Irish Famine Memorial

The Irish Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. As a result of the Famine, the country population drop 25%.

The famine was caused by mold that was growing on the potatoes. Many Irish depended on potatoes as the food source due to strict land regulations. In addition, years of oppression on the Catholic Irish caused people to live just below the poverty line.

Boston was seen as a beacon of hope, and many Irish emigrated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to escape the rough conditions in Ireland.

The Irish suffered job discrimination with people putting up signs in store windows which read, "Irish need no apply." People saw the mass migration as a threat to the skillful workforce.

In 1998, Boston dedicated a memorial to the Irish Famine.

Things that I learned about the Irish Famine Memorial

• Cost $1 Million to put together
• Located on the Freedom Trail, across from the Old South meeting House
• The original idea for the memorial started in 1991, but never amounted to any real project
• Original location was to be someplace near Faneuil Hall
• Thomas J. Flatley took ownership of the project in 1996 and made the memorial a reality.
• More than 7,000 people attended the dedication on Sunday, June 28, 1998.
• Dedicated as part of the 150th anniversary of THE GREAT HUNGER.
• Cardinal Law visited the site after the Dedication Ceremony and blessed the memorial with Holy Water from Ireland.
• Robert Shure, of Skylight Studios, made the two statues.
• Robert Shure also created the statues at the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial which was dedicated on November 17, 2007.
• Robert Shure also did the Boston Marathon Memorial (!996) and the Massachusetts Fallen Fireman Memorial (2007).
• The two statues are Bronze on granite base.
• Thomas J. Flatley, Committee Chairman, was an immigrant who arrived from Ireland in 1950 with $32 in his pocket.
• Thomas J. Flatley, died on May 17, 2008 with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

What are the statues of?

There are two statue monuments in the memorial.

• One of the statues show a family suffering from the Famine. ( It looks very similar to an 1849 depiction of Bridget O'Donnell and her two children during the famine.)
• The other shows a family doing well.

Some people say that the two monuments demonstrate how the potato famine impacted the poor and the rich.

The Eight Plaques

There are eight plaques around the memorial which tells the cause and effect of the Irish Famine:

• Dying of Hunger - Starting in 1845, a virulent fungus devastated the potato crop....
• AN GORTA MOR - The Great Hunger of 1845-50
• The People were Gaunt - Starvation and disease spread across the Irish landscape claiming 1 million lives
• Boston Sends Help - On March 27, 1847 Boston sends a ship of supplies.
• Crossing the Bowl of Tears -Two Million people fled Ireland in vessels that were called Coffin Ships.
• Arriving in Boston - In 1847, 37,000 Irish arrived in Boston...
• The American Dream - Today 44 million American claim Irish ancestry
• Lest We Forget.- The conditions that produced the Irish famine...still exist today.

Memorial Location

The memorial is located on Boston's Freedom Trail at the corner of Washington St. and School St. It's right between the "Old Corner Bookstore" and the "Old South Meeting House."

The memorial is not an official site on the Boston Freedom Trail.

Oliver Ames Jr. Square

At the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Charlesgate West, near Kenmore Square, is a sign indicating that it's Oliver Ames Jr Square. Did you know, that Boston had two famous Oliver Ames Jr?

• Oliver Ames Jr (1807 - 1877) - President of the Union Pacific Railroad
  Key Accomplishment: Instrumental with completion of the first transcontinental Railroad in North America.
• Oliver Ames Jr (1895 - 1918) - United States Army Officer
  Key Accomplishment: A courteous kindly gentleman and a true soldier

The square is named for Lieutenant Oliver Ames Jr. who served in the 165th United States Infantry Regiment, part of the 42nd Infantry Division in World War One. On July 29th, 1918, he gave his life at the Second Battle of the Marne.

