I was wondering what that smell was coming from my newspaper.
"New eatery to transform landmark on Common" September 01, 2011|By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
A former restroom on the Boston Common that has stood vacant for decades and is known for its architectural design and its nickname will soon have a new purpose - food service, according to city officials.
I won't be eating there.
In a statement yesterday, Boston’s Parks & Recreation Department said that Mayor Thomas M. Menino has signed a lease with the Orlando-based Earl of Sandwich company to open a sandwich shop as early as spring in the former Men’s Comfort Station, a 660-square-foot, octagon-shaped building also known as the Pink Palace.
“We welcome Earl of Sandwich and look forward to a new casual dining option in the city as they transform the building into an entirely new use,’’ Menino said in the statement.
The comfort station, known as the Pink Palace for a pinkish tinge in its stone masonry, was built in the 1920s and has been closed since the 1970s. It is near the center of the Common, between athletic fields, tennis courts, and the Parkman Bandstand.
Colin Zick, chairman of the Parks and Public Spaces Committee of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said in a phone interview that he was “cautiously optimistic and a little bit skeptical’’ about the company’s plans to open in the former outhouse.
“The place is a disaster right now,’’ he said. “An enormous amount of money is going to have to be spent to bring it up to modern standards.’’
That cost will be shouldered by the company, according to the Parks department.
Amy Sadowsky, a spokeswoman for Planet Hollywood International Inc., the parent company of Earl of Sandwich, said it is anticipated that renovations will cost “several hundred thousand dollars.’’
According to an engineering report on the building commissioned by the city and released in 2007, it would take about two years to renovate the Pink Palace at a cost of about $750,000 to just under $1 million.
“The current condition of the building is very poor,’’ the report states. “The glass and copper roof has failed, the entry door is severely damaged, and the interior finishes are damaged beyond repair.’’
Under terms of the 15-year lease that Earl of Sandwich has signed, the company will pay $50,000 annually to the city.
Sadowsky said that Robert Earl, chairman of Planet Hollywood, chose the Pink Palace as a location in part because his son Robbie will attend Boston University in the fall as a freshman....
He'll probably be their only customer.
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