The. Matchcover Storyteller

Camerons, Gloucester, MA

It opened in 1936.  It was sold in 2015 and demolished in 2020.  It was Cameron’s a more than 13,000 square foot restaurant a few minutes’ walk  from the famous fishing port in Gloucester, Massachusetts, northeast of Boston.  I know of at least two different 20-strike matchcovers for Cameron’s a front strike and a rear strike.

Most of what I can find on the place is more contemporary  —  “a very popular restaurant and a great hang-out.” is one.  Another  —  “nice little place, quiet during the day.   Not the best looking place to eat, but the food was very good.”  The food was  — naturally  —  seafood.

 There’s a spread-wing eagle on the front of both versions of the matchcover.  Cameron’s had a wooden  16-foot spread-wing eagle over its front door, hand-carved in 1967 by Carl Goddard, a Massachusetts sculptor whose creations were sought around the world.  It had been repainted and restored in 2017 for a veterans’ event.  When removed in 2020, it went to an art center and eventually adorned the home of Cape Ann Veterans Services, about a 5-minte drive across town.

 I wish I had stories of Cameron’s from 1936 through the 60s at least.  The eagle story is a small but vital part of it; Cameron’s was sold in 2015 for $975,000 and the main issue seemed to be “What will happen to the eagle?”

Well we know; we also know that 5 years later demolition commenced toward replacement by a new apartment structure with some street level commercial space.   I know there’s a bubble tea spot there, not sure what else.

 Apart from the two matchcovers (one by Universal, the other by American), there is a postcard out there if you’re looking to build a combo.