The Hotel Somerset at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Charlesgate East in Boston, around 1910-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.
The building in 2015:
When this historic building was completed in 1897, it was at the very edge of the city. There were parts of Boston further west of here, such as today’s Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood, but at that point there was very little development going on. Even the 1898 city atlas didn’t cover further west of here, and it shows that many of the building lots around the hotel were still vacant.
Although the Hotel Somerset was initially surrounded by vacant lots, the city soon grew up around it, as the first photo shows. It was a prominent city hotel, with notable guests such as The Beatles, who stayed here during their visit to Boston in 1966, as well as visiting baseball teams, since Fenway Park is just a quarter mile away. Ted Williams also stayed here during the baseball season, renting Room 231 for many years.
In the century since the first photo was taken, many of the surroundings have changed. The Massachusetts Turnpike passes within 50 feet of the building on the other side, and on this side an elevated roadway crosses Commonwealth Avenue, with an off-ramp on the right side of the photo in front of the building. The hotel itself was converted to condominiums in the 1980s, but from the outside it still doesn’t look much different from the first photo.
It should also be remembered for the role it played during WW2 as barracks for Navy trainees who attended Wentwoth Institute — the USS Somerset. The best two months of my Navy life. Oh, were we spoiled — chow cooked by civilian chefs; Friday night dances; lovely ladies from Katherine Gibbs and liberty in the greatest Navy town in the world. Three years ago my grandson graduated from Boston College and I revisited my old “barracks”. It brought back so many memories.
Gabe Tiberio, MoMM 2/c
Yes, I’m reading a letter my Dad wrote explaining how he lived at the Sommerset during WW11. The Navy billeted them at the hotel while attending Basic Engineering School at Wentworth. He also attended firefighting and damage control school while in Boston. He eventually settled in TX long after the war until his passing in 2015. Ironically, my daughter is up in Boston for college.
I also gradated from Boston College in 1959 and earned my way through college and grad school as a Bus Boy and then waiter in the Rib Room. I made enough $$ to pay my way with $$ in the bank. I opened the Rib Room in 1953 as a 15 year old bus boy. I never would have paid my way through college and grad school today with their obscene tuitions The year before I went to BC the annual tuition was $450.
I now have a niece at Wentworth.
Stay safe,
John Fitzgerald
My Dad, George Corbett, worked as a bartender in the Rib Room. Do you remember him?
Hello, Gabe!
What nice memories you have!
I visited the hotel several times in the late 1950’s to get Ted William’s autograph.
We always waited for him in the rear parking lot.
I will always remember the first time I met him.
He was a big tall guy with a stern voice.
He would always ask who told me that he lived there.
He also said that he never wanted to see me there again.
But he always signed my book and/or photos.
What a great thrill it was to have met him several times!
“The Greatest Hitter who ever lived!!
Wonderful! My mother attended Katharine Gibbs from 1942-1944.
Thanks for sharing! And thank you for your service in the war.
Gabe, My friend Ed Bell’s ( now deceased ) dad and 2 men owned the Somerset during WWll. Ed enlisted in USMC and served as a tailgunner/crew chief on a B25 in the S. Pacific. After the war the dad bought out his partners and renamed the hotel The Somerset. He also owned the Knickerbocker Hotel,NYC. He had 300 coins commissioned with the Somerset on one side and the minuteman on the other. Each coin was given to a dignitary and allowed one free night /board in the hotel. Prior to his passing Ed gave me his coin. Not sure how many of these are left, probably none. The Somerset has never heard of these and wanted to buy it from me. Ed gave me the coin as I am from Cambridge. Now have his war medals.
stayed at the hotel,played football at university of bridgeport,we were playing boston university in football game scrimmage the next day,many parties going on around the hotel,no sleep
My friend has one, have any idea if it’s worth anything?
Hello Mr. Gillespie. I believe that we have one of those coins as I am holding what may be one of those coins. It is dated 1946, numbered 153 and has a minuteman on the front. On the flip side, it says The Somerset in cursive, has a coat of arms above, and below it says Boston.
Thank you very much for mentioning the coins.
Hello David, Just going through some old posts and came across your comments. Not sure if we have the same coins, mine is in a bank safety deposit box so can’t verify now. I spoke of Ed Bell, his dad also owned a hotel in NH prior to the war. The dad was also a member of the Ancient and Honorable based out of the State House if I recall. If our coins are alike we just might have the last two remaining. All the best and stay well, John Gillespie
I was an autograph collector from Revere in 1957. Base of operations was corner by Kenmore Hotel. Another kid from Brookline tells me he’s got Ted’s room number at the Somerset. So we go over, knock: “How the hell you know this room number?”. He told us to wait outside by the parking garage. We did and he signed when he came out. He had a white Cadillac.
