The secret rental-truck burial grounds

By adamg - 9/5/11 - 6:42 pm

Not pictured: All the trucks parked on Washington Street. Not pictured: The trucks parked on Washington Street.

One place Penske is stashing all those trucks from places like Allston and Mission Hill until they can move them out is in front of and behind (and in?) the Ice Box on Washington Street in Roslindale, across from the Emporium and near Forest Hills.

Comments

Propagation

By massmarrier - 9/5/11 - 7:06 pm

#1

Looks like where they go to mate.

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What's the deal with the Ice

By cscott - 9/6/11 - 1:01 am

#2

What's the deal with the Ice Box?

I can understand that sometimes you need some ice for your cooler, or maybe your catering project, but what's up with people filling up on water there? Seriously, the building and the block are so nasty it can't be better than tap water. And yet I see people there at all hours of the day filling up containers? Why?

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Some customers may come from

By Jeff F - 9/6/11 - 4:06 am

#3

Some customers may come from places where tap water is a risky play and not realize that MWRA water is safe. Others may have compromised plumbing in their homes (I've had a landlord that wouldn't have cared if every pipe in his building was cast lead).

Fwiw, the water is brought in from elsewhere. I've used them a couple times (camping, picnics), and found the water and ice to be of good quality.

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Some History

By massmarrier - 9/6/11 - 7:53 am

#4

JP has a long tradition of springs and brooks for fresh water. There used to be something like 26 breweries in lower areas of Boston, most of them in JP. The springs and brooks (particularly Mother Brook) made for good beer.

My understanding from locals on that side is that the water there at least used to be from a spring there.

I get my blocks and big bags of ice there, very pure and far cheaper than any grocery or C-store. Plus the guys with the tongs are nice and very efficient.

Just looking it up, I see that it was 31 breweries, 24 in the JP area, and lots of good water, from streams including Stony Brook as well.

Adam can probably tell us, as this should now be in the Roslindale neighborhood, whether this is a descendant of the same Boston Ice Company that had a cartel controlling the material in the early 1900s.