Tag: Marlborough Street

Marlborough Street Jack-O-Lanterns Ready for Halloween: Today In Boston!

Here are a few of the interesting Jack-O-Lanterns waiting for Halloween celebrants along Marlborough Street in the Back Bay. Remember, part of this street and other streets around the city will be closed to traffic tonight! Details here.

About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino

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October 31, 2016
Summer in the Back Bay: Then and Now

Today, in summer, green is the color of the Back Bay. Trees form canopies of shade to protect walkers from the heat of the sun. Glorious gardens add a back beat of color to the scene. But all that green is a 20th Century addition to a 19th Century neighborhood.

From the Boston Public Library Collection, this is the "Residence of C. H. Dalton" on Commonwealth Avenue. Notice the lack of garden or trees except on young sapling on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

As Barbara W. Moore and Gail Weesner wrote in their book, Back Bay a Living Portrait,

“By the 1870 summering had become fashionable, and most Back Bay houses were used only as winter residences – from nineteenth-century reminiscences, one senses that the seasonal Bostonian often considered his country house the family's true home; the town house was merely a snug accommodation during the fall weather of the social season.”

Today the streets of the Back Bay are lined with carefully designed and cultivated gardens.

Street trees add cooling shade as we walk along the sidewalks.

Even in this rare summer photo circa 1878 – 1910, from the BPL Print Department, only the park is planted.

Plantings like this Kousa Dogwood are treasured as neighborhood amenities.

Annuals add accents of color and variety to even small, narrow spaces.

This 1880 photo of Marlborough Street taken from the Public Garden shows few trees and a much barer park. From the Boston Public Library Collection.

These days we walk Marlborough Street to enjoy the lush gardens. And, while some of the residents of the Back Bay relocate to summer homes, many stay here and enjoy the quieter months in the city. This June has been an ideal month to enjoy this wonderful neighborhood.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino and Boston Public Library collection as noted in the captions.

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June 30, 2016
Summer in the Back Bay: Then and Now

Today, in summer, green is the color of the Back Bay. Trees form canopies of shade to protect walkers from the heat of the sun. Glorious gardens add a back beat of color to the scene. But all that green is a 20th Century addition to a 19th Century neighborhood.

From the Boston Public Library Collection, this is the "Residence of C. H. Dalton" on Commonwealth Avenue. Notice the lack of garden or trees except on young sapling on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

As Barbara W. Moore and Gail Weesner wrote in their book, Back Bay a Living Portrait,

“By the 1870 summering had become fashionable, and most Back Bay houses were used only as winter residences – from nineteenth-century reminiscences, one senses that the seasonal Bostonian often considered his country house the family's true home; the town house was merely a snug accommodation during the fall weather of the social season.”

Today the streets of the Back Bay are lined with carefully designed and cultivated gardens.

Street trees add cooling shade as we walk along the sidewalks.

Even in this rare summer photo circa 1878 – 1910, from the BPL Print Department, only the park is planted.

Plantings like this Kousa Dogwood are treasured as neighborhood amenities.

Annuals add accents of color and variety to even small, narrow spaces.

This 1880 photo of Marlborough Street taken from the Public Garden shows few trees and a much barer park. From the Boston Public Library Collection.

These days we walk Marlborough Street to enjoy the lush gardens. And, while some of the residents of the Back Bay relocate to summer homes, many stay here and enjoy the quieter months in the city. This June has been an ideal month to enjoy this wonderful neighborhood.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino and Boston Public Library collection as noted in the captions.

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June 30, 2016
Protecting the Very Sensitive Toes of a Famous Boston Elm with FlexiPave

In 2010, a century old elm in Boston’s Back Back gained notoriety after a group of residents worked to save the towering giant.

As one of the neighborhood’s original street trees planted more than 125 years ago, this aging beauty had stretched its toes up and through the brick sidewalk. To smooth passage over the roots, an experimental macadam was installed but didn’t work out. It was time to try another alternative.

After extensive talks with the city of Boston and the Back Bay Architectural Commission, the previous material has been replaced with a more durable and aesthetically pleasing product called KBI FlexiPave – a rubber and aggregate surface that is ADA certified, the color of brick, and extremely water permeable.

(Once the main walkway was in place, the FlexiPave surface was extended over the tree's protruding roots to widen the path)

The Garden Club of the Back Bay generously fronted the $1,400 to install the new surface before winter set in. Now they are asking for donations to refill their coffers for the next project.

The tree is on Marlborough Street near the corner of Fairfield. Take a test stroll or roll over the new surface. It’s smooth and has a bit of cushion to it. If you like this treatment, don’t be shy, consider making a tax deductible contribution. It’ll be greatly appreciated.

Checks should be made out to The Garden Club of the Back Bay and mailed to: Margaret Pokorny, 384 Marlborough St., Boston, MA 02115.

Watch our 1-minute video to see how FlexiPave changes from a loose aggregate to a solid surface, plus a demonstration of how extremely water permeable it is.

Here’s an article that Penny wrote about the first attempt to solve this problem and save the tree.