My Parent’s wedding reception was held at the Hotel Somerset August 30, 1947. The pictures from the reception show what a beautiful & elegant hotel it was.
I would love to see these pictures to see the area during this era if you would be willing to share! 🙂
My wedding reception was at the Hotel Somerset in the Louis XIV Ballroom on September 6, 1969. It was absolutely amazing. I felt like a princess. It was a day I will never forget.
Susan,
My Uncle Leo Lynch was the GM of the Somerset Hotel around the time of your wedding reception.
Do you remember him?
Sincerely,
Michael Garrity
Hi Michael,
This will sound crazy but in the world of studying genealogy/ancestry, stranger things have happened. Super long shot, but here I go:
One of the only lines of my family we have had a difficult time tracing is my own Maternal Great-Grandmother. Elizabeth T. Doherty immigrated to the USA in 1911 from Ireland. During the 1920 census she lists her place of residence and employment as The Somerset Hotel, as a “servant”. During this time she 26 yrs old, and likely alone trying to earn money. Elizabeth ended up having only one male child in 1923, my Grand Father Arthur Leo Doherty. NO trace anywhere of who his father was. ZERO.
At the very least, I am curious to know if you know of any surviving employee records from when it was still a hotel? ANY crumb, what so ever, no matter how small the detail is so appreciated! Thank you so very much. Sincerely, Sherri Peak : peaksherri@gmail.com
My Dad worked there until 1970. He would bring home pieces of wedding cake sometimes. We may have shared a piece of yours!
My Dad worked there at that time.
I remember sitting in the lobby of the Somerset Hotel in 1953 and watched Bobby Avila, the Cleveland Indians’ 2nd baseman, cross the lobby on his way to his room prior to a night game at Fenway Park.
8 years later I was sipping Mai Tai’s in the Polynesian Village downstairs from the lobby level. What a great place!
That bar was called Aku Aku.
It was originally the Polynesian Village. It was rechristened as Aku Aku in 1968, which closed around 1983.
I recall seeing a play ‘jaquec barrel is live and well and living in paris’ In the mirror ballroom at the hotel. I recall the ballroom looked like something out of Versailles. The ballroom was used for wedding receptions too.
Ah.. I too saw” Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris”.. I must have seen it ten times.. it was an intimate little stage reminiscent of New York or even a European theatre..
I went to that play probably summer 1970. The room was gorgeous, the play was amazing. We discovered that the buses from Watertown Square stopped earlier than the trolley from Kenmore Square. Four teenage girls walked from Watertown Square to Waltham. None of us batted an eye, just walked home.
Ted Williams lived at the Somerset in his final years with the Red Sox.
I worked at the Shelton Hotel Roof Garden in the 1950s, overlooking the Charles. Ted Williams lived there before the Somerset Hotel. BU bought the hotel and turned it into a dorm for females I now live in Ca and a neighbor has a son who matriculated at BU in the Shelton Dorm. Small world.
Stay safe,
John Fitzgerald
My Dad who worked at the hotel knew him. One day as my mother was dropping my father off for work, she nearly ran him over. He placed his hand on the hood of the car and leaped out of the way. We would have been part of history had she hit him.
Wonderful memories, our wedding night, my enjoying the Rib Room, celebrating my new job at the Boston Floating Children’s Hospital, and, my new apartment on Commonwealth Avenue. Life was good!
Do you mean the Rainbow Rib Room?
Love the comments. The times they are a changin’. I have a menu with no date , felt cover with six pages and a gold cord and tassel. It’s beautiful, what do I do with it? Roast beef is $4.25 .
I remember when The Beatles stayed there when they played Suffolk Downs on their last ever tour on August 18, 1966. They arrived at Logan at around 3:45 pm…and were escorted to the hotel by a dozen motorcycle policemen. The Beatles stayed on the 6th floor…and were protected by 36 police officers…who were combing the hallways for fans. They dined on roast leg of lamb…and then had an interview session with the press. At 8pm The Beatles were driven to Suffolk Downs where they performed for over 25,000 crazed fans. After the concert,the band spent the night in Boston before leaving for Memphis on August 19, 1966.
My aunt worked as a maid at the Somerset maybe in the 30s and 40s. She did take care of many famous people and told us stories about them. Ronald Regan, Bette Davis and many more.
