Cheers Beacon Hill is a bar/restaurant located on Beacon Street in the

Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to: Places Canada * Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood * Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia * Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan * Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec United ...

neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, across from the

Boston Public Garden The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks, and is bounded by Charles Street and Boston Common to ...

. Founded in 1969 as the Bull & Finch Pub, the bar is best remembered internationally as the exterior of the bar seen in the hit

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'', which ran between 1982 and 1993.

History

The show used the Bull & Finch as the inspiration for the hit TV show and exterior for the series,

establishing shot An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...

s of the namesake bar Cheers. A slightly modernized replica of the set bar has been built on the ground floor. Bull And Finch 90s

'' The Official Preppy Handbook'' published in 1980 described Quaffer's (the upstairs in the Hampshire House at the time) as "Clubby, library atmosphere, with the requisite backgammon tables. Private club, but flexible, especially for ladies." The trademark, filed in 1982 has since been canceled. In 1982 ''Boston'' magazine awarded the Bull & Finch the title of Boston's best bar. On May 20, 1993, the night of ''Cheers'' series finale, Tom Kershaw held a large party 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 ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' that aired after the finale took place live at the party outside the bar, with many celebrities including sportscaster

Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...

in the bar,

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

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. Cheers Beacon Hill on Beacon Street in Boston. Between August 2001 and August 2020, there was a branch location, Cheers Faneuil Hall, in

Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others ...

. To capitalize on the popularity of the TV show, this location was built with a replica of the TV bar. The final day of the replica bar included a live band playing the Cheers theme, an appearance by owner Tom Kershaw and a raffle to win a photocopy of the script for

the final episode "The Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)" is a song by British metalcore band Asking Alexandria. It is the band's lead single from their debut album, ''Stand Up and Scream''. It was released on 15 December 2009. One of the band's most success ...

. Cheers Beacon Hill is owned by Thomas A. Kershaw, who also owns the Hampshire House restaurant upstairs and the nearby restaurants, 75 Chestnut, and 75 Liberty Wharf in the Seaport. On March 10, 2009, the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Gl ...

'' 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 In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

as the reason for the decision. The block on which Cheers resides has been renamed Eddie Doyle Square in his honor.

References

External links

* {{coord, 42.355888, -71.071222, display=title, type:landmark 1969 establishments in Massachusetts Beacon Hill, Boston Cheers Cultural history of Boston Drinking establishments in Boston Restaurants established in 1969 Restaurants in Boston