Cheers Beacon Hill

Cheers Beacon Hill on Beacon Street in Boston.

Cheers Beacon Hill, formerly the Bull & Finch Pub, 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 known internationally as the exterior of the bar seen in the NBC television sitcom Cheers which ran from 1982 to 1993. The show used the Bull & Finch exterior for the series' establishing shots of the namesake bar Cheers. No interior shots were used, and the interior does not resemble that of the Cheers bar. Recent technology makes it possible to participate in a virtual visit to this location. Using EveryScape, the user can click on "Cheers Boston," arrive at that location on Beacon Street and then move from the street across the sidewalk, go down the stairs, enter the pub, tour the interior and then exit.^[1]

On May 20, 1993, the night of Cheers series finale, there was a large party held 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. 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.

In 2002, the Bull & Finch Pub was officially renamed "Cheers Beacon Hill".^[2]

Since August 2001, there has been a branch location, Cheers Faneuil Hall, in Faneuil Hall.^[3] To capitalize on the popularity of the TV show, this location was built with a replica of the TV bar.

Cheers Beacon Hill is owned by Thomas A. Kershaw, who also owns the Hampshire House restaurant upstairs and the nearby restaurant, 75 Chestnut.^[4]

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.^[5] The block on which Cheers resides has been renamed Eddie Doyle square in his honor.^[6]

References

1. ^ EveryScape: Boston
2. ^ Google Map with video
3. ^ Cheers Faneuil Hall
4. ^ Cheers Beacon Hill
5. ^ Rosenberg, Steven (March 10, 2009). "For Boston institution, closing credits roll". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/10/for_boston_institution_closing_credits_roll/.  March 10, 2009
6. ^ whdh.com

External links

• Cheers Boston official site

Coordinates: 42°21′21″N 71°04′16″W / 42.355888°N 71.071222°W / 42.355888; -71.071222