A community fundraiser to create a mural on South Street by the basketball/pickleball/tennis courts is in full swing -- and JP Centre/South Main Streets has said it will match any online donation.
The mural will be made on the wall outside Peru Travel. Gabrielle Hahn, the owner of nearby business Said & Done tattoo, created the fundraiser to pay local artist Massiel Grullón who is creating the mural. The goal is to fundraise $4,500 to cover paying the artist and supplies. Grullón was born in Boston, is an alum of the Boston Arts Academy, earned a bachelors degree in painting and graphic design at Montserrat College of Art in 2014, and teaches painting at Artists for Humanity in South Boston.
New business Little Cocoa Bean Co. is quite different than any other store Jamaica Plain has seen in recent years. The South Street biz is selling their own unique flavors of baby food, and other baby-related products. Little Cocoa Bean Co. makes baby food for four stages of development named after four baby songs.
Two cars came crashing through Papercuts' storefront on Wednesday, but that's not stopping our local and beloved bookstore from celebrating Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday. "Miraculously no one was in the store at the time. We're safe, but shaken. If you'd like to help out, there are links to donate on our website," wrote Papercuts' owner Kate Layte in a newsletter blast. The staff has been working hard to cleanup after the accident and they'll be open from noon to 6 pm on Saturday to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day.
At the corner of South Street and Carolina Avenue in Jamaica Plain is a colorful court that hosts lively tennis, pickleball and basketball games throughout the week. Next door, at 30 Carolina Avenue, is a unique brick building and wooden stable that has housed the Penshorn Roofing Company since 1960 (figure 1). If we stand on that corner and turn back the clock over 170 years, we would visit a time of great transformation and growth for the city of Boston and a family that played a significant role in those changes. We would also learn the story of an entrepreneurial immigrant family and the tragedy they endured. Architecture of 30 Carolina Ave
30 Carolina Avenue is a one-and-a-half story Second Empire-style building.
There's a new tattoo shop in Jamaica Plain. Gabrielle Hahn opened Said & Done Tattoo at 68 South St., in July. Along with Hahn, who's been tattooing since 1998, there are two other tattoo artists -- Kae James and Alina Gerrish MacLean. Hahn has a BFA in printmaking and specializes in custom work, according to her bio. James' bio states, "They are anxiously awaiting your weird tat ideas."
Not sure where to take your computer or smartphone when it needs repair? The answer will be the BYTE Shop, which is opening on South Street in July. "The BYTE Shop's primary business will be computer and smartphone repair but I'd like to become known as the local place you can bring broken electronics of all sorts for repair or recycling," said BYTE Shop owner Tim Colgrove. "I'm a firm believer in the reduce/reuse/repair/recycle movement when it comes to electronics. My mission is to divert several tons of electronics from landfill through my repair/recycling services."
A dozen local businesses will be participating in the inaugural South Street Fair on May 8. The fair will be outside at the South Street Mall and tennis/pickleball/basketball courts at the corner of Carolina Avenue and South Street. Local musicians will be playing atop the roof of the Ferris Wheels Bike Shop, where the business has operated for 39 years. Corey Stallings, Program Director at South Street Youth Center and a real estate agent for participating business Sazama Real Estate, will host basketball shootouts and other games for kids during the event. Participating businesses include:
Ferris Wheels Bike Shop
Sazama Real Estate
Fiore’s Bakery
Juicygreens
Miss Laura’s
Papercuts JP
Fresh Copy
FOCUS Real Estate
40 South
Monumental Market
Polkadog Bakery
McCormack & Scanlan Real Estate
Sazama and Ferris hope to start a new tradition on their block – “more like a block party than a huge festival,” Jeffrey Ferris explained.
ocal businesses invite the neighborhood to an outdoor fair on Saturday, May 8, from 12 noon until 4:00 PM at the South Street Mall and Tennis Courts, located at the corner of South Street and Carolina Ave in Jamaica Plain. Organized by Sazama Real Estate and Ferris Wheels Bike Shop, in partnership with JP Centre/South Main Streets and other local businesses, the South Street Spring Fair aims to bring together neighbors and local businesses for outdoor, socially distanced fun. Ferris has invited local musicians to play on the roof of the South Street building where his bike shop has operated for 39 years. Corey Stallings, Program Director at South Street Youth Center and a Real Estate Professional with Sazama, will host basketball shootouts and other games for kids during the event. Right now, participating South Street businesses include:
Ferris Wheels Bike Shop
Sazama Real Estate
Fiore’s Bakery
Juicygreens
Miss Laura’s
Papercuts JP
Fresh Copy
FOCUS Real Estate
40 South
Monumental Market
Polkadog Bakery
McCormack & Scanlan Real Estate
Neighboring bookstore Papercuts JP, owned by Kate Layte, is the newest addition to the corner.
The South Street Mall is in the midst of a facelift that includes new basketball hoops , LED lighting, and the installation of a drinking fountain. The courts are being resurfaced and repainted to include a total of six pickleball courts as seen in the graphic below. The two tennis nets and two basketball hoops will remain at the mall, said Liz Sullivan, Director of External Affairs and Marketing for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. The lights are being upgraded to LED, and a drinking fountain that includes a bottle filling option has already been installed. Sullivan said the courts should be completed early April, and then the city will come back early May when the weather allows for the court painting.
After nine years of being on South Street, the Aviary Gallery closed for good at the end of 2020. Posted by Aviary on Sunday, January 3, 2021
"The gallery has been in the space since December of 2010 and featured over 500 artists, dozens of bands and made thousands of prints and scans for the community," said owner Lindsay Metivier to Jamaica Plain News. "With the pandemic and our second five-year lease ending with an increase for the next one we just can't afford, it was time to close the doors." Metivier said the gallery could no longer afford renting the space at 48 South St. She said she will be opening a gallery with a photo lab, very much like Aviary, but in Carrboro, North Carolina.
