and JP, that was their miss. Now (more than ever) this end of the city has cool hubs of activity, dining, and culture.
So hop in a Uber my friend, see you in the square for a pint.
No need to drive
The brewery itself is an easy walk from the Green Street station on the Orange Line.
Huh?
Sure, Turtle Swamp brewery in Jamaica Plain is a very short walk from the Green St T stop.
However, that is definitely not what this article is about. The location in question is in Roslindale Square.
Sure, but if you're mad about this location
you can easily get a fresh pour without having to drive, at their Green Street location. That's my point.
One mile walk to Forest Hills
Exactly one mile from the busway to Cummins Highway via Washington Street.
And, as Adam notes, there's a constant stream of buses if you can't do the walk.
Do you not know how cities work?
Roslindale *is* part of the actual city. It ain't Dedham or Brookline.
But Brookline is much more a
But Brookline is much more a city than Roslindale, so why does a random official designation matter?
Bro, do you even city?
You need to do some research on how municipal government works in Massachusetts before you ask such a question. And then you won't ask such a queston.
You might also look up the results of the annexation referendum in the 1870s, in which the good burghers of Brookline decided they did not want to become part of the city of Boston (unlike their neighbors in the town of West Roxbury, which used to include Roslindale). So, tough noogies on Brookline ...
And maybe take a drive through South Brookline and see how city it is compared to, oh, Roslindale Square.
Brookline is a town
And I would say that the area around Roslindale Square is more urban than 80% of the town surrounded by the cities of Boston and Newton.
Uh uh...
?
Last I checked, Rozzie was the actual city. Not only are there a billion buses right from Forest Hills to traverse that last mile, the Needham Line also lets you off right there, too.
Source
Window to Adam's Park
I spoke with one of the owners this weekend, he told me that the large window onto Adam's Park will be installed this spring/early summer. It will really help to make the beerhall more visible and the substation rehab will, finally, be complete.
Can't wait to check it out
That is such a great space! Hopefully they are successful and will be there permanently;) And I wish Hyde Park would do a beer hall in one of the many vacant storefronts in Cleary or Logan square!
Owners of the building or the brewery?
As noted before, it's really not clear who's on the hook for renovation costs and building upkeep.
Needs some food or live music
I visited the pop-up beer garden this winter and their beer is great. Even though I'm generally "pro" this idea, I think they need to add some kind of food or entertainment component. It's a big space to just serve beers.
And the irony that the square will imminently be awash in beer gardens is not lost on me. I hope they both can thrive (and the Square Root as well.)
Meeting is at 6
Not 6:30
Time of meeting
Starts at 6, not 6:30. Post corrected.