The Rathskeller ('The Rat') - Kenmore punk venue

The Rathskeller, commonly called 'The Rat,' occupied a basement space at 528 Commonwealth Avenue in Kenmore Square and was a prominent Boston rock and punk venue from the mid-1970s until it closed in 1997. It hosted local and touring independent bands and is widely cited in histories of Boston's underground music scene for launching and sustaining punk, new wave, and alternative acts. The venue's legacy is frequently referenced by local musicians and music historians as a formative site in Boston's modern popular-music history.