Littlest Bar's last call (for now)

After seven months of uncertainty, the Littlest Bar shut down last Saturday, soon to be demolished and replaced by a luxury condominium tower. But even the wrecking ball won't keep the Littlest down for long.

``It's like the phoenix," said Paddy Grace , the Province Street bar's owner since 1990. ``We're going to rise from the ashes, and we're going to do it again."

``Paddy's not cashing out, like the rest of the city, to the `condonistas,' " says bartender and friend Dermott O'Neill , noting that Grace could have sold the bar's liquor license and walked away. Instead, he's looking at a spot a few blocks away on Devonshire Street, with plans to reopen this winter. The name and spirit will be carried on, Grace said, but re-creating 61 years of history just isn't possible.

``I've been around long enough in different places to not get too oversentimental about it, but at the same time, when you change a place, it's never the same."

The sentiment was echoed by several patrons, including Noel Robinson , a baker and marathon runner who, aside from Muhammad Ali, is the only living person pictured on the wall. Robinson had run in New Hampshire that afternoon, then raced back to town for the bar's last call.

``He'll do his best," said Robinson. ``Paddy's a businessman and a good man -- he'll have a great pub, but it'll never be this."

Still, the atmosphere was far from somber, as music played and acquaintances were made and renewed among the capacity crowd of 38. Many, like Grace, Robinson, and O'Neill, were Irish expats who live in the area, but there were several other regulars who would make a beeline for the Littlest, tucked around a corner from Boston Common, during business trips to this often-unfriendly city.

``You hate to lose the local flavor," said Mark Jones, in town from Florida. ``And we're not even from here. We appreciate it even being from out of town."