Dot Ave Gardens

When I'm not being lazy, I walk the mile from the T back to my apartment after work. There are a number of small gardens that I pass by on the walk, but my favorite Dot (that's short for Dorchester) Ave garden is surrounded by a bright white picket fence and has a portico (at least that's what I'm calling it) over the walkway and a great little bench just under it. It has a lovely plant growing over it that provides the perfect amount of green cover, and these gorgeous yellow flowers (no idea what they are and will have to send photos to Mom to identify) in the yard. Slightly off topic, the porch is stained a gorgeous dark color and is super glossy and I love it as well. I've walked by this house dozens of times in the last month and admired the fence, portico, yard, and porch. Then the flowers started blooming and I started loving it even more. Then in the last few days, I noticed this little fringe of different colored flowers (identity unknown to me) between the fence and the sidewalk! They are the tiniest little flowers, and were red, orange, white, and yellow. They're about the sweetest little things ever.

I'm sorry to say that the yard just before this is bare dirt as the gentleman there has apparently let his dog destroy the lawn. It also smells like a litter box, and you can smell it coming half a yard away. It makes the one mentioned above just that much sweeter to come across after such a disaster!

Rainbow Carrots

On Friday I went and explored the Copley Square fruit and veg stalls and came across this colorful container of carrots! After a quick chat with the vendor, I learned that carrots originally looked like these (white, purple, green, black yellow, and red in color) and it wasn't until the 1600's that the Dutch developed the orange carrot.

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

Another street performer who only moves when you give them money....

Summer time....

When the summer is hot in Massachusetts, a lot of folks (myself included) head out to Cape Cod ("the Cape"). For those not familiar, the Cape is a long stretch of beachy land extending to the east of Massachusetts. It's shaped like an arm flexing it's bicep, so people will refer to different places on the Cape as relative to the part of the arm they are nearest to. I am in Wellfleet, which is just past the elbow.

It's gorgeous here, though a bit hotter and muggier than I would personally like. We thought we'd share this with you all as an example of what can be had just a couple of hours' drive from Boston. I hope everyone else is having as relaxing and nice a weekend as I am and I encourage anyone who hasn't been here to visit the Cape sometime!

The Cat Empire

A well-known Aussie band, The Cat Empire, performed last night in Copley Square Park. The concert is part of WBOS 92.9 FM's FREE concert series in the summertime. There was a great atmosphere with people of all ages dancing, singing and lounging on the grass--sorry to all those who missed it (Sarah!). ;)

Window washin' way up high...

Sarah posted once before about window washers, and here's another picture of those fearless people way up high - as high as they can be in Boston actually - that's the John Hancock building they're washing. For starters, it's the tallest building in New England (60 stories), but on top of that it's also made up entirely of windows. When the building was completed, they discovered that there was a real problem with those big windows - they had a tendency to fall out. Every now and then a window (a 500 POUND window) would pop out and come crashing to the ground. They would cover the holes left with plywood temporarily. A pretty good picture of that can be found here.

The window issue is fixed now, so don't be afraid to walk around it and check it out. There used to be an observation deck on the 60th floor and anyone who went to school in or around Boston I'm sure will remember field trips spent watching the nifty little 3D model display they would put on to explain the history of Boston and Paul Revere's ride. Unfortunately after September 11th they closed it down and it remains so today.

That's Leyre's dad in the corner of the picture there, and for the record, he took the picture. Thanks dad!

No really, this is Fenway, too!

A lot of people don't realize that Fenway is more than just a ballpark, so here it is: tree lined streets, beautiful brownstones, and enough college students to make you run screaming....

In A Corner

This kid doesn't care at all that Harry Potter was released the night before, and I love him for it!

Borders, Downtown Crossing

Remembering Boston's Children 1980 to 2005

This is not your average MBTA bus! Rather than being wrapped in an ad, this bus is wrapped in a moving memorial, created by Thomas Starr, a professor at Northeastern University. The memorial consists of quotes from family members of children that were murdered, as well as their year of birth and death. The bus has been in service since late October 2006, and will hopefully be around for a long time to come. It's very eye catching - the color of a school bus, and covered in statements like "He liked chocolate", which deepen the sense of loss.

You can read more about the motivation behind the project here, and an article from the BU daily student newspaper here.

180 Degree View

Pete and I were spoiled yesterday - we got tickets in the company suite for a great game while we drank free beer & wine, ate a lot (hot dogs, chicken tenders, pizza...Legal Sea Foods clam chowder...veggies, fruits, cookies, popcorn, chips, Haagen Dazs ice cream bars...and that's just what WE ate), and didn't miss a single play thanks to the flat screen TV in the suite's private bathroom! I learned how to use the stitch assist on my camera, and then turned the photos over to Pete (that's him on the right side of the photo) to actually stitch together the panoramic of the view we were enjoying. Here's the result! Click for the larger image and full details.

