WHERE Brass Union
WHAT Gargoyles, mounted on oak columns reportedly from a castle once owned by a British rock star, on either side of the Somerville tavern’s front-room bar.
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WHOSE IDEA In 2011, restaurateur Ken Kelly was on the prowl for “dark, sexy wood” for his Davis Square watering hole, Saloon. Good timing: The Capital Grille was closing its Newbury Street location after many years, and Kelly was able to procure several of their hand-carved walls — some with built-in gargoyles. He saved the gargoyles for a future project and ultimately decided that they’d be ideal for Brass Union, his mellow Union Square pub that opened last summer. “I wanted to create an old New York-style tavern here: a black-and-white tile floor with lots of rich oak,” he says. Better still, says Kelly, the gargoyles have history: “I’m told they’re from a 14th-century castle outside London once owned by Pete Townshend.” Brass Union, 70 Union Square, Somerville, 617-623-9211, www.brassunion.com
KARA BASKIN
