Boston

:
: > I'm going to be in the Boston area the next 3 days for a business
: > trip. I'll be tied up during the day for meetings, but I might be
: > able to slip away some night to take pictures. Any suggestions
: > on good locations for night shots in the Boston area?
:
: When navigating around Boston, just remember:
: The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the
: center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South
: Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South
: End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End.
: Back Bay is in the middle. And the Harvard Bridge goes to M.I.T.

You didn't mention the West End, which is in the eastern part of the city. Nor
Back Bay, which is no longer anywhere near a Bay. Nor South Cove, which has
been so far from any cove for so long that no one calls it that anymore. (The
South Cove subway station was renamed before it was opened. God's truth.)

Bob

 

These are the same rules they had in most asian cities back in the 50's.

 

I'm staying in Westford. I'm with a group of guys that know the close-
by restaurants pretty well, but I'm always on the lookout for
excellent places. We'll probably go to Legal Seafood tomorrow night,
unless you have a better suggestion.

 

Brakelights came on to indicate good intentions as soon as the door hit
the front of his car he had a good reason to get away from a clearly
dangerous situation.

At the same time I was looking for somewhere to go, ultimately figuring
that this guy was doing a good job of clearing out the lane. Boston
changes the whole way you thing about driving. It actually has its logic.

Too many cars on an expressway make another lane, if you are
looking for lane markings you aren't paying attention.

The best is driving with a GPS in downtown Boston. It is continually
re-calculating your position because of reflections from the buildings.
It is worse than any city I have driven in. One minute you are 6 blocks
from your destination the next 2 blocks past and a couple streets over

w..

 

I was looking at a map of Boston from the Revolutionary period, and
was surprised at how different it looked from today. I guess they
filled in a large part of the Charles? Where did they get the dirt
from, dredging?

I never understood "one if by land, two if by sea" until I saw the old
map. I couldn't understand why the British would even consider
ferrying across the Charles to start the campaign. But it makes a lot
of sense knowing the old topology.

 

The story is that the streets in Boston were originally the wandering
paths that the cows followed from field to barn. The traffic
engineers, later, decided that meandering streets weren't enough of a
problem for motorists, so they added a one-way street system that
makes it almost impossible to reach your destination.

The Boston police have long-since abandoned all pretense of being
helpful to out-of-towners and will not respond to any attempts for
assistance. You may be able to attract a policeman's attention by
firing a gun in the air or igniting your traveling companion, but
don't expect him to be helpful.

 

Boston was originally a city of hills: Pemberton, Mt. Vernon, & Beacon
Hills made up the "Trimountain." Fort Hill and Copps Hill were also
prominent rises. Each was harvested for fill -- Pemberton and Mt.
Vernon were effectively leveled by 1835.

The Back Bay required additional fill, a portion of which came
(by rail!) from the area now known as the Needham Heights.

Here's one site which shows the process:
http://www.iboston.org/rg/backbayImap.htm

 

"otter" wrote in message

I'm staying in Westford. I'm with a group of guys that know
the close-
by restaurants pretty well, but I'm always on the lookout
for
excellent places. We'll probably go to Legal Seafood
tomorrow night,
unless you have a better suggestion.

=======================================================

Not for the Westford area. I've got friends living there,
but I've never been anywhere but their homes.

 

Here are some pics from the trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5427730171/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5427732569/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5428337930/lightbox/

 

#1 and #2 are very good black and whites. The other two,
not-so-interesting.

 

: > I'm going to be in the Boston area the next 3 days for a business
: > trip.
:
: Here are some pics from the trip:
:
: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/lightbox/
:
: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5427730171/lightbox/
:
: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5427732569/lightbox/
:
: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5427728461/#/photos/billkeshlear/5428337930/lightbox/

The first two are very nice. (At least one of them was that hotel you stayed
at, right?) I think you could have done a better job at Concord Bridge; but I
suppose it was snowing while you were there, which could account for some of
the murky look. As for the fourth one, where in this area did you find a
parked car with such a light dusting of snow?

Bob

 

Did you notice the snow plow damage to the car? That's the only
reason I included it.

Concord Bridge: bad conditions, poor light. But I thought it conveyed
how cold it was, so I kinda like it.
But I'll keep it with Rosie.

 

I don't know how you knew the damage was from a snow plow, but there's
nothing in the image that indicates this. It's just a car with a
dent.

As I said, I really like #1 and #2.

 

I probably should have taken the car at a different angle to emphasize
the damage more. The tire is that mangled black thing. There is a
pizza place across the street, and the locals were talking about the
car being damaged by the plow. Seems to be a common problem.

 

OK, here's another attempt at the car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billkeshlear/5432156829/#/photos/billkeshlear/5432156829/lightbox/

 

Hey, look, Otter. You got two good - really good - pix. The car
picture, though, is just a car covered in snow and a dent in the side.
Keep it to remind you of the scene if there's something memorable
about to you, but it's just a car.

I have a photograph of a huge pine tree in my yard that the last
hurricane blew down...missed my house by inches. Photographically,
it's just a horizontal tree but I keep it to remind me of the day.