Today for National Small Business Week, we’d love to give a hearty shoutout to Cambridge’s most happening vintage consignment shop, Raspberry Beret! The kind you find in a second-hand store.
Views of 2298-2304 Mass Ave at the corner of Rice St in 1970 and today (CHC staff photos)
The business was founded by Rachael Bankey of Brookline and has been operating in Massachusetts for over 15 years, but their North Cambridge location at 2302 Massachusetts Ave. opened in 2017. When asked what inspired Rachael to break into the vintage business she said, “I have always loved clothes and vintage since I was able to walk into my mom’s closet and try on her clothes. I like knowing that a piece of clothing has a history and that it’s one-of-a-kind. Being able to provide a fun place for people to find interesting and fun clothes is very rewarding.” She said choosing to open her second location in Cambridge was a natural choice because “Cambridge has always been a destination for the creatives.”
If you consider yourself a fashionable creative, with fun clothing to contribute to this awesome business, Raspberry Beret accepts consignments by season on an appointment basis. Visit their website to schedule your appointment today and read to the end to see how I style some of my own Raspberry Beret finds!
It’s not just the clothes at Raspberry Beret that have a cool history. The building that the store currently occupies was originally a two-story residential home with a mansard roof, built in 1867 by Stephen Stiles as shown in this c.1890 photograph taken by Donald C. Presho. At that time, the address was recorded as 6 Rice St.
In 1907, a permit was granted to the owner, Adaline Lonergan, and architect, G.H. Tyler to have the existing two stories raised with an additional floor added underneath and add a brick storefront to the perimeter of the house. It’s possible this was done in an effort to preserve the original mansard roof. The 1907, Cambridge Tribune documents the cost of these alterations to total $8,500. The three atlas photos below (1873, 1903, and 1916, respectively) document the building’s evolving footprint and eventual brick addition.
This storefront has been home to many businesses over the years including Water House Market, Dover Market, X Files Recovery, and a vintage furniture store.
Exterior of 2302 Mass Ave when it was occupied by Dover Market (CDD Urban Design Study, 1981) and later XFiles Recovery (Assessor’s photo, 2015)
And now for the reveal!
Today’s post was written by CHC Archivist, Viv Williams