There was no other space in Boston quite like Store 54. Part record store, part antiques shop, part performance space, the underground location in a former firehouse on Allston’s Harvard Avenue was a truly unique entity. Along with his partner Janice Maestas, owner Wayne Valdez has operated and curated the space for the past five years. In March, he announced that Store 54 would be “taking a sabbatical,” allowing Valdez to refocus on his sculptural work and assess his vast personal archive of Boston music photography. A weekend of clearance yard sales in mid-April marked the beginning of the end, but the space wasn’t going down without a proper musical sendoff. Valdez, a known figure in our music scene for decades, booked a series of friends, from up-and-comers to Boston rock royalty, to close things out in style throughout the month of May. Here’s an extended look at the space’s final days.
