Let's play Attention to Detail! We give you a close-up clue and you have to figure out where you've seen it around Boston.
Here are some hints to find this stunning set of doors:
Ready? Click through or scroll down past this great book about Boston, for the answer.
Let's play Attention to Detail! We give you a close-up clue and you have to figure out where you've seen it around Boston.
Here are some hints:
Ready? Click through for the answer.
Let's play Attention to Detail! We give you a close-up clue and you have to figure out where you've seen it around Boston.
Here are some hints:
Ready? Click through for the answer.
In his description of the balcony in this 1956 photo, photographer Leslie Jones called it "Ornamental iron lace work."
Do you recall seeing this architectural detail in the South End?
As a part of our research for Penny's Attention to Detail column in the Boston Sun, we went to take a look at it today.
We're happy to say that the building is looking great and the "iron lace work" is in lovely condition.
Before we give you the answer, we'll give you a few clues.
Leslie Jones took this photo of, "… 558 and 560 Massachusetts Ave., formerly 37 Chester Square.” The Leslie Jones photo that is part of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
Bonus tidbit: Chester Square was renamed Massachusetts Avenue on March 1, 1894.
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Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino
In his description of the balcony in this 1956 photo, photographer Leslie Jones called it "Ornamental iron lace work."
Do you recall seeing this architectural detail in the South End?
As a part of our research for Penny's Attention to Detail column in the Boston Sun, we went to take a look at it today.
We're happy to say that the building is looking great and the "iron lace work" is in lovely condition.
Before we give you the answer, we'll give you a few clues.
Leslie Jones took this photo of, "… 558 and 560 Massachusetts Ave., formerly 37 Chester Square.” The Leslie Jones photo that is part of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
Bonus tidbit: Chester Square was renamed Massachusetts Avenue on March 1, 1894.
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
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino
This week's Back Bay Sun cover had the right words but the wrong photo. For those who have not yet asked the two of us, "What's with the photo on the cover?"– here is the photo that we sent with that caption.
Boy and Birds
The Boy and Bird fountain in the Public Garden was decorated, as it often is, with an extra bird. The Boston Public Art Commission notes that this sculpture, “ … was installed in 1934, but it was later stolen from the park and has since been replaced twice.”
Somewhere along the way, a photo destined for the Beacon Hill Times was substituted for the one that was sent in for the Back Bay Sun cover.
Resulting in this confusing combination
Now you know! And, if you click on the links for the papers, you'll be able to download copies of each new issue of these publications. This is great for all our readers who follow Boston neighborhood news but no longer live in the neighborhoods where the papers are distributed.
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
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny Cherubino
This week's Back Bay Sun cover had the right words but the wrong photo. For those who have not yet asked the two of us, "What's with the photo on the cover?"– here is the photo that we sent with that caption.
Boy and Birds
The Boy and Bird fountain in the Public Garden was decorated, as it often is, with an extra bird. The Boston Public Art Commission notes that this sculpture, “ … was installed in 1934, but it was later stolen from the park and has since been replaced twice.”
Somewhere along the way, a photo destined for the Beacon Hill Times was substituted for the one that was sent in for the Back Bay Sun cover.
Resulting in this confusing combination
Now you know! And, if you click on the links for the papers, you'll be able to download copies of each new issue of these publications. This is great for all our readers who follow Boston neighborhood news but no longer live in the neighborhoods where the papers are distributed.
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
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny Cherubino
Thumbing through our review copy of Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition, one of the first photos I spotted was one we had used recently right here on BostonZest for our post: Where Is This Lion? Fun with Historic Photos!
If you love our posts that include photography from Boston's rich history, you could fill a rainy afternoon paging through Dirty Old Boston. We used this photo as a clue to one of our Attention to Detail searches were you have to try to remember where you saw an architectural detail.
Dirty Old Boston author Jim Botticelli used it as one example of the faces and places of Boston in the 1950s. His caption:
"All he wants are his two front teeth. Posing with the Stowe Lion on Columbus Avenue. South End, 1950s. Photos by Leslie Jones."
The book is divided by decades from the 1940s to the 1980s and is full of the people, places, events, and changes that left their mark on each era.
"Rich and compelling, Dirty Old Boston chronicles the people, streets, and buildings from the postwar years to 1987. From ball games to dive bars, and amidst an ever-changing skyline, Dirty Old Boston captures some of the city’s most dramatic and tumultuous events including the wholesale razing of neighborhoods, Boston’s busing crisis, and the continual fight for affordable housing.
Photographs—assembled from family albums, student projects, institutional archives, and professional collections—reveal Boston as seen from the streets. What emerges is a narrative of a city tearing down and rebuilding, protesting and celebrating, fading and thriving. Illuminating Boston’s singular tenacity and spirit, Dirty Old Boston presents our proud moments and doesn’t shy away from our growing pains. Raw and beautiful, this book is an important and evocative tribute to the city and its people."
The Hancock Tower is shown under construction on one page and after (photo above) with the caption,"Slabs of plywood already plague I.M. Pei's design. Back Bay, 1973. Courtesy National Archives"
My copy already has page after page tagged with Post-it flags
Sharing the fun of exploring this book with others who love this city and learning from some of the people who have lived here through these decades will be half the fun of having it. It contains many photos from private collections that even a historic photo geek like me has never had the opportunity to view.
Some pages will hit emotional hot buttons. I found myself running my finger across the photo of Max Kaiserman at his newsstand in Copley Square where I used to buy my morning papers. It's that kind of book – one that will bring back memories for some and show others what was here before they were.
Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition will also make a wonderful holiday gift for any fan of this city and its history.
Remember to click over to Amazon
Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: Courtesy of Union Park Press and Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition.
Do you know anything about this streetlight at the corner of Chestnut Street and Spruce Street in Beacon Hill?
It has the street name on one of the glass panels. In Penny's weekly Beacon Hill Times Attention to Detail newspaper column, she gives readers a close up photo of a clue in the neighborhood. They have a week to figure out where that detail appears and the answer is in the next week's paper along with a tidbit of information about the building or item shown. She also invites readers to suggest details to use.
Recently, a Beacon Hill Times reader submitted the location of this light and asked, ”Do you have any history or know if there are/were other lamp posts with signage like this?”
Even a call to Dave Rooney, the man in City Hall who knows the most about street lights, did not solve the mystery. So, Penny tossed the question out to the newspaper readers, but so far no one has responded.
Now, we're tossing the question to the BostonZest community. If you have information about this street lamp or know of others like it, add a comment here, send it to us on twitter, or send us an email.
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
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
As we walk around the city, details like this bird catch Penny's attention and she loves to share them.
Here's another view. Do you know where you've seen this chimney with it's perching sculpture?
Hint: It is in the St. Botolph Architectural Conservation District.
Take a guess in the comments below or send your answer to us on Twitter.
When you're ready, click through or scroll down for the answer.