What to do while you’re in Boston
I published this here in the blog about a month ago. But so many folks have asked — Peter Ong, are you out there? — that I thought I’d just post it again.
Here are some places to see while you’re in town…
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THE AREA
Here’s a map the hotel has posted on its web site:
This next map is admittedly quick-and-crude, but it shows a little more of downtown Boston. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view:
Here is the key to the numbers on the map…
1. Here’s our hotel, the Park Plaza.
2. The famous Beacon Hill historic district.
3. Boston Common is America’s oldest public park.
4. Site of the 1770 Boston Massacre, which is in the middle of a traffic circle near the Old State House. This was one of the first incidents that eventually led to the start of the American Revolution.
5. Site of the Boston Tea Party in 1773. The museum here is closed until next year.
6. Native Bostonians will be impressed if you can correctly pronounce the name of Faneuil Hall, built in 1742 and used as a meeting hall by Founding Fathers. It rhymes with “Daniel.”
Faneuil Hall
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Dan suggests:
The North End is Boston’s vibrant Little Italy section, just past Fanueil Hall.
7. The Celtics and Bruins call The Fleet Center home. (Actually, they don’t. They call it TD BankNorth Garden. But don’t get me started.)
Oh, in case you’re wondering: Fenway Park is a couple of miles west of the hotel. To get there, hop on the “T” Green Line trolleys or the Green B, C, or D subway lines. You’ll want the Kenmore Station, which should be three stops from the station closest to our hotel, Arlington Station.
8. The Hayden Planetarium and the Boston Museum of Science.
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, better known as MIT.
10. You remember the old Longfellow poem about Paul Revere’s Ride:
He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,–
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”
Well, here’s from where those lanterns hung in 1775: The Old North Church.
Old North Church
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11. When Faneuil Hall wasn’t large enough, the Founding Fathers moved their meetings to the Old South Meeting House. The Boston Tea Party could be described as a riot that began after a particularly heated meeting here in 1773.
12. The Park Street Church is one of Boston’s most recognizable landmarks.
13. Sure, you might enjoy renting a swan boat at The Public Garden, just across the street from the hotel. But the thing to see here are the bronze duckling statues, honoring the characters from Robert McCloskey’s 1941 children’s book, Make Way For Ducklings.
Ducks at the Public Garden
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14. Make sure you walk a few blocks to Copley Square to see one of Boston’s more impressive architectural wonders, Trinity Church.
Trinity Church
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15. The berth of “Old Ironsides,” The USS Constitution.
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Here are a few shopping centers in the area:
16. Cambridgeside Square Galleria
17. Copley Place
18. Lafayette Place
Prudential Center
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Dan says:
For shopping in Boston, Newbury Street is the place and it starts a few blocks from the hotel. The South End is about five blocks away and has lots of funkier shops and restaurants.
Hungry for more info about Boston? Try the Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau site here.Here’s a nice tourist-oriented map of Boston.
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ARTS ACTIVITIES IN BOSTON
Dan Zedek of The Boston Globe — our host for the workshop — writes with news of extracurriculars available this week:
The brand new Institute of Contemporary Art is hosting the National Design Triennial which includes work by Workshop keynote speaker Chip Kidd.
Chip Kidd. Photo by USA Today.
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Speaking of Kidd, he sounds like a really interesting character. He collects Batman stuff, so he has to be pretty cool. Here’s a 2003 USA Today profile of him.
And here is a 2004 Q&A with him.
Here’s his personal web site.
Dan continues:
Also, MassArt, the oldest and largest state-run art school in the country is sponsoring a show of Mexican street art.
Of course, Boston is a great museum town in general and there are also great shows at the Museum of Fine Arts, The Gardner Museum, and Harvard’s Fogg Collection.
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There. That should get you started.
My thanks to all the fine folks who helped me compile this information:
* Dan Zedek of The Boston Globe
* Elise Burroughs of SND
* Mary Beth Anslow, Director of Convention Services for the Park Plaza and Rosemary of the hotel’s concierge staff.
*Yahoo maps