I have been a member of the Management Team of the Somerset Condominium for the past 22 years. Much of the elegance of the early days remain. I feel privileged to work in such a grand historic building. We would love to have any memorabilia that you would like to donate to our small collection
Hi Philena, Don’t know if of any interest, and no doubt you may have the picture already, but I recently got an antique post card which is a view of Comm Ave taken from the hotel. The postmark is 1910. Happy to send if you want to email. Am in Gettysburg, but a Boston resident for most of life and in that area all the time actually as an EMT. Happy Holidays! Kathy 🙂
Hi Kathy Perry-
If you still have the postcard and are willing to part with it I would LOVE to have it. My great Grandmother worked there in the 20’s, who immigrated to the US from Ireland. We are still piecing it together and would love to have that for our collection.
Best,
Sherri
I have a rare tiki mug from the Somerset
How wonderful, Philena! I spent many a day waiting for my father after work with my mother as she came to pick him up. Sometimes my father would bring me to work and let me swim in the pool. I have such fond memories of the Somerset, its elegance, and charismatic guests.
Didn’t the top floor of the Somerset house the broadcast studios for WBOS during the 1960s (and possibly before)?
In the late ’50’s my dad was Director of Sales and Marketing at the Somerset. He was later promoted to the Corporate office which was based there. It was one the forerunner of Sonesta Hotels.
The swimming pool located on the Charlesgate side of the hotel was my mother’s idea, in order to promote weekend business.
In 1969, I worked there as a freshfaced 16 year old bellman.
What a great hotel she was!
That’s my recollection. The pool at the Pike side stairways. Great nightclub
Hi Mark!
I am trying to find any bread crumbs on whether or not old employee files might still exist. My Great Grandmother worked there in the 20’s. We are having a difficult time researching her in our Ancestry trail and would love any tid bit info at all from anyone!
Thank you!
Sherri
My dad was one of the hotel barbers. I remember visiting him at the Somerset. His stories range from giving haircuts to Jimmy Hoffa who stayed in the hotel to calling up to the Beatles asking if they wanted them to cut their hair. He is now 88 years old and still cutting hair.
My Dad was a bartender at the Somerset during the 50’s and 60’s. They must have known each other.
I have a rare tiki mug from the somerset! I’m sure he mixed cocktails in them
I just found out a bar named Flicks was in the Somerset. I remember going there in the early 70’s.
Flicks was in the enclosed swimming pool area…we would sometimes have to fish out drunk patrons. Good times!
I was a cocktail waitress in Flicks 1974 when I was in Art School! I remember the drunks falling or jumping in the pool too! The place would get so crowded I had to hold a tray of drinks over my head to get through. I would also work weddings in the magnificent ballroom… classic. Sad it’s all offices now.
I had an apartment there at that time that looked right over the enclosed pool. Circa 69- 70
Yes-my band RAINY DAYS performed there many times! We had quarters in the hotel-it was a THRILL!! On our final night there, the whole band (8 of us) jumped in the swimming pool with our costumes on!!
Ya. Couldnt recall the name. Went there a lot. Waded through the rats parking on the backstreet.
My mother and father were married there in August, 1953. My mother was very much into formal affairs, balls and dances and such, and the Somerset was the ideal place for a wedding back then.
During the 1915 campaign on a referendum for woman suffrage, Eleanor Saltonstall, mother of future governor Leverett Saltonstall, stationed herself at the Hotel Somerset to oppose suffragism.
I lived in a huge apartment on the top floor in the late ’70s. There were four of us in 4 large bedrooms, 2 full baths, a small galley-type kitchen and very large living/dining area. The pool was in disrepair, but I went for a float a couple of times. There was also a “health club”, a small booth in the lobby with a guy that sold candy, gum and cigs, and closed-circuit tv so we could see our guests arrive before buzzing them inside — totally cool for college students. Best of all was the Polynesian bar downstairs, Aku Aku. A long, clear tube with fish and plants served as the bar. What more could you want?
I’d love to hear from anyone who was living in Boston then and remembers this.
I lived there in the early 70’s and remember all that you do. I worked as a cocktail waitress in the Bull Restaurant. I also worked part time in the cigarette, gum and dry cleaning booth in the hallway. Aku Aku was the very best. We used to get the Scorpion Bowl to share and got full on the free appetizers. Some of the best days of my life. I am 70 years old now and often reminence about those days so long ago.
