Clueless in Boston: March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Doorway to the John Adams Courthouse, Pemberton Square. The Adams Courthouse is home to the Massachusetts judicial branch.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

This is Amy, who goes by the name "Bad Person" #55 as a member of the Wicked Pissahs Roller Derby team. I met Amy, excuse me, "Bad Person" on the Common Saturday as she was skating around on her quad wheels and promoting an upcoming double header, or bout as they like to call it, on April 17th at Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington.

First game starts at 5:00pm: Boston Massacre vs. Philadelphia. The second game at 7:00pm and features the Cosmonaughties vs. Nutcrackers.

Amy said they don't play too physical a game, but I think she was just being modest. After all, why do they call their games bouts? More information and pictures of the teams can be found on the Boston Derby Dames website. It's worth a visit just to read some of the Roller Deby names the women use.

Here is another shot of "Bad Person" in her Roller Girl uniform with the postcards she was handing out.

Monochrome Monday

Monday, March 29, 2010

Two young street performers on Boylston Street, near Trinity Church.

Visit other Black & White sites participating in Monochrome Weekend. (scroll half way down the page to see the links of this weeks participants).

Street performer

Sunday, March 28, 2010

With a very brave girl from the audience on his shoulders, this performer was going to attempt to ride the miniature tricycle. And yes, he was successful riding the bike and not dropping the girl.

Boats

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Seen under the Seaport Bouldevard Bridge near the Children's Museum

Not quite Spring

Friday, March 26, 2010

Coffee and a chat

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Starbucks on Winter Street.

Wednesday Doorway

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

This week's doorway is to the Loew's Theater on Tremont Street.

Music in the park

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Seen performing last week in the Public Garden.

Monochrome Monday

Monday, March 22, 2010

Muse, outside Boston Public Library. A different perspective.

Visit The Monochrome Weekend site for more b+w photos! (Scroll down the page for links to participants)

Reading Room

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Bates Hall Social Sciences Reading Room, Boston Public Library.

Two Lions

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Lions guarding interior stairways, Boston Public Library.

The Lion on the right sits atop a granite base inscribed with honors for the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, also known as the Harvard Regiment. The Lion on the left likewise honors the officers and men of the Second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Both regiments were considered among the best in the Union Army and participated in almost all of the major battles and many of the smaller battles of the Civil War.

Parking (and Driving) in Boston

Friday, March 19, 2010

No Parking! Tow Zone! No Problem in Boston as you can see. Driving, and parking, in any urban area is difficult, but especially so in Boston, a city noted for its bad drivers. John in the UK posted a similar photo of scofflaws last week from one of his trips to Boston.

To further enhance the reputation of Boston drivers, The Travel Channel is running a series on America's Worst Drivers this Sunday, and the city featured this week, no surprise to me, is Boston.

(Please note: I removed the video link as it is now dated)

Newspaper kiosks

Thursday, March 18, 2010

A sign of the times? Newspapers are failing as younger readers are not buying newspapers, yet still expect to get their news online and free. I for one like holding a newspaper in my hands, spreading it out and scanning the stories to find the ones that catch my interest. It's just not the same reading a newspaper online.

Wednesday Doorway

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Today is Wednesday and time for another doorway. This week's doorways are the interior doorways of the Boston Public Library. Below is a closeup of one of the three interior doors.

Tom Rockwell

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tom works at Project Place and lives at the YMCA on Huntington Ave. Tom spends a lot of his free time searching for lost "treasures" in the city. He uses a metal detector, but mostly he scans the ground for things that people drop and lose or sometimes fall out of rings and earrings. He said he probably has the largest collection of diamonds in Boston, and one of these days he is going to have them appraised.

Monochrome Monday

Monday, March 15, 2010

Copley Square, late afternoon.

Visit The Monochrome Weekend site for more b+w photos!
(Scroll down the page for the list of links)

Dulcimers and Memories

Saturday, March 13, 2010

A gentleman playing a Hammered Dulcimer on the Boston Common. Seeing the dulcimer brought back memories of an English Lit. class I took in college and the acerbic (and funny) comment of the professor who said that only coeds at Radcliffe played dulcimers. We were reading Coleridge's Kubla Khan at the time and his comment and the lines from the poem have always stayed in my memory:

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.

If you remember Radcliffe College you are probably a little older than you care to admit. Radcliffe was absorbed into Harvard and officially ceased to exist in 1999, though it really disappeared once the agreement with Harvard was signed in 1977.

I captured this scene about a week ago on a beautiful sunny Saturday when it seemed all of Boston was strolling through the Common and Public Garden. You can see some of the strolling Bostonians and other visitors in the photo on the left.

Final Touches

Street performers, or buskers, getting ready before setting up on the Boston Common.

Skywatch Friday

Friday, March 12, 2010

This week's Skywatch Friday includes a view of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument on Boston Common. View other Skywatch Friday photos.

The monument stands 72 feet tall, or 22 meters. The total cost of the monument was $110,000 in 1877 and was funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The column is topped by a figure representing the Genius of America. Four statues at the base represent Peace, the Sailor, the Muse of History, and the Soldier. Bas-relief plaques depict the departure and return of the forces, the Navy, and the work of the Boston Sanitary Commission. In one plaque, Longfellow can be seen accompanying the governor. The figures at the base of the column represent the sections of the country: North, South, East, and West.

Bulldog Magee

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Yes, that is a plastic water bottle he is chomping away on. His owner said he just likes it. I failed to get the dog's name, but the title I chose seems appropriate to me.

Wednesday Doorway

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

One of the Muse's on the pavilion outside the Boston Public Library and the three doorways. Notice the beautiful lanterns by the doorways, they are probably the best I have come across in town. Here is another view of the Dartmouth Street entrance to the BPL.

Hancock Tower

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Viewed from the steps of the Boston Public Library.

Beth Uptegrove

Monday, March 8, 2010

I met Beth outside the Boston Public Library on Saturday. She was taking photos and like everyone else in Boston enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Beth was very friendly and quick to smile, as you can see. She said she designs displays for the Harvard Coop Bookstore in Cambridge and was looking for a photo of Boston to use in a display she is planning. Beth said she previously worked as a photo stylist before her present job.

This photo is one of my 100 Strangers series and also my weekly entry for Monochrome Monday.

Reflections and shadows

Sunday, March 7, 2010

A very clean UPS truck on Washington Street.

Chinatown Gate

Saturday, March 6, 2010

The traditional Chinatown Gate (paifang) with a foo lion on each side is located at the intersection of Beach Street and Surface Road. Here is a picture of the gate I took a few years ago from a different location.
More information on Boston's Chinatown.