Over the last week patrons and outsiders have been taking note of the imminent closure of the Waltham Taven in the South End. The closure was forecasted in the Boston Globe and then solidified when the Licensing Board met and ordered the bar closed. Bostonist will be honest, we aren’t surprised to hear reports of “shady goings on” at the Waltham Tavern, substantiated or not. We’ve walked by the dive a hundred times, and admittedly have never been in. We peeked inside once noted the pool table, which corroborated the statement made by the sign. Well the less famous statement “Pool Table” on the sign. Fame goes to the “Ladies Invited” small print. Yesterday's Globe report on the closing of the bar read the invitation as “Ladies Welcome” which isn’t quite as active a gesture as an invite in Bostonist’s opinion. The WeeklyDig put up an article of disappointment today; they don’t want another dog cookie store in the South End. They point to a slew of closures, including the re-vamping of Tripple D’s, in which gentrification and the smoking ban have aided to.
While a forced closure of Waltham Tavern by the Licensing Board takes effect more immediately. We been taking in as many pints in the Littlest Bar as we can since news was announced in August that they would be closing the doors for good. According to Paddy’s narrative (read: more good story than historical proof) the Littlest Bar was once stables for the Province House, all that remains of the historic building is a plaque and the big stone steps that lead from street level down to the bar. Today, Littlest has maxim capacity of 38 patrons. Paddy Grace, Chief Executive Drink Slinger, told us that after the 60 years the Littlest has been serving drinks they’ll pour their last on January 28, 2006. After 15 years at the helm of the Littlest Bar, Paddy isn’t quite ready to give up. He’ll have to close the pub because the Abby Group will be erecting 150 luxury condos on top of it, but he is still looking for somewhere else to go. He’s got a couple downtown crossing area spots in his sights and he promises that after they close any move will be well publicized. Bostonist has got our fingers crossed we'll once again be "rubbing elbows" with regulars from one of our favorite little spots in town in a new home. We'd also hate to see the rivalry die with Tír na nÓg in Somerville.
Picture at top from Josh Michtom's Flickr. Lower picture shows a compact car in front of the truly tiny Littlest Bar