Before you ask: Yes! The Red Sox won! 11-2 after a 7 run 7th where three consecutive pitchers walked in three consecutive runs. I think the White Sox LOOGY might have lost his job yesterday when he started that off instead of ending the inning...

See our other photos of Fenway right here!

Doorways - #4 in a series

Exchange Place - 53 State Street. This doorways is the Kilby Street entrance.

See all of our Doorways Series here.

Stepping back a bit...

This is the current site of the Langham Hotel - the former (and third) site of the Fed. Apparently it's Fed week...I swear I'll stop soon! ;) Here's more on the building's history from the Fed site:

The Reserve Bank purchased the premises at 95 Milk Street and the adjacent Pearl Street property for $1,400,000, gaining a frontage on Pearl, Franklin and Oliver Streets. The Board appointed a building committee, divided into two subcommittees: esthetic features and interior and layout, with E.R. Morss as Chairman. R. Clipston Sturgis was chosen as the architect for the Federal Reserve Bank's new building. Construction for the Reserve's Renaissance revival bank was begun in 1920 and finished in 1922. The bank featured a masonry exterior of rusticated granite at ground level with limestone above. The interior boasted a painted dome ceiling in the entrance foyer; a gilded coffered ceiling and large N.C. Wyeth murals in the main lobby; marble door frames and mantles; and floor-to-ceiling arched windows on the lower level. Life-size equestrian statues once guarded the small entrance door, and a court with a fountain lighted by daylight also graced the Reserve.

The Langham is a pretty posh place, and you can expect to spend a minimum of $275 (for a 250-300 sq ft room w/ a queen bed and an "interior view") per night.

Feedback Requested:What do you want to see here?

Here's your chance to tell us what to do!

Are you dying to see where Sarah's favorite workday lunch comes from? Or the most recent hairstyle of Leyre's dog? Or maybe what Whit likes so much about Boston that she would leave the sunny beaches of Australia to live here?

Maybe it's just a place you visited years ago and you're wondering if it's still looking like you remembered, or you just want to know what trees/street signs/dogs/cars/hairstyles look like here. Whatever it is, let us know and we'll do our best to get it up here for you!

And feel free to tell us what you're tired of or DON'T want to see, as well!

Another Angle

This is what the Fed looks like on a rainy, foggy, blah day - and from the side!

Let's pretend....

...it's not rainy and gray out today! This is the Federal Reserve Bank. This is where my daddy worked for 20 someodd years (hi dad!). This is one of the first buildings that I notice when I look at the Boston skyline, and it will be smack in the middle when you're driving North on the expressway into the city. The Fed is at the corner of Atlantic and Summer Streets, right across from South Station. This is actually the Boston Fed's fourth location, and here's more about the building itself:

The 604-foot 33-story office tower linked to a four-story wing was erected between December 1972 and November 1974. The architects, Hugh Stubbins & Associates, designed the tower office floors that rise from a 140-foot bridge "suspended" in the air between two end cores. A 600 ton major steel structure called a "truss" marks the beginning of the tower's "office in the air." The exterior is natural anodized aluminum, which acts as a curtain wall and weatherproof facing. The aluminum spandrels or "eye-brows" shade the building interior from the sun in the summertime and allow more sunlight in the winter months.

I remember going through the revolving doors when Mom would take us to visit Dad, and going through the security gate on the Summer St side of the building sometimes. One of my favorite memories was going Christmas shopping with Mom while Dad slaved away on a Saturday morning - we went into the city with Dad, dropped him off at work, and walked up to Downtown Crossing to shop. It was when the Enchanted Village was still in the Jordan Marsh building (and when Jordan Marsh still existed!!), and I remember loving a scene with little bears decorating for Christmas!

Things I Don't Miss

Remember how we moved the furniture out of my old apartment? This is why. I was riding the elevator on my way in tonight after work thinking "I do not miss those stairs one bit". Folks, if you ever think about moving into a traditional triple decker, just look at this picture for a reminder about why you shouldn't do it.

No Parking!

I wonder if this guy cares that he's parked in a Tow Zone. ;)

Can't see the city through the trees...

Pete and I went to explore Dorchester Park this week. From the road you wouldn't think anything of it, but once you wander in you realize it's a pretty good size and has a few nice paths.

No Fishing?

Is "closed to the harvest of river herring" just a long winded way of saying "no fishing"? This is behind one of the Baker Chocolate Factory buildings. The building opposite the river is currently being converted to condos.

Public Garden stories

A little bit of personal history with this one...three years ago today, I went on the first date with my boyfriend, Pete. We got dinner and saw Supersize Me (as you can see, we're very romantic - we watched xXx, starring Vin Diesel, on our second date!). For our third date, we saw another movie and then wandered through the Public Gardens. The bench in the center of this picture is where I waited and waited and waited for him to kiss me, and then finally gave up and just kissed him! He says I was talking too much, but I distinctly remember sitting there NOT TALKING just so he wold kiss me already. The result was that we missed the last trains, and ended up taking a cab to my house so I could drive him home!

