State Reps. Marty Walz and Byron Rushing have announced a new state-funded initiative for Boston Public Library (BPL) that will expand library resources across the Commonwealth and provide additional state funding for Boston’s library system. Through their work with the legislature’s Library Caucus and other legislators representing Boston, Walz and Rushing worked to establish...
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Joey McIntyre and Siobhan Magnus to Perform at Common Tree Lighting
The City of Boston’s 70th annual official tree lighting comes to Boston Common on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. The celebration is hosted by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, title sponsor the Province of Nova Scotia, supporting sponsors the Boston Pops, Distrigas/GDF SUEZ, and JetBlue, and...
Holiday Books Are Perennial Favorites
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the obvious perennial favorite for holiday books. However, many people might not realize that holiday-themed items can be exciting and rewarding choices, simply because there is a plethora of options available. That’s not to say 1834 Dickens classic isn’t wildly popular, even today. There are people who will...
Attention to Detail
LAST WEEK’S ANSWER The window in last week’s clue is on 101 Beacon Street. Built in 1862, this residence begins another set of contiguous houses that runs from here to number 111 Beacon. This building had a sixth story added in 1959, when it was converted from a single family home to nine apartments....
Gathering Family History
Holiday events offer opportunities to learn more about your family history. The experts at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) have effective tips for collecting important details while everyone is together. Preparation If family members have traveled to be together, make the most of the occasion. Have everyone bring as much family history...
Police Briefs 11-22-2011
Verbal Dispute 11/09/11 – At about 8:05 p.m., officers responded to a radio call for a fight at 144 Marlborough St. Upon arrival, police met with the victim, who stated an unknown female confronted her as she exited the CVS Pharmacy at 587 Boylston St. and called her a racist. The victim said she...
Thanksgiving 2011
The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us and we begin to wonder – where has the year gone and my, isn’t it flying by? What has it brought us and do we have anything to give thanks for? For those of you reading this, you should be grateful for having been given another year of...
Longfellow Progress
“MassDOT is making progress on the Longfellow Bridge – check out the difference between what has and hasn’t been cleaned. When it’s done, this bridge is going to be beautiful !” - State Representative Martha M. Walz
Attention to Detail
LAST WEEK’S ANSWER The window in last week’s clue is on 9 Willow Street. This building was once owned by Boston University and city permits indicate that it was used as a dormitory. In 1936, after an appeal process, it was converted from a dorm to 16 apartments. In 1982, occupancy was reduced...
Digital Reading Resources
Boston is a community of readers. Nearby Cambridge topped Amazon’s list “of cities that purchased the most reading material, as well as the most nonfiction books,” according to statistics release by the company earlier this year. Our neighborhood institutions, publishers, and authors are all exploring digital options for reaching readers. If an ebook reader,...
Election Results
Last week’s citywide election results prove that the times are changing and that the electorate is changing with them. The top two vote-getters in the citywide At-Large race were Ayanna Pressley and Felix Arroyo, two incumbents with extremely varied constituencies throughout the city. Although topping the ticket or coming in second in balloting doesn’t...
Police Briefs 11-15-2011
Demonstration/Riot 10/31/11 – At about 12:40 p.m., a Boston Police sergeant heard a radio call for a group pf Occupy Boston protestors marching down Huntington Avenue towards Massachusetts Avenue. Police observed the group marching down Massachusetts Avenue in the direction of Newbury Street. Once on Newbury Street, the group changed their formation and began...
Ivy Colored Wall
This year, some of the best autumn color has been on the ivy climbing walls in the neighborhood. Parthenocissus tricuspidata is an ivy variety, often used here, that changes color. It is also know as Boston Ivy and is considered a dangerous, invasive species in natural habitats.
Attention to Detail
LAST WEEK’S ANSWER The doorway in last week’s clue is on 414 Beacon Street. In 1887, this residence was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by architect John Hubbard Sturgis. He was also the architect for the Ames-Webster Mansion at 306 Dartmouth Street, Isabella Stewart Gardner’s home at 152 Beacon Street, and the Church...
Shaping Copley Square
Over the years, Copley Square has worn a number of different looks. The square, “…has long been one of the glories in Boston,” said William Young, Senior Preservation Planner for the City of Boston’s Back Bay Architectural Commission. “It was especially glorious in the days of the original Museum of Fine Arts.” Until 1909,...
Get Out and Vote
Today is Election Day and if you are a registered voter you should get out to vote. Although no political positions directly representing Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the North End are being contested, Tuesday’s municipal election features a very hotly contested At-Large City Council race. Beacon Hill’s city council representatives, District 8’s Mike...
The Turning Back of the Clocks
This weekend marked the turning back of our clocks one hour as all of us know. That one hour taken away causes the sunset in the weeks to come near to 4:30 p.m. – a truly ungodly hour for a sunset. What’s worse is the hour of sunrise. At this point in time, we...
Police Briefs 11-08-2011
Robbery – Unarmed – Street 10/24/11 – At about 8:13 p.m., officers responded to a radio call for a robbery in progress at 921 Boylston St. On arrival, officers spoke with the victim, who stated that two males on a black motorcycle robbed him approximately three minutes earlier. The victim said one of the...
Hynes MBTA Mural
This mural, titled Tramont, has just celebrated the 30th anniversary of its installation in 1981. At the time, Christine Temin of the Boston Globe wrote, “… at Auditorium Station at Mass. avenue near Newbury street. Boston artist Morgan Bulkeley created large murals for the station, incorporating historical figures from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Dorothea...
Attention to Detaail
LAST WEEK’S ANSWER The window in last week’s clue is on 80 Commonwealth Avenue, built in 1872. If you stand back and look at numbers 76, 78, and 80 Commonwealth, you’ll notice how narrow all three buildings are. That’s because the 1872 owner, Charles J. Fox, built the three residences on two, 28 foot...
Inside the Map Center
There is far more to the new Norman B. Leventhal Map Center than the physical space that just opened at the Boston Public Library (BPL) in Copley Square. The new facility does make this significant collection of maps far more accessible to library visitors fascinated with maps, atlases, and globes. However, a behind the...
Does Weekend Storm Speak Volumes About Winter to Come?
Most of us heard the lament loudly and clearly over the weekend about the snow coming so early, preceding even this week’s Halloween celebration. In more ways than we care to conjure up, snow this early and so plentiful in nearly all of Massachusetts except for Boston and the coastal area, is a bad...
In Dewey Square
The protestors in Dewey Square are finding out exactly what kind of devotion to task it takes to camp outside in Boston as the winter sets in. We are reminded of General George Washington’s troops doing the same here and in Cambridge during the winter of 1775 and during a number of winters that...