The Haymarket

 

Ice is starting to form on the UMass campus pond. 

 

 

This is Northampton's Woodstar Cafe. 

 

The view out the back window of the Woodstar Cafe on the first snowfall of the season. 

I like the Woodstar and go there often, especially since the closing of the much mourned Haymarket Cafe, seen here in 2008. 

I (and thousands of other Valley residents) used to go there a lot over the past three decades. In fact, scattered over hundreds of posts on this blog is probably the most extensive photographic history of the joint online. 

But alas, today the site of the cafe is an abandoned ruin. Adding to the tragic vibe, some of the old pictures are still hanging on the walls. 

 

The Haymarket closed permanently earlier this year after a long, drama filled decline. Sometimes it was open, sometimes it wasn't, finally one day patrons found it all locked up never to open again. It remains a mystery how the most popular coffee shop in Northampton somehow had to close, but part of the problem seems to have been the decrepit condition of the historic building in which the Haymarket was located, which now appears condemned. 

 

 

The closing of the Haymarket broke more hearts than any downtown closing since Fire & Water stunned the Hamp scene with its closure in 2003. 

 

 

In fact, the Haymarket was a contemporary of Fire & Water, among the last ones still standing. Perhaps the old Haymarket building can be restored to safe use. 

Then maybe someone will reopen the Haymarket. 

Or maybe not. 

Nothing lasts.

 

 

 Recently I stumbled online upon this 1905 pic of Springfield's Buckingham Junior High. 

 

 

For some reason Junior Highs are now called "Middle Schools." I wanted to look up the history of Buckingham, and got this alleged historic summary from Google's AI sources. 

 

 

Huh? That's not the history of Buckingham, it is a mash-up of the histories of Buckingham and Technical High School, which was indeed turned into a data center. It was Tech that closed in 1986, not Buckingham, which closed in the 70's as a result of the forced busing controversy, but that's a story for another day. In the meantime, let this search result be a warning to you not to trust Artificial Intelligence, which for all the big who-ha going on over it, isn't really ready for prime time. 

Not too much ball being played at Fenway this time of year, but it least it has its Christmas decorations up.

 

 

 College journalism student Tucker Carlson with Jerry Garcia in 1987.

 

"I was thrilled. It was like – incredible, everything about him just radiated good vibes. I have no pictures in my office. I've met a lot of people, just because that's what I do. But I have no pictures on my wall other than that one of me and Jerry." - Tucker Carlson