Bull & Finch Pub (Cheers)

 

Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Address: 84 Beacon Street
Date: September 2010
Website: www.cheersboston.com

    At the beginning of every episode a cast member tells us that "Cheers is filmed before a live studio audience". This is not entirely true as the cast has filmed outside of the studio from time to time. When they have, it is usually outside of the Bull & Finch pub in Boston.

   The Bull & Finch pub on Beacon Hill opened in 1969 and it was chosen as the location for Cheers which first aired on television in 1982. An agreement was made to use the exterior of the pub in establishing shots for the show. The Bull & Finch decked out as Cheers and Melville's has appeared in every episode.  

 

 

Later agreements were made where the pub was allowed to use the Cheers name and sell Cheers merchandise.

  The interior of the Bull & Finch looks nothing like the set from the TV show. They did build a bar on the second floor of the building. This bar looks a little closer to what the actual set looks like, but not really. The exterior of the building is what fans and tourists come to see.

 

    The very first episode opens with the Cheers sign (at the top of this post) and then the camera zooms in to show the stairwell leading down to the bar. 

  The intro to the show starts with a live shot of the bar with cars driving down Beacon Street and then switches to an illustrated version while the theme song plays.

Let's take a look at the times when the cast of Cheers visited Boston to film an opening for the show.

SEASON 9

 Episode 12: Norm parks his car out front of the bar and steals a parking ticket from a mail truck (supposedly Cliff's). He puts the ticket onto his own car and shortly after the mail truck gets another ticket.

Episode 13: Rebecca and Lilith walk in front of the bar to find people crowded around a man lying in the street. It turns out to be Woody. Woody jumps up just in time for Sam to drive in and park his car in the spot. In real life, Sam (Ted Danson) and Woody (Woody Harrelson) get up to some mischief too. At Paramount Studios in Los Angeles there is some concrete signed and dated by both actors. Ted added his handprints and Woody wrote "was here naked". 

Episode 17: Sam and Norm see Michael Dukakis outside of the bar.

SEASON 10

 

Episode 8: Frasier parks his car in front of Cheers and as he walks away the alarm goes off. This happens several times as Frasier grows increasingly frustrated. We then see Cliff and Norm sitting behind Frasier's car and setting off the alarm and giggling. Cheers was filmed on Stage 25 at Paramount Studios. After Cheers ended, Frasier had his own show which also filmed on Stage 25. Both shows ran for 11 seasons.

 

Episode 10: An Old Town Trolley drives past Cheers. Cliff comes running behind the trolley trying to correct the commentators historical facts. Old Town Trolley is just one of the hop-on, hop-off bus tours that stop in front of the Bull & Finch.

Episode 12: Woody moves a big yellow X painted on cardboard along the sidewalk. Norm and Cliff throw water balloons from the third floor of the Cheers building. Despite Woody changing the target location, they always seem to hit him.  

 

Norm suggests they need a taller building. Woody says he will meet them at the Prudential Tower. Boston's Prudential Tower is 228 metres tall and has 52 floors.

 

Episode 17: We get off track here a little bit to show you a costume from the show. Cliff gets tricked into wearing a fake postal outfit by rival mailman, Twitchell. Cliff loves it and thinks it demands respect, even though he looks ridiculous. We saw this outfit hanging in Faneuil Hall.

 

 

There used to be a replica Cheers bar at Faneuil Hall in Boston. It has since closed. It included memorabilia and photos from the show. It had a bar that looked more like the actual set, but not really.

 

 

Episode 21: Rebecca and Sam lock up for the night. Sam thinks he forgot something. Norm is still inside. Someone may think this opening scene was filmed at the Bull & Finch but it is really the studio set in California. The lights and stairwell look very different than when Norm and Cliff walk down the stairs two episodes later.

 

Episode 23: Norm and Cliff see Senator John Kerry outside of Cheers but think he is a weatherman from TV. They start to walk down the real stairwell to the bar. When we visited they had added a little door at the bottom of the stairs. This was most likely done to keep cold and wet out of the bar.

 

SEASON 11 

 

 

Episode 08: Sam walks past Cliff standing in the rain. It turns out he is tied to the railing for insulting Carla. Sam almost unties Cliff but realizes Carla would be mad with him too. Cliff says "No hard feelings" as Sam leaves him standing there.

 

 

Episode 10: Norm and Cliff spot Ethel Kennedy and Cliff tries to get a photo with her. Ethel offers to take a photo for them. Norm and Cliff pose for a photo. Ethel walks away and they realize this is not the photo they wanted.

 

 

Episode 11: Sam sees a Salvation Army canvasser outside of the bar. When Sam realizes he has no change he starts telling his life story to the canvasser. Frasier enters the bar and Sam is still there when Frasier leaves for the night. Frasier gives a big donation as the canvasser has earned it.

 

 

Episode 13: A car pulls up to Melville's. The owner mistakes Cliff for the valet and hands over his car keys. Cliff and Norm go for a joy ride.

 

 

Episode 14: Woody rides his bike up to the bar. He locks it to a parking meter. Before going inside he feeds the meter.

 

Episode 20: Norm rushes up the stairs and bumps into Sam. Norm is in a rush because it is his 15th wedding anniversary. His wife Vera honks and waves as she drives past. "Happy Anniversary Honey". We never see the character of Vera on the show. Just an arm here or a pair of legs there.