My late father, Lt. Russell McConnell, was chaplain to the Waves in 1943 at the Hotel Somerset before he was sent to England. The story I remember best was that since no one else above him in rank would do it, he was assigned, after a complaint by some powerful older woman, to tell the Waves that there would be no more lingering late at night at the front door of the hotel with their dates.
Lived in Boston ’62 through ’67. What a wonderful place.
I well remember the PolynesianVillage and it’s great food and drinks. Mai Tais and Zombies particularly.
My dad,Clarence Bohanon was the general manager of Somerset from the late 1940’s to the early to mid 1950’s. A.M. Sonnabend was the owner. He owned several hotels throughout the country under the Hotel Corp of America.
We lived in the old Puritan Hotel next door . Eventually, the walls were knocked down and the Puritan become part of the Somerset. Those were heady times for my parents. Dad loved the hotel business and knew and met everybody.
He loved and admired A.M. Sonnabend, however, its was the hotel staff he loved : The executive chef Louis Turco, Angelo Basset the Maitre D’ and John Kerinan the Head Bellman. Also Sammy Eisen. He was one of Boston’s society band leader.
I look back with much fondness living in the Somerset. Pretty great for a three to six year-older living in a hotel.
i imagine most of the people all gone by now. Bo died in 1974 at the age of 63 and my mother three years later. So if there is anybody out who remember these times and people I would love to hear from you.
P.S. I have a million stories
I remember long ago days with great
Hello. My father worked at the Somerset during the 1950s through the 1960s. He had also worked at the Puritan for a short time. I remember him talking about the Sonnabends whom he also admired. I know that he worked with ‘Louie’ Turco as he called him. I met his daughter a few years ago and was absolutely surprised to meet anyone from that period of time who had connections to the hotel. My mother was from Boston, but my Dad the southwest. When he first came here, he was hired at the Puritan, I believe, but it may have been another hotel in the immediate area. There was an advertisement put out by the hotel about my father. It was, “Come in and meet Genial George”. He was charming and loved people.
Please feel free to contact me if you wish. There must be many stories we could share.
Hi Robert,
My Great Grandmother Elizabeth Doherty worked there in her early 20’s, in the era of 1921 to……. a long time I just don’t know how long. The 1920 census has her working there as a servant, was that a maid do you know? Did they typically lodge there as well back then do you know? REALLY wish I could inquire about previous employment records since she is a big mystery for us as we dig into our family ancestry, we have a lot of holes when it comes to her except for that fact and that she immigrated 10 years prior from Ireland.
Best,
Sherri
My great aunt also served as Maitre D’ during ’40s & ’50’s. She especially catered to the baseball players when in town playing the sox. Perhaps you have heard the name Katherine Dapp mentioned?
I have a large silver water pitcher from the old Somerset. I was wondering if it had any worth! My mother and father had gone there for some Ford affairs in the ballroom.
Summer of 1976, I waitressed at The Bull Restaurant in the basement of the Somerset Charlesgate building. It was still a beautiful building. The Bull Restaurant must have been in the same space, as mentioned in the above comments, as The Rib Room and Aku Aku. All the wait staff wanted shifts on game days/nights as the steak restaurant patrons tended to be big tippers before and after games to impress their friends. I recall the ground floor having the club and pool described above. The club upstairs was so crowded and had such loud music people did tend to fall into the pool. Business at The Bull was spotty and one day I reported for work only to find the restaurant locked. They owed me for a few shifts so I pursued them. I finally got my last check and was told they were going bankrupt.
Hi, who owned the hotel at that time? The Franchie family owned it when I was there , late 60’s early 70’s. Pat Franchie was the owner and his sister Mary managed the Bull Restaurant where I was employed as a cocktail waitress in the small bar, connected to the Bull Restaurant.
I remember attending dances sponsored by various Greek American organizations at the Somerset. My girl friends and I danced to bouzouki music all night long. Mr Angelo Bassett, a fellow Hellene, was a distinguished gentleman and a friend of my Dad.
I used to go to Greek dancers with my friend Joan Yphantes,My mother and I would go to fashion shows by the pool in the summer. Mildred Albert of the Academy Moderne and Hart Model Agency sponsored them. My mom was both and modeled for Mrs. Albert.
I have a coin from the Somerset.
The date is 1946 and has the number 629 under the date.
Does anyone know the story behind this coin and if it has any value?
I attended Garland Junior College 63-65. It was directly across the street from the Somerset. On our Friday long break a group of us met for coffe break at the Somerset. My boyfriend often took me to dinner at the Polynesian Village. Loved their Sweet and Sour Chicken, fried rice, and cocoanut ice cream.