Tag: sidewalk

Charles River Waterline on Bay State Road

Walking along Bay State Road, we spotted this curving citation on the sidewalk in front of the Florence & Chafetz Hillel House at Boston University.

The full message reads, "This line represents one of the earliest historic shorelines of the Charles River dating back to 1847. From 1630 until the filling of the Back Bay in the mid 1800's, the land from this point North to the Charles River was underwater."

This panoramic view gives you a better feel for how the shoreline is mimicked by the words.

The historic, serpentine marker is at 213 Bay State Road if you'd like to visit.

Wouldn't it be great if we could read about history on sidewalks in Boston?

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

July 17, 2014
Look Down, History Below Your Feet

The sidewalks of Boston are not only a pathway to history but also contain historic coal vault covers with prism lights that were part of another time.

Click on any small image to pop up a larger view.

A few are in great condition and may still let light into spaces below the sidewalk. Others are dangerous, with holes that could catch heels or puppy paws and ugly concrete, covering what was once a thing of craftsmanlike beauty.

In the days before the electric light, these were important features. The sidewalk access meant that dirty coal deliveries did not have to come through the house. And, the beams admitted and intensified by prism lights allowed you to see in dark basement spaces.

We are just beginning our research on these and photographing as many as we can. If you'd like to share your photos of coal vault covers you can upload them to the BostonZest Photo Pool on Flickr.

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Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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.

July 31, 2012
Look Down, History Below Your Feet

The sidewalks of Boston are not only a pathway to history but also contain historic coal vault covers with prism lights that were part of another time.

Click on any small image to pop up a larger view.

A few are in great condition and may still let light into spaces below the sidewalk. Others are dangerous, with holes that could catch heels or puppy paws and ugly concrete, covering what was once a thing of craftsmanlike beauty.

In the days before the electric light, these were important features. The sidewalk access meant that dirty coal deliveries did not have to come through the house. And, the beams admitted and intensified by prism lights allowed you to see in dark basement spaces.

We are just beginning our research on these and photographing as many as we can. If you'd like to share your photos of coal vault covers you can upload them to the BostonZest Photo Pool on Flickr.

What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon Everything You Need for Summer Fun and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 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.

July 31, 2012