This week’s historical building is pretty sweet.
At the corner of Washington Street and Atlantic Avenue — more specifically at 1 Atlantic Ave. — is a building that was constructed around 1925. In the almost 100 years since its appearance, many businesses have come and gone through its doors.
But before there were any doors, there was a chunk of land. According to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS), in 1871, a “provisions dealer and real estate investor” named Benjamin F. Goldthwait filed a subdivision plan. This area was just one of the numerous sections of town he owned. This subdivision included a tract south of Washington Street.
In 1872, John O. Porter purchased part of this subdivision from Goldthwait, the piece of property that the building we are discussing would be built upon. He also managed an eponymous livery and ice company on part of this land. That, however, is a story for another, colder day.
When Porter died in 1924, an Irish immigrant named John S. Moxley purchased the properties 1-7 Atlantic Ave. On these properties were two commercial one-story buildings, 1 and 7 Atlantic Ave.
The first business at 1 Atlantic Ave., the literal corner store, was Abby May’s Candy Shop Building. A 1926 Sanborn map indicates that a “candy kitchen” stood behind this location and was likely adjoining. Abby May Roundy, the namesake of the candy store, bought the property in 1941, and as of 1957, according to a mortgage noted in the Essex Country Registry of Deeds, was still the owner of the building.
Unfortunately, there is no more candy store at the corner anymore. The candy store is likely to have ceased operations when Roundy sold the building in 1960 to Robert W. Cotter. Most recently, the building has been Le Bistro, and has remained in the Cotter name, according to the Assessor’s Office.
Though it seems like a distant past to me, a member of the notorious Gen Z, there may be some of you reading right now with memories of Abby May Roundy’s candies. How were they? Hopefully — tasty.