A Decades-Old Cambridge Dive Bar Known for Karaoke Nights Has Closed

An East Cambridge dive bar known for its karaoke nights has closed after a 76-year run. Courtside shut down permanently on Monday afternoon, and owner John Alberts, whose father opened the bar in 1943, has reportedly sold the building housing Courtside to the neighboring property owner.

Alberts took over the bar in the 1970s, and over the course of his tenure, the bar became a haven for sports fans in the area, a destination for recreational team sports celebrations, and especially a spot for karaoke nights.

Alberts is now in his seventies, and he told Boston.com that certain health issues he and his wife are facing helped signal that it was time to leave the business.

Courtside is the latest in a string of Boston-area dive bars to close or announce an upcoming closure. Doyle’s, a longstanding Jamaica Plain dive, will also close this year, and the Beacon Hill Pub will go the same way as the owners prepare to convert it to a fine dining restaurant. Other local staples like the Bus Stop Pub in Allston, Green Briar Pub in Brighton, and more have also closed in recent years.

• Courtside Goes Dark After 76 Years in Cambridge [Boston.com]
• Courtside in East Cambridge Is Closing [BRT]