Monday, November 30, 2009

Monochrome Monday

View from the Granary Burial Ground on Tremont Street. Church in the background is the Park Street Church. You can view other b&w photos at the Monochrome Weekly, hosted by Aileni.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Skywatch Friday

View of the Parkman Bandstand on a glorious day after a night and morning of rain. The Parkman Bandstand was named for one of the Boston Common’s greatest benefactors, George Francis Parkman Jr. Parkman died in 1908 and left $5 million for the care of the Common and other city parks. The bandstand was originally dedicated in 1912 and was restored in 1996. Visit other Skywatch Friday sites.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Wednesday Doorway


This weeks doorway is the R.H. Stearns building on Tremont Street.

R. H. Stearns was at one time a major department store in Boston. It is now an underused building with half the main floor vacant (not shown) and the other half a deli. The grandeur of the main entrance harkens back to a day when there were multiple local department stores in Boston: Raymonds, Gilchrist, Jordan Marsh, Kennedy's, and my favorite: Filene's. It is a pattern duplicated in most cities and we are now left with just Macy's :( in downtown Boston.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Adams Mansion in Quincy

Home of the second and sixth Presidents of the U.S. Below is another view of the mansion. Viewers of the HBO series on John Adams may recognize this historic building.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Monochrome Monday

Two readers on a bench in the Public Garden enjoying a mild Autumn day. Other monochrome pictures can be seen at The Monochrome Weekly hosted by Aileni.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Three Reds

Seen in front of Temple Ohabei Shalom on Beacon Street in Brookline. The Fire Truck for every little boy who dreamed of becoming a Firefighter; a sporty car for every middle aged man who still dreams of his youth; and a red helmet and bicycle for the environmentalist commuting to work in the morning; and finally, for those with a spiritual hunger, a magnificent temple to pray in.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Monochrome Monday

Entrance to the Rose Kennedy Memorial Rose Garden. Pictures of the roses in color can be seen here and here. Other monochrome pictures can be seen at The Monochrome Weekly hosted by Aileni.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Autumn in New England

All the leaves have fallen off the trees after a soaking rain, so I thought I would post a last glimpse of glorious Autumn leaves from last week's trip to Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Smiling Couple


Portrait of a young couple on the Boston Common. I caught them being photographed by another photographer and I took advantage of the opportunity and took a few shots myself. Below you can see the other photographer taking her pictures.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Brewer Fountain under repair




This is Josh Crane who has been working on the restoration of the Brewer Fountain on the Common for the past few months. The re-dedication for the fountain is scheduled for Spring 2010. The restored fountain will have water and lights, which will be a first in my recollection of the fountain.

Josh told me there are ten similar fountains he came across in his research. The last time the Brewer fountain was taken down and disassembled was in 1920's when it was moved to its current location.

The Fountain was the first piece of public art on the Common and was donated by Gardner Brewer in 1868. The fountain is a bronze replica of a French original that won a gold medal at the 1855 Paris World’s Fair. The figures represent mythological figures associated with water: Neptune, Amphitrite, Asis, and Galatea.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Guitar man


Sitting and performing against the wall at the Old Granary Burial Ground on Tremont Street.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day in the U.S. and I thought I would forgo the usual Wednesday Doorway to show the statue of Colonel Thomas Cass. Thomas Cass (1822-1862) was born in Ireland, but moved to Boston and served as Colonel in the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry U.S. Volunteers, a regiment of Irish volunteers known as the "Fighting Ninth." He was killed at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. The sculpture was secured through the efforts of Mayor Joseph Quincy and was funded through the Jonathan Phillips Fund. It replaces an earlier granite memorial to Cass.

The eight foot tall statue depicts Col. Cass with his arms folded across his chest. He is dressed in his Civil War uniform that originally included a sword which is now missing. The sculpture rests on a square base adorned with a bronze wreath and a bronze palm branch on the front upper left corner.

On front of the base there is the legend: Thomas Cass Col Ninth MASS Infantry USV Fell at Malvern Hill Virginia July First 1862.

On rear of the base is the legend: Erected by the City of Boston In Memory of the Officers and Men of the Ninth Reg MASS Volunteers Organized May 3, 1861 Mustered out June 21, 1864.

Below is the grave of Colonel Cass at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Fruit Seller

The fruit stand at South Station is a great place to buy fruit on the way to work in the morning. Good prices and good fruit.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Fresh Produce

Farmer's Market on the plaza in front of South Station noontime. Here is a shot I took of the farmer's market a few weeks ago at the end of the day.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wednesday Doorway

This week's doorway is a little unusual, the doorway I mean. It is of the Stata Center in Cambridge. You can see the whole building by clicking here.

The building is a Frank Gehry designed/inspired building. You can see another Frank Gehry building like this at Prague Daily Photo.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Monochrome Monday

This Monday's monochrome is glass and steel wall of a bank in the Financial District. Other monochromes can be found at Aileni's Home of the Monochrome Maniacs.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Theme Day - Doorways

It's the first of the month and also theme day. November's theme is doorways. I have been posting pictures of doorways every Wednesday for about the past year and a half, so I thought it fitting to post a collage of some of my earlier doorways.

Many other cities around the world are also posting pictures of doorways. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants