Cheers Beacon Hill is a bar/restaurant located on Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, across from the Boston Public Garden. Founded in 1969 as the Bull & Finch Pub, the bar is best remembered internationally as the exterior of the bar seen in the NBC sitcom Cheers, which ran between 1982 and 1993.[1] The Bull & Finch changed its name to Cheers in 2002 after closing a deal with NBC.[2]
Bull & Finch Pub in the early 1990s. The original sign.
The Bull and Finch Pub was founded in 1969 by Thomas Kershaw and a partner. The two owned a building in Beacon Hill, Hampshire House, and wanted to find a use for the basement which at the time was inefficiently used as just storage. They tried to model the Bull & Finch on English pubs, complete with accoutrements imported from England. One story behind its name is that it is a reference to the architect Charles Bulfinch, who designed the Massachusetts State House among other buildings.[2] The bar was popular with locals in its first decade.[3] The upstairs of Hampshire House at the time was a private club called Quaffer's.[4] In 1982 Boston magazine awarded the Bull & Finch the title of Boston's best bar.[5][1]
A fateful moment came in 1981 when writers Glen and Les Charles and producer James Burrows visited Boston seeking an authentic local bar to use for the TV show that would become Cheers.[2] The trio thought the Bull & Finch fit perfectly. Kershaw, happy to get free advertising, accepted a fee of one dollar for rights to use the exterior image of the property in Cheers. The establishing shot of the opening sequence showed the Bull & Finch in all eleven seasons. The popularity of the show led to a great increase in popularity for the bar. While locals began to avoid the place, hordes of tourists started to visit, easily offseting the loss.[3] A 1990 report said that the bar had become one of the top three tourist destinations in Boston.[2]
On May 20, 1993, the night of Cheers series finale, Tom Kershaw held a large party outside of the bar to commemorate the event. Many people gathered outside the bar, and watched the finale on two large TV screens specially set up for the event. The cast of Cheers watched the finale inside the bar.[6] On the episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that aired after the finale took place live at the party outside the bar, with many celebrities including sportscaster Bob Costas in the bar, Jay Leno walked into the bar and interviewed them. Later, Leno played many games with the Cheers cast inside the bar, and at the end of the show, the Cheers theme was played outside the bar.
Cheers Beacon Hill on Beacon Street in Boston.
At some point, the bar expanded upward into Hampshire House, with a replica of the California set used for people expecting the version from television. In 2002, the bar was renamed to "Cheers Beacon Hill" as part of a new deal with NBC, along with increasing the amount of Cheers merchandise sold.[2]
Between August 2001 and August 2020, there was a branch location, Cheers Faneuil Hall, in Faneuil Hall. To capitalize on the popularity of the TV show, this location was built with a replica of the TV bar. The final day of the replica bar included a live band playing the Cheers theme, an appearance by owner Tom Kershaw and a raffle to win a photocopy of the script for the final episode. Kershaw cited the COVID-19 pandemic and a dispute with the landlord at Faneuil Hall for the closing.[7][8]
Cheers Beacon Hill (July 2008)
On March 10, 2009, the Boston Globe reported that longtime Cheers bartender Eddie Doyle, with a 35-year tenure that predated the sitcom Cheers, had been laid off. Owner Tom Kershaw cited the recession as the reason for the decision.[9] The block on which Cheers resides has been renamed Eddie Doyle Square in his honor.[10]
Owneredit
Cheers Beacon Hill is owned by Thomas A. Kershaw, who also owns the Hampshire House restaurant upstairs and the nearby restaurants, 75 Chestnut, and 75 Liberty Wharf in the Seaport.[11]
Referencesedit
^ abFlynn, Daniel J. (March 2014). . The American Spectator. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^"BULL & FINCH PUB". January 1982. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^Williams, Jack; Walker, Liz (May 20, 1993). "Cheers Special Report". WBZ-TV. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^"Cheers will close its Faneuil Hall location on August 30". Boston.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
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Cheers Beacon Hill is a bar restaurant located on Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston Massachusetts across from the Boston Public Garden Founded in 1969 as the Bull amp Finch Pub the bar is best remembered internationally as the exterior of the bar seen in the NBC sitcom Cheers which ran between 1982 and 1993 1 The Bull amp Finch changed its name to Cheers in 2002 after closing a deal with NBC 2 Cheers Beacon HillCompany typePrivateIndustryRestaurants BarsFoundedBoston Massachusetts bar restaurant 1969 FounderTom KershawHeadquarters84 Beacon StreetBoston Massachusetts02108Number of employees275Websitehttps cheersboston com Contents 1 History 2 Owner 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Bull amp Finch Pub in the early 1990s The original sign The Bull and Finch Pub was founded in 1969 by Thomas Kershaw and a partner The two owned a building in Beacon Hill Hampshire House and wanted to find a use for the basement which at the time was inefficiently used as just storage They tried to model the Bull amp Finch on English pubs complete with accoutrements imported from England One story behind its name is that it is a reference to the architect Charles Bulfinch who designed the Massachusetts State House among other buildings 2 The bar was popular with locals in its first decade 3 The upstairs of Hampshire House at the time was a private club called Quaffer s 4 In 1982 Boston magazine awarded the Bull amp Finch the title of Boston s best bar 5 1 A fateful moment came in 1981 when writers Glen and Les Charles and producer James Burrows visited Boston seeking an authentic local bar to use for the TV show that would become Cheers 2 The trio thought the Bull amp Finch fit perfectly Kershaw happy to get free advertising accepted a fee of one dollar for rights to use the exterior image of the property in Cheers The establishing shot of the opening sequence showed the Bull amp Finch in all eleven seasons The popularity of the show led to a great increase in popularity for the bar While locals began to avoid the place hordes of tourists started to visit easily offseting the loss 3 A 1990 report said that the bar had become one of the top three tourist destinations in Boston 2 On May 20 1993 the night of Cheers series finale Tom Kershaw held a large party outside of the bar to commemorate the event Many people gathered outside the bar and watched the finale on two large TV screens specially set up for the event The cast of Cheers watched the finale inside the bar 6 On the episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that aired after the finale took place live at the party outside the bar with many celebrities including sportscaster Bob Costas in the bar Jay Leno walked into the bar and interviewed them Later Leno played many games with the Cheers cast inside the bar and at the end of the show the Cheers theme was played outside the bar nbsp Cheers Beacon Hill on Beacon Street in Boston At some point the bar expanded upward into Hampshire House with a replica of the California set used for people expecting the version from television In 2002 the bar was renamed to Cheers Beacon Hill as part of a new deal with NBC along with increasing the amount of Cheers merchandise sold 2 Between August 2001 and August 2020 there was a branch location Cheers Faneuil Hall in Faneuil Hall To capitalize on the popularity of the TV show this location was built with a replica of the TV bar The final day of the replica bar included a live band playing the Cheers theme an appearance by owner Tom Kershaw and a raffle to win a photocopy of the script for the final episode Kershaw cited the COVID 19 pandemic and a dispute with the landlord at Faneuil Hall for the closing 7 8 nbsp Cheers Beacon Hill July 2008 On March 10 2009 the Boston Globe reported that longtime Cheers bartender Eddie Doyle with a 35 year tenure that predated the sitcom Cheers had been laid off Owner Tom Kershaw cited the recession as the reason for the decision 9 The block on which Cheers resides has been renamed Eddie Doyle Square in his honor 10 Owner editCheers Beacon Hill is owned by Thomas A Kershaw who also owns the Hampshire House restaurant upstairs and the nearby restaurants 75 Chestnut and 75 Liberty Wharf in the Seaport 11 References edit a b Flynn Daniel J March 2014 Cheers To The Bull amp Finch The American Spectator Archived from the original on October 6 2015 Retrieved October 19 2015 a b c d e Montes Geoff February 5 2015 Cheers in Boston National Trust for Historic Preservation a b T Shirts Crowding Bottles at Famous Boston Bar The New York Times July 12 1987 Retrieved November 6 2023 Birnbach Lisa Roberts Jonathan Wallace Carol McD Wiley Mason October 1980 The Official Preppy Handbook New York Workman Publishing p 172 ISBN 978 0 89480 140 2 BULL amp FINCH PUB January 1982 Retrieved October 19 2015 Williams Jack Walker Liz May 20 1993 Cheers Special Report WBZ TV Archived from the original on December 19 2021 Retrieved October 19 2015 Cheers will close its Faneuil Hall location on August 30 Boston com Retrieved August 19 2020 Cheers Faneuil Hall Archived from the original on July 11 2013 Rosenberg Steven March 10 2009 For Boston institution closing credits roll Boston Globe Retrieved March 10 2009 Congratulations Eddie October 21 2009 Retrieved October 19 2015 Cheers Beacon Hill Archived from the original on July 26 2013 External links editOfficial website 42 21 21 N 71 04 16 W 42 355888 N 71 071222 W 42 355888 71 071222 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cheers Beacon Hill amp oldid 1188675184, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