Here is an article and video Boston.com prepared on the first attempt.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Video: © 2014 Ed Cherubino

Photos: © 2014 Penny Cherubino

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November 25, 2014
Exceptional Street Sweeping: Applause! Applause!

Yesterday, we spotted this gentleman from Public Works out ahead of the street sweeper on Marlborough Street.

He was sweeping the leaves away from the curb to enable the machine to do a better job at collecting them.

He coordinated his work with the driver of the street sweeper.

He also took a moment, now and then, to clear a sidewalk of leaves in front of buildings where the residents had not taken advantage of the street sweeping schedule to push their leaves to the curb.

As you can see in the photo above, this resulted in a great job! A big thank you to someone who obviously takes pride in his work.

If this is the new way of clearing leaves, we hope not to see a mess linger into the winter like we did last year. (See our post: The Case for Year-Round Street Sweeping.)

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino

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October 21, 2014
Hey, Boston! We Have Snowdrops and Witch Hazel in Bloom!

Just about a month behind schedule, we spotted our first blooms of spring during the past few days.

If you know where to look, you may spot some snowdrops in front yards on the sunny side of Commonwealth Avenue.

And, along the Charles Street fence of the Public Garden, this witch hazel bush is just coming into bloom.

Over on Marlborough Street, the sparrows were roosting and chattering about the coming of warmer weather.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

March 11, 2014
Hey, Boston! We Have Snowdrops and Witch Hazel in Bloom!

Just about a month behind schedule, we spotted our first blooms of spring during the past few days.

If you know where to look, you may spot some snowdrops in front yards on the sunny side of Commonwealth Avenue.

And, along the Charles Street fence of the Public Garden, this witch hazel bush is just coming into bloom.

Over on Marlborough Street, the sparrows were roosting and chattering about the coming of warmer weather.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

March 11, 2014
Hey, Boston! We Have Snowdrops and Witch Hazel in Bloom!

Just about a month behind schedule, we spotted our first blooms of spring during the past few days.

If you know where to look, you may spot some snowdrops in front yards on the sunny side of Commonwealth Avenue.

And, along the Charles Street fence of the Public Garden, this witch hazel bush is just coming into bloom.

Over on Marlborough Street, the sparrows were roosting and chattering about the coming of warmer weather.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

March 11, 2014
Generous Gardeners Share the Wealth – Photo of the Week

This Cranesbill Geranium creates a beautiful ground cover that flowers in spring. You see the plant popping up in more than a few Back Bay gardens. This is, in part, because generous local gardeners share plants with others as they thin or redesign their own gardens.

Sometimes, on our walks along Marlborough Street, we'll see plants sitting outside a front yard with a sign that says, "free plants." Other times, a veteran gardener like Susan Juretschke will move plants from one garden to another as she tries to find the spot where they will thrive.

Gardeners are genererous people. We once lived next door to a gentleman we called the "Phantom Farmer" because we could arrive home from work to find a bag of garden fresh produce hanging on our doorknob.

This photo was selected for the covershot in this week's Back Bay Sun.

You can read some of the stories at the newspaper's website www.backbaysun.com and download a copy of the paper by clicking on the "Full Print Edition" icon in the left hand column. The new issue is usually on the website by Wednesday of each week.

Disclosure: The Independent Newspaper Group, owner of 12 local papers: Back Bay Sun, Beacon Hill Times, Charlestown Patriot-Bridge, Chelsea Record, East Boston Times Free Press, Everett Independent, Jamaica Plain Gazette, Lynn Journal, Mission Hill Gazette, North End Regional Review, Revere Journal, The Logan Times, and Winthrop Sun Transcript. This company is one of our freelance clients and you'll see our photographs, columns, and articles in their publications.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Birthday or Wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 22, 2013
Generous Gardeners Share the Wealth – Photo of the Week

This Cranesbill Geranium creates a beautiful ground cover that flowers in spring. You see the plant popping up in more than a few Back Bay gardens. This is, in part, because generous local gardeners share plants with others as they thin or redesign their own gardens.

Sometimes, on our walks along Marlborough Street, we'll see plants sitting outside a front yard with a sign that says, "free plants." Other times, a veteran gardener like Susan Juretschke will move plants from one garden to another as she tries to find the spot where they will thrive.

Gardeners are genererous people. We once lived next door to a gentleman we called the "Phantom Farmer" because we could arrive home from work to find a bag of garden fresh produce hanging on our doorknob.

This photo was selected for the covershot in this week's Back Bay Sun.

You can read some of the stories at the newspaper's website www.backbaysun.com and download a copy of the paper by clicking on the "Full Print Edition" icon in the left hand column. The new issue is usually on the website by Wednesday of each week.

Disclosure: The Independent Newspaper Group, owner of 12 local papers: Back Bay Sun, Beacon Hill Times, Charlestown Patriot-Bridge, Chelsea Record, East Boston Times Free Press, Everett Independent, Jamaica Plain Gazette, Lynn Journal, Mission Hill Gazette, North End Regional Review, Revere Journal, The Logan Times, and Winthrop Sun Transcript. This company is one of our freelance clients and you'll see our photographs, columns, and articles in their publications.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Birthday or Wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

June 22, 2013