Cheers

Beacon Hill, Boston –

The façade of this Beacon Hill institution served as the setting for the long-running Cheers TV show – and to say owners have capitalized on that Hollywood connection would be an understatement.

Founded as the Bull & Finch Pub in 1969, the now famous (and renamed) watering hole landed on a marketing goldmine when Cheers producers asked to shoot the exterior for the show’s credits, and today a steady stream of fans make their way down the same wrought iron steps that graced the airwaves for eleven seasons.

Aside from the Indian statue by the door and a large stained glass window, however, little inside resembles the Paramount stage where the show was filmed, though that doesn't deter the crowds.

Cheers and Boston sports memorabilia blanket the brick walls near the cozy main bar, where small tables in the front dining room fill up with chatty out-of-towners snapping photos or eyeing the nearby souvenir shop, while a similar back room provides space for additional ‘Cheersleaders’ to order themed eats like Frasier’s Chicken Panini and the massive Norm Burger.

Die-hard fans who want an experience more reminiscent of the show should head to the venue’s second location in Faneuil Hall, aka “The Replica,” which was designed to match the sitcom’s set – but for a little bit of TV history in the heart of Beacon Hill, nothing beats the “original” Cheers.