House of Blues
The restaurant, Tommy Doyle’s, used to be home to the original House of Blues, a chain of 13 live music halls that span the entire country. The house was originally called the Hyde-Taylor House; it was built in 1846 by Isaac Hyde in the Greek Revival Style and later on bought by George Mendell Taylor, who happened to be a music teacher. He both lived in the house and taught piano lessons in it. So the house has a bit of performing arts history from before the House of Blues.
The House of Blues chain was founded in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, with the mission of bringing the music of the rural south to the north. Dan Ackroyd, famous for his role in the film The Blues Brothers, members of Aerosmith, and Harvard University helped finance the project. The House of Blues continues to exist today, but no longer in Cambridge. The original location could only hold 220 people, compared to 2000 at their other venues, and the old house was falling apart. Hence, the venue closed in 2003. However, there is a location in Boston and the House of Blues chain still provides a great place for touring bands to perform.