Boston, Mass.

Posted April 6, 200916 yr

April 6, 200916 yr

big time tour. :clap:

you know the downtown towers of boston do absolutely nothing for me, but the rest....niiiice!

now this is definately the good stuff

April 6, 200916 yr

Agreed!

April 6, 200916 yr

I agree .. I've never been to Boston, but I'd definitely like to go. I'm just afraid I'll be disappointed by all the hype.

The weird, cantilevered, metal building .. is that a Gehry?

April 6, 200916 yr

big time tour. :clap:

you know the downtown towers of boston do absolutely nothing for me, but the rest....niiiice!

now this is definately the good stuff

Thats Bay Back, right?

April 6, 200916 yr

That's in Back Bay toward South End.

And the Gehry is the one he is being sued for by M.I.T.

April 6, 200916 yr

That's in Back Bay toward South End.

And the Gehry is the one he is being sued for by M.I.T.

I wasn't sure. Beacon Hill and Bay Back look so much alike. You can really get confused on Beacon street or Common Wealth.

April 6, 200916 yr

Keviin Lynch's legible and vivid city.

Do you guys think it's true? When you went to Boston did you end up with a more vivid mental map of the city compared to most other cities you've been to?

April 6, 200916 yr

I lived there, it's definitely a wayfinding challenge. Downtown Boston is quite separate from Copley Square and the "main" part of Boston. It's difficult to guess the shortest and fastest way to a new part of the city because you are punished severely for wrong turns. Overall I think the city's wayfinding would benefit a lot from reverting many major streets from one-way back to two-way and from a subway line from Harvard to Kenmore & Copley.

April 6, 200916 yr

So the paths aren't legible.

Maybe you have to sacrifice some forms of legibility for others. If I remember correctly, with Boston, people who were surveyed considered it highly legible because of the clear landmarks and boundaries. Landmarks are supposed to help you orientate yourself and understand where you are. Like with the terminating vistas, especially their unique effect with the curvature and angles of the street- they leave a big impression and register in your memory banks. Boundaries are seen in terms of a separation of culture or land use. Maybe that even contributes to the perceived racism of Bostonians. Did you get a sense that there were strong boundaries?

April 6, 200916 yr

Nice shots of the mini-American London.

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

April 6, 200916 yr

I always felt that New York and London were much more similar than Boston/London.

April 6, 200916 yr

>Like with the terminating vistas, especially their unique effect with the curvature and angles of the street- they leave a big impression and register in your memory banks. Boundaries

Walking versus driving are two different things. It's very, very difficult to create an accurate mental map of all the streets. You have to be in the correct lane in order to make certain turns and so it's as much knowing how the turn lanes work as the orientation of the streets themselves. Cambridge & Somerville are very difficult to navigate as well. I think after several months of delivering pizzas you could figure it all out.

There's the thought with way finding that there are "pinch points" and then spaces of "resolution". I'd contend that Boston is almost all pinch points because there are few spots where you can "relax" as a driver or pedestrian. Your mind has to keep actively thinking about where you're heading instead of being able to periodically zone out like most cities.

April 6, 200916 yr

Jmecks assessment is right on target, and fairly well describes my experience as a lost driver in Boston.

Especially driving in weather conditions like these pix, where theres no sun to provide some basic orientation.

April 6, 200916 yr

Boston is a beautiful city, and I LOVE the densities of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and East End. But I cannot tolerate the people. I swear, some of the McDonald's employee's think they're better than the president just because they're in Boston. I was amazed by the shopping opportunities in the downtown area. Newberry St, Copley Place, Prudential Center, and Faneuil Hall are all great places.

I have to say though, once you get out of downtown, the neighborhoods aren't as cool and unique as Cincinnati's. ;)

April 7, 200916 yr

Boston is a beautiful city, and I LOVE the densities of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and East End. But I cannot tolerate the people. I swear, some of the McDonald's employee's think they're better than the president just because they're in Boston. I was amazed by the shopping opportunities in the downtown area. Newberry St, Copley Place, Prudential Center, and Faneuil Hall are all great places.

I have to say though, once you get out of downtown, the neighborhoods aren't as cool and unique as Cincinnati's. ;)

Beacon Hill and Bay Back brownstones are gorgeous. However, those racists idiots make the city very unfriendly. Outside of those areas, Boston looks a mess. Boston could slide off into the ocean and I wouldn't miss it!

April 7, 200916 yr

That Citgo sign is just wrong.

April 7, 200916 yr

Gotta a little 'nati representation here!

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_75x415SPeu8/Sdb9tH3NNOI/AAAAAAAAKQs/cpDfPl2t3Yk/s800/DSCN7278.JPG

Amazing photos!

Question, what's the story with this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_75x415SPeu8/Sdb7zSEFYsI/AAAAAAAAKFY/MOnluJZFpok/s800/DSCN7186.JPG

April 7, 200916 yr

>where theres no sun to provide some basic orientation.

