Chocolate Anyone?

Clearly one of the best places to get your chocolate fix.

Parker House

The Omni Parker House is the oldest continually functioning hotel in America (1855) and is one of only two hotels on the Freedom Trail. The Parker House is noted for its Parker House rolls and Boston Cream Pie, the official dessert of Massachusetts. It is currently undergoing major renovations to the outside of the building, which is sheathed entirely in scaffolding and netting.

The Parker House is also notable as the first Boston hotel to have hot and cold running water, and an elevator; for having Ho Chi Minh work there as a busboy, and Malcom X as a waiter. Notable vistors to the hotel have included English writer Charles Dickens, and the not so notable John Wilkes Boothe. Boothe stayed at the hotel the week before assasinating President Lincoln.

I like the ambience of the dining room and bar: it's all dark wood and comfortable chairs that can make you forget you are in the center of a busy city.

10 1/2

This beautiful doorway can be found at the Boston Athenaeum 10 1/2 Beacon Street, about a block from the State House. The Athenaeum, one of the oldest libraries (1807) in the country overlooks the Granary Burying Ground, which must guarantee it to have one of the quietest reading rooms in the city:)

Prudential Tower

Prudential Tower viewed from Copley Square.

Window Detail

This is a close-up of one of the windows on the Boston Public Library. If you look at yesterday's post you will see what it looks like from a normal perspective.

Buildings and Crayons

I saw this building peeking out just beyond the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street and thought it looked like a big green Crayola crayon.

Copley Square Fountain

Tortoise and Hare Sculptures

Copley Square is known for its churches and libraries but for children Copley Square holds a different appeal - The Tortoise and Hare statues. What could be better than to ride a tortoise or hare off into your imagination. Who knows where they could go.

These statues were sculpted in honor of the Boston Marathon by Nancy Schon, the artist responsible for the Public Gardens' Make Way for Ducklings statues.

Boston Visitor Center

Boston receives a fair number of tourists each year and it seems this year there have been more tourists visiting our fair city than in the past few years. I wonder how much of that is due to the falling value of the dollar against foreign currencies making it more affordable for tourists to visit Boston?

This is Boston Visitor Center on Tremont Street on Boston Common. Tours of the Common and Freedom Trail begin here, led by guides in period Revolutionary War dress. On really hot, humid days I don't know how they survive wearing those heavy woolen clothes.

Brattle Book Store

This is the Brattle Book Store on West St. in downtown Boston. The bookstore is full of all kinds of old books and is a great place to look for old books. Here is a link to the store's history. The picture above of a book and a quill and ink pot hangs over the front door. The picture below is in a vacant lot next to the book store where they have an open air market of used books. I particularly liked the mural on the wall.



I don't know how they can afford to use this lot to sell books, land in the downtown area is so expensive and could be used to generate a lot more money as a parking lot or sold to a developer for a new building, but it is certainly much nicer being used as it currently is.

New England Holocaust Memorial II

Here is another view of the Holocaust Memorial. My earlier picture of the six glass towers can be seen here.

JFK Library

Front entrance to the JFK Library in Dorchester.

Quiet time on Comm. Ave.

Nice quiet spot in a busy city to sit and read on a bench on the Mall on Commonwealth Ave.

Boston Women's Memorial II

Statue of Phyllis Wheatley

Boston Women's Memorial

These statues are part of the Boston Women's Memorial on the mall on Commonwealth Ave. The Memorial celebrates three important contributors to Boston's rich history - Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phyllis Wheatley (not pictured). The sculptures are by artist Meredith Bergmann and represent her thinking about public art. Unlike conventional statues that are larger than life and set upon pedestals, these statues are more human-sized and invite viewers to interact with them.

Pictured above are two views of Lucy Stone and Abigail Adams. The first one on the left Lucy Stone looks off to the distance with Abigail Adams in the background; the second panel was taken from the viewpoint of Abigail Adams.

Building Reflections

This is a reflection of the JFK Federal Building and Center Plaza in the entryway of One Beacon Street. (This is a safer way to take pictures of a federal building:)

Chinatown Gate

International Left Hander's Day

Today is International Left Handers Day. Here are a few links to help you celebrate the day:

• Wikipedia article on left handedness


• Famous Left Handers


• Left Handed Myths and Misunderstandings

And in honor of southpaws everywhere, here is a picture of my left hand:)

Fenway Park Double-header

Minor league baseball double-header at Fenway on Saturday featured the Lowell Spinners, the Red Sox' short-season Single-A affiliate, and the the Portland Sea Dogs, Boston's Double-A farm club. Lowell played the Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay organization) and won in the bottom of the 9th inning 2-1. Portland and the Harrisburg Senators (Washington organization) followed in a match-up of Eastern League teams. Portland won in a wild one coming from two runs behind in the bottom of the 9th to win 12-11.

Here are some more pictures from today's games.

Prudential Center Tower and R2D2 Building

The Prudential Center Tower, or Pru as it is known locally, was completed in 1964 and at 759 feet (229 meters) tall with 52 floors is the second tallest building in Boston (the Hancock Tower is the tallest). Counting the antenna on its top, the tower reaches 907 feet (276 m), which makes it the tallest structure in Boston.

111 Huntington Avenue is sometimes referred to as the R2D2 building because of its distinctive open dome at its top, which unfortunately cannot be seen from this angle). It is part of the Prudential Center complex and stands at 554 feet (169 meters) with 36 floors. 111 Huntington is Boston's eighth-tallest building and has a prominent place in the city's skyline. It won the 2002 bronze Emporis Skyscraper Award.

Vanishing Point

This is part of the Christian Science Center Complex. I like the sense of perspective it gives and also the intimation that one is looking into a mirror and seeing endless reflections. If you enlarge the image you will see a little bit of the back of the Church's Romanesque Basilica, which I showed in an earlier post here.

Duck Tours

Duck Tour buses/boats lined up and waiting on Huntington Ave. at the Prudential Center. These tour boats are authentic, renovated World War II amphibious landing vehicles so they can take tourists sightseeing on land and water. Click here for a shot of the red tour boat in the Charles River.

Foggy Fed

This is the fog enshrouded 32 story Federal Reserve Bank at South Station. To view a picture of the Fed on a bright sunny day, visit Fénix at Bostonscapes Daily Photo by clicking here.

Pawtucket Red Sox

I went to a minor league baseball game last night between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. It was a great evening for a ball game. I sat behind home plate and first base, with the netting behind home plate visible.
The second shot is during an exciting moment later in the game. I enjoy minor league games because of the great atmosphere at the games and it only costs about one fifth the cost of a Boston Red Sox game.

Reflections

Reflections of the Christian Science Center's 28-story church administration building. Although the water in the reflecting pool can be inviting on a hot day, it is off limits to swimming and wading; note the sign visible in the water.

Prudential Center Arcade

Arcade at the Prudential Center. The Pru is partially visible through the skylight.

Bus Shelter

Bus shelter on Mass. Ave.

Office View

This is the view from my office window. I can identify the Bank of America building (brown), the Federal Reserve Bank (white), and 123 Franklin Street (gold topping and flag - I don't know if that building is known by any name).

Pedestrian Crosswalk

I saw this crosswalk over by Huntington Avenue and liked the geometric design instead of the usual painted lines.