Boston, MA, former Jacob With building destroyed by fire – NBC Boston

A large fire ravaged a historic building Monday evening near the Boston Common.

The fire occurred around 10:45 p.m. on Stuart Street, the Boston Fire Department said. Part of that street remains closed as crews remain on scene to investigate the four-alarm fire.

The building was vacant and is under construction.

It was home to the Jacob Wirth Restaurant, an official Boston landmark that was the city's second oldest continuously operating restaurant dating back to 1868.

A fire in an upstairs apartment in 2018 had left the former German brewery vacant, but by 2023, Royale Entertainment Group had begun construction to reopen the historic venue.

Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke said that although the fire was difficult to attack, the water supply was good, the fire walls were holding and knowing the building was vacant helped.

“When the firefighters arrived, there was a fire on all three floors. It was a heavy fire. The chief immediately pulled a fourth alarm, they first entered the building to do an internal attack, and they had to pull them out because the fire was so intense and they went to the outside waterways, they brought it in from outside,” Burke said.

The building on the right is also vacant, but the building on the left is a 30-story residential building.

Burke says everyone was able to get out on their own and made their way to the nearby W Hotel.

The cause and origin of this fire are still under investigation.