Generally I find cities where most of the city is to the south of the downtown but without a major body of water (such as Lake Erie) are more difficult to navigate than cities where most of the city is north of the downtown. Kansas City and Nashville are examples of that (yes, they have rivers, but they're not that big). But Boston is unique in that most of the city is to the southwest of the downtown. So Cambridge's big swoop is *south* of downtown Boston and the cardinal directions of its bridges are tough to comprehend.

In a Cincinnati vs. Boston comparison, Cincinnati actually came relatively close to equaling Boston in size in the mid-1800's. The buildings in the North End are very similar to Over-the-Rhine but because most of them replaced shorter 18th century buildings and the streets are narrow and tangled. This tangling makes the neighborhood seem much larger than it is when in fact it's only 1/3 to 1/2 the size of Over-the-Rhine. Mt. Adams similarly seems larger than it is because of the narrow streets and elevation changes.

Cincinnati certainly does not have anything equivalent to Beacon Hill or Back Bay, but before the auto era it definitely compared favorably overall. Boston had the advantage of having two short subway lines and its two streetcar subway lines survive the highway era (The Blue Line and Green Line were originally streetcar lines). Also its many colleges and universities helped keep the demand for city housing strong.

If the 16 mile subway loop had been put into operation and Xavier University stayed in downtown Cincinnati, the city would be much more robust today and be much more "Bostonesque".

April 7, 200916 yr

^ Interesting.

April 7, 200916 yr

Great shots. I think Boston is a phenomenal city and much more like London than NYC. They did a tremendous job in revitalizing their city.

April 7, 200916 yr

Question, what's the story with this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_75x415SPeu8/Sdb7zSEFYsI/AAAAAAAAKFY/MOnluJZFpok/s800/DSCN7186.JPG

That is the Boston Common Mine Monument.

'On 26 October 1921, the North Sea Mine Force Association dedicated a memorial in Boston Common, a modified example of the Mark VI mines deployed by the U.S. Navy in the North Sea minefields.'

April 7, 200916 yr

Great shots. I think Boston is a phenomenal city and much more like London than NYC.

Perhaps in terms of built form, but the feeling and energy you get when you're in London most mirrors NYC IMO.

April 7, 200916 yr

On the topic of mental maps and basic orientation in Boston, in the past half year of living in Cambridge, I've found myself in an interesting situation of at times being unable to reconcile my mental map with my memory of actual maps. Often enough I have to remind myself that I'm actually heading west even though it feels like north, or things like that. Meanwhile, there are plenty of paths (of any mode of transportation) I know well by now, but almost none of them did I discover while on the ground. It always requires prior map research because nothing's where you think it is, and there's usually no direct path between any two points. On the plus side, most distances turn out to be much shorter than anticipated.

I've been re-reading Kevin Lynch's book lately with some fascination. Discounting things that have changed in the last 50 years, I can agree with much of what he said about the Boston case study.

Anyway, great collection of photos! This building has been a favorite lately:

April 8, 200916 yr

I didn't know Boston had a back bay AND a bay back! Also, I would never vote for Michlewitz.

April 8, 200916 yr

Holy crap!

April 8, 200916 yr

Great shots! Boston is so amazingly intact. Maybe the least changed major city over the 20th century?

April 8, 200916 yr

I went to Boston this morning. I did everything in my power to keep my breakfast down while talking to those chowder heads.

I need a chemical peel to wash off the stench of Massachusetts!

April 10, 200916 yr

Great shots! Boston is so amazingly intact. Maybe the least changed major city over the 20th century?

^I'd through Charleston, SC in that lot, too.

April 10, 200916 yr

Boston just tries too hard to be like Cincinnati ... Just be yourself, you know what I'm saying?

April 22, 200916 yr

I love Boston. Fantastic set.

April 23, 200916 yr

Wonderful density! I haven't yet visited Boston, but apparently that set is the way the city should be photographed. The street-level density is amazing, and although I've read negative comments about the city's skyline, the street-level shots show the beautiful diversity of architectural styles hiding down among those standard-issue towers.

April 23, 200916 yr

Wonderful density! I haven't yet visited Boston, but apparently that set is the way the city should be photographed. The street-level density is amazing, and although I've read negative comments about the city's skyline, the street-level shots show the beautiful diversity of architectural styles hiding down among those standard-issue towers.

Rob, honey, you're too sweet and innocent for Boston!

April 23, 200916 yr

Boston is a cool town, I could see myself living there if I wasn't already in NYC.

April 23, 200916 yr

Boston is a cool town, I could see myself living there if I wasn't already in NYC.

You're self described "pale" and "Irish", of course you'd fit in and like it. 8)

April 23, 200916 yr

Boston is a cool town, I could see myself living there if I wasn't already in NYC.

You're self described "pale" and "Irish", of course you'd fit in and like it. 8)

Touche salesman..

April 23, 200916 yr

Rob, honey, you're too sweet and innocent for Boston!

My innocence is my armor. I'm so far removed from sarcasm and uppity insults that I don't recognized them when they're directed at me, and consequently they have no effect. Short of physical mayhem, I'm untouchable. :angel:

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. If you know what's good for you, though, you'd better not try it.

May 9, 200916 yr

Wonderful set of photos. Beautiful urbanity of the Bostonian variety. Thanks for sharing.

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Boston, Mass.

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