Meet the Mayor: Essex Station

Welcome to "Meet the Mayor," a segment in which we interview local Foursquare Mayors in their natural habitats.

Essex Station
Mose Berkowitz 

What's this concrete block thingy?
This used to be a portal for the Boylston-Essex train station. Before the MBTA, the Boston Elevated Railway went over Washington Street. There are actually four portals here, and they're all still around in one shape or another. But they tore the BER down on my birthday: May 4, 1987.

You use Foursquare to promote obscure historical landmarks?
I'm trying to mark all the original sites and artifacts from the BER, though I want to do more with vacant property. Down the street, that used to be the Gaiety Theatre. They demolished it in the 2000s. I made that a venue. Of course, these sites are being turned into very unexpressive, bland, almost corpulent luxury housing. I'm an affordable-housing advocate, and it frustrates me to see how the city is letting these places rot.

Fuckin'-A.
It would be cool if tourists and historical buffs saw these venues and said, "Hey, I'll check that out. The history behind it is really rich." Foursquare allows me to preserve places in a digital space.

Note: apparently lacking Berkowitz's reverence for local history, Foursquare closed several of his venues, including Essex and Gaiety.

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