What replaced this 1860s South Boston beer company?

Apartments now stand in place of one of Boston’s many extinct breweries.

Poster for Suffolk Brewing Co. showing Boston Harbor in the background. Boston Public Library via Digital Commonwealth

May 21, 2015

2 minutes to read

Boston currently has Harpoon, Trillium and Sam Adams breweries to quench our thirst for good beer, but in the 19th century, the Hub boasted over 30 local breweries.

One of those breweries, the Suffolk Brewing Company, was founded in the 1860s in South Boston. According to Boston Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hub:

“Not much is known about the Suffolk Brewing Company, which was founded in 1861 on Eighth Street. The brewery brewed both ales and lagers and advertised its ‘Munich Lager.’ According to Beer New England, Suffolk also brewed a nonalcoholic beer called Uno. Suffolk Brewing Company was one of the breweries purchased by the New England Brewing Company. The Massachusetts Breweries Company later purchased the Suffolk Company and eventually closed the brewery for good.’’

Poster for Suffolk Brewing Co. showing Boston Harbor in the background – Boston Public Library via Digital Commonwealth

As this 1875 poster shows, there was plenty of space along the coast of South Boston as the area was still developing.

In the 17th and 18th centuries South Boston was rural, serving the neighboring area of Dorchester, according to a study for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. At the time, South Boston was a part of Dorchester, which was its own town. Boston annexed South Boston in 1804.

By 1910, the South Boston area had changed significantly due to large areas of landfill, creating much more useable land.

This is what South Boston looked like in 1935. The brewery would have been in the upper right quadrant, just past the curve in the shoreline.

A view of South Boston to the north and Dorchester to the south. – Flickr Creative Commons/ Boston Public Library

Now, the Carson Tower apartments sit at the site of the old brewery. The building might not be as unique as its beer-soaked ancestor, but it still stands out in the South Boston East neighborhood, which the BRA study described as:

“Basically a densely developed residential district with most of its housing dating between the late 1840’s and the 1920’s, and in form predominantly 2-story plus attic and 3-story, narrow, brick and frame single, double, 2-family, and triple decker dwellings built up to the street line on very small lots.’’

Here are some more representative places up for sale in the South Boston East area:

90 G Street #4, Boston, MA 02127

This three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,198-square-foot condo is for sale for $799,000. It’s very close to the water and has views of the city.

761 E. Sixth Street #22, Boston, MA 02127

This condo is $439,000 and has two bedrooms, one bathroom and 895 square feet of space. It’s a penthouse and has central air, a private balcony and an open layout.

474 East Third St #1, Boston, MA 02127