Episode 28: The final shot of the show is the Bull & Finch pub exterior at night.

  Cheers is a show that takes place mainly inside a bar. If you visit Boston it's the outside you want to see.

---

Map of Our World
Bull & Finch Pub

---

Post # 347

La Boule d'Or Centenaire

 

Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Address: Bahnhofplatz 15, CH-8001
Date: April 2025
Website: https://www.dietermeier.com

    Zurich Hauptbahnhof is one of the busiest train stations in Europe. The main hall of the station was rebuilt in 1871 and has a grand entrance. Today you will find some interesting art inside, if you know where to look.

 

    If you look up you will be able to spot L‘Ange Protecteur. This giant purple guardian angel hangs from the roof of the main hall. It was painted by Niki de Saint Phalle. Niki painted the bright colours using watercolour so the whole thing needs to be cleaned using compressed air to prevent fading.

 

    If you look down you may see La Boule d'Or Centenaire (The Gold-Plated Centenary Ball). This ball will stay in the floor for 100 years and only be taken out 8 times. This project is presented by the Association Des Maitres De Rien or the Association Of The Masters Of Nothing.

 

  The ball is stored in the floor of the main hall protected behind bulletproof glass. The president of the Association Des Maitres De Rein is Dieter Meier. Dieter is the vocalist in electronic band Yello. Yello is best known for the hit song "Oh Yeah", but as huge fans of the band we enjoy their entire catalogue.  

 

   Back in 1977, Dieter had an art studio at Rote Fabrik. This former factory on the west side of Lake Zurich had become a creative hub for many artists. It was here that Boris Blank spent many late nights creating the sounds that would become the music of Yello. The first Yello album, Solid Pleasure, was released in 1980.

 Besides working with his partner Boris Blank, Dieter enjoys performance and conceptual art. In 1972 he installed a plaque at a German train station that stated "On 23 March 1994, from 3 to 4 pm, Dieter Meier will stand on this plaque".  True to his word he was there for the whole hour. The gold plated ball at Zurich HB also has specific dates where it will be rolled along a wooden gangway and then placed back into its glass case. This is known as the Bois du Voyage d'Or and can be seen in the photo above.

 

 The ball has been rolled three times already along the 12 metre wooden gangway.  All of the rolling dates are carved into the ball. The very first was May 9th 2008 and the last will be May 9th 2108. The next time will be August 28th 2033 and Dieter Meier will be 88 years old. What is the point of it all?  The point is that there is no point. It is all insignificant nonsense.
 

   The ball is located in the floor of the main hall.  In this photo (above) it is located on the far left hand side just visible behind a tent that was set up by Flora plant based butter. We feared that the ball may have been covered by the tent when we arrived.

 In a presentation that Dieter might have enjoyed, we were allowed to ride on the back of a cow while holding a cake in order to promote plant based butter. We had to climb a little step ladder to get up onto the cow which was also quite wide and on wheels. Most people took one look and just stood beside the cow.

 Speaking of cows, Dieter Meier owns a steakhouse in Zurich called Ojo Du Agua. Dieter owns a ranch in Argentina and also makes his own wine and chocolate. On the roof of Ojo Du Agua was a cow from Zurich's Cow Parade. During the Cow Parade back in 1998, different artists painted cow sculptures and they were placed around the city.

 

  

 Dieter Meier is involved in many different ventures. Is he truly the master of nothing? Is he the Father of Excess? Take a train into Zurich and decide for yourself. And for me, it's Claro que si.

---

Map of Our World
La Boule d'Or Centenaire , L'Ange Protecteur

---

Post # 346

Craven Road

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  Craven Road
Date:  March 2025

  Toronto is home to the Art Gallery of Ontario, as well as many small independant galleries. Only a few people know that they can also take a walk along Craven Road and see a variety of art.

 

   One side of Craven Road is full of houses and the other is a wooden fence. There is a wide variety of framed art and strange objects stuck to the fence. The part of the fence above has a mirror, a guitar, some hockey gloves and a painting of a blue person.

 

 

The nice thing about Craven Road is that it is always open. Day or night. Rain or shine.

     We don't know who the artists are behind this artwork. Are they paintings from residents of Craven Road? Are they artwork from a local school?  Is everything found art with artists unknown?

         There were many paintings of nature and scenery. Perhaps the artists will one day be held in as high regard as the Group of Seven.

 

        As we admired the random collection of art stuck on the fence we also wondered who started it all?  Did someone from the street want to look at something more than an empty fence across from their home.

    This section of the wall had the front and back of an owl, an upside down Q, a little red man and more.

    Another section was filled with instruments and shoes between the works of art.We assumed that the instruments no longer worked and were repurposed as decorations. If they were stuck on the fence in working order, Toronto's weather would have made quick work of them.

     Another section featured two guitars and a photo of a pier.

      A few other sections featured animal artwork. These were most likely to remember favourite pets.

    How did it come to be and who may be the mystery curator of this fence full of art? We may never know. What we do know is that when all the other galleries are closed, you can always take a walk or a drive up Craven Road.

---

Map of Our World
Craven Road

---

Post # 345