Happy anniversary, babes! I love you mucho!

Rush Hour

Just waiting for the train to take me home!

So Bo

If it's beach-going weather on Sunday, you better look for me down on the beach in South Boston - or as my friend Erin calls it: So Bo.

Fort Independence

One more from Fort Independence! We had to wait a bit for our tour to start, so Pete spent some time pondering the parade grounds and I took spent some time taking pictures of pretty reflections.

Have some haze!

It's not really foggy today so much as hazy and humid.

Another skyline view...

Pete and I went to Castle Island and took the tour of Fort Independence. We were rewarded with cool views of the city skyline and the harbor islands from up on the ramparts. If you're a local, you can head out there on Thursday nights when they open up the Fort and you can walk the ramparts on your own. The cool part of Castle Island is that you can hang out on the beach, lounge on the grass and watch planes take off from Logan, go fishing off the fish pier, or (if your timing is right) watch the cargo ships unload at the port next door - usually containers or shiny new cars.

Click on the photo to enlarge!

First in a series...

One thing I've noticed as I take walks around Roslindale are all the murals. This is one of many that I'm sure I'll document for you all here. Unfortunately I don't really know anything about it. I can tell you that it's painted on the side of the building that houses Fornax (where you can get an out of this world sandwich for lunch), but that's about it. I'll post more in the weeks to come and I'll try to find out a bit more about who paints these and why there seem to be so many in such a small area!

Rozzi Square....er....Village

What I've always called Roslindale Square (or Rozzi Square) is now being called Roslindale Village. Appropriate - I guess - in light of the sort of fancification it's gone through over the past few years. Back when my mom worked in the area and I would drop her off and pick her up every day, it was not really a place you'd want to hang out in, shop in, or grab a bite to eat in. Now the opposite is true. There's a few bakeries, a couple of breakfast places, a sushi place, and a few restaurants that have gained reputations as delicious eateries.

Here's a slightly older, but interesting story about the gentrification of Rozzi Square.

Hot town, summer in the city

When it's hot and sticky, you cool down wherever you can! These folks were enjoying the cool water at the fountain in Copley Square.

Real dogs....

...don't root for the Yankees. Just ask Coco.

(That's Leyre's dog, by the way)

Introducing Shoooooooooooes!

I randomly ended up with a pair of Red Sox tickets tonight (in the company suite, no less, so free food and booze...and who says no to that?!?), and on my way home the T was packed. I let the first three trains go past while I read my book, and by the time the fourth one came along I decided there was enough room for me right next to the drivers nook. So in I climbed! The T was still shoulder to shoulder, and I noticed that the driver was very cheerful as he warned everyone to watch their backs while the doors closed. He cracked another joke into the PA system, and a woman near me asked him what his name was. "Mr Wonderful - what's yours?!" he said. She asked if his nickname was Shoes, and he said yes. He quickly grabbed is mic and requested a round of applause for the lovely woman up front, and there were applause.

Turns out I was in the presence of a Boston celebrity! Bobby, aka Shoes, has been driving the green line trolleys for about 3 years. He says he just really loves the people, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that the people love him as well. So folks, next time you're riding the green line and you hear a cheerful, joking voice coming over the PA, walk up front and say hello to Shoooooooooooooes!

Oh yeah - the nickname? Well.......he loves shoes!

Baker Lofts

This is the former administration building for the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory, which is now artist lofts. To live in the building you have to be certified by the city as an artist (which means filling out the application and showing them some of your work to prove that you're REALLY an artist and not just Joe Schmoe who want to live in cool places for slightly subsidized rent). The spaces are considered "working/living" spaces, and I'll happily show you their interiors when Dorchester Open Studios rolls around and I can get through their doors!

Info from the Dorchester Atheneum below, and a photo from back in the day here

The Georgian Revival Administration Building of 1918-19, which was designed by George F. Shepard, serves through its prominent siting and angled set-back at 1231 Adams Street, as another major visual focus of the Baker plant. the cube-shaped building with baslustraded flat roof is three stories high and displays a projecting two-story pavilion with a monumental portico and Georgian derived door and window trim executed in stone.

PS - this is NOT the building we live in, although it's likely Pete could get the artist certification if he applied. This building IS, however, part of our complex and managed by the same company as ours.

July 1st Theme: Red!

Something Red....and an introduction! That's me and my boyfriend, Pete. We were car sitting these past few days, so got to go on a few adventures that we can't do without wheels. We headed over to Larz Anderson Park in Brookline to take this unique skyline photo. I like to torture Pete by taking lots of photos of him, so here's our self portrait with the skyline behind us...and since Pete was wearing red... I love this view of the Boston skyline because it's just a peak of the tallest building in town, and it reminds you of how much green space there really is so close to the city.

Please check out some of the other 100 City Daily Photo Blogs that are participating in the July theme day by using the links below.


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