The steaming kettle on Sears Crescent has been a Boston landmark since 1873, when it was hung over the door of the Oriental Tea Co at 57 Court St. The teashop held a contest to determine how much tea the giant kettle might hold. The answer – awarded with a chest of premium tea – was 227 gallons, two quarts, one pint and three gills.
The tea kettle was relocated to its current location on the western tip of the Sears Crescent building in 1967, when ‘urban renewal’ swept this neighborhood. Tea drinkers are grateful that this icon of old Boston was saved, although many are miffed that it now marks the spot of a Starbucks.