Oliver Ames Jr (1807 - 1877) is the father of Oliver Ames Jr (1895 - 1918)

Some interesting thing that I learned about Oliver Ames Jr:

• Born in Boston on April 8, 1885
• Married Caroline Lee Fessenden before the World War I
• Served in the 165th United States Infantry Regiment, part of the 42nd Infantry Division
• The 42nd Infantry Division was mostly made up of National Guard units.
• Served under Major "Wild Bill" Donovan
• Was killed by a German sniper who was hiding behind a dead horse at the Battle of the Ourcq River during the second battle of the Marne.
• He received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously with the following text: "He fought gallantly until on the last day he was killed while going forward voluntarily through machine-gun and snipers' fire to the assistance of his battalion commander."
• In 1922, a book about him called "OLIVER AMES, J R - 1895-1918" by Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe published by Harvard Press
• The book contains actual letters that he wrote home from the frontline.

You can see the new "Boston Strong" sign from the square. The square is between the cars and the "Boston Strong" sign.

Burial Location

Oliver Ames Jr buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial in Picarde, France. His grave reads:

Oliver Ames, Jr.
2nd Lt. Inf. U. S. R.
Killed in action, July 29th, 1918
Act. Adjutant 1st Btn. 65th Inf.

Mario Susi & Sons Marker

On Court Street, near the Washington Street intersection, if you look around the sidewalk you will see the following:

You can see these sidewalk markers in various places around the city of Boston. Mario Susi & Sons is an excavating contractor that has performed construction projects for the city of Boston.

What is an Excavating Contractor?

Excavation Contractors perform site preparation, grading, trenching and other various soil-related tasks. They basically get to drive around very large pieces of heavy equipment to get the job done.

Things I learned about Mario Susi & Sons

I wasn't able to find a lot about the company, which is surprising since they do a good job with streetside advertising.

• Company was founded in 1955
• Founded by Mario Susi and his sons Raymond Phillip Susi and Joseph Susi
• Approximately 20 full time employees
• $4.1 million in annual revenue
• Bids on various construction projects for Boston, Cambridge, Braintree and Milton
• In 1983, they did work around Medford Square - another place where you may find the marker on the sidewalk
• In 2007 they did some work Central Avenue/Eliot Street intersection in Milton where you may also find the above marker.
• Mario Susi died October 27 2005
• Raymond Phillip Susi died on March 20, 2014
• Joseph Susi died on February 26, 2016
• Website: msusi.com
• According to various posts, the are "one of the most well known and respected contractors in the Boston area"

"Then & Now" MOS Exhibit

Did you know that the Boston Museum of Science has an exhibit that looks back at some of the histories of the museum? You can take a step in time and look back at some of the famous exhibits at the museum.

You can read all about how the museum transformed from the Boston Society of Natural History in 1860 to what it is today.

Some of the features in this Exhibit

• Pictures of the Boston Society of Natural History
• Birds that were on display at the "Boston Society of Natural History"
• Pictures of some old Exhibits, remember the Hatch Egg?
• Pictures of the original Dinosaur and why they changed it.
• Pictures of Spooky - The Museums Great Horned Owl
• Turbidity Column Exhibit
• Interact with The Tooth Exhibit
• Interact with the first Interactive Exhibit, the Ermine.
• Watch a classic 1980s commercial of the Museum - Where its fun to find out"

This is a cool place to walk through if you visited the museum when you were a kid. You can see many familiar things from the museum past.

Finding the Exhibit

The "Then & Now" exhibit is on Level 2 in the Blue Wing, just beyond the Science in the Park in the Theater of Electricity.

Thanks to the Sponsors!

The exhibit was made possible through the generosity of Joan and Herman Suit, and the George Willard Smith Endowment Fund.

Washington Portrait at the Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library Central Branch is known for having a lot of beautiful architecture. Among the serious researchers in the library are tourists checking out the main marble staircase in the entrance hall and the various paintings in the Abbey room.

In the second floor of the McKim Building is the Washington Room. A few months ago this is where people would sit and do research on the computers - it was part of Tech Central. The computers might be gone, but the beauty of the room still exist.

The centerpiece of the room is the large picture of George Washington hanging over the desk in the room.

Washington at Dorchester Heights

by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze

About Vose Gallery

If you really like the art at the Boston Public Library, you should check out more contemporary pieces at the nearby Vose Gallery - which many tourists may not know about. Vose Galleries specializes in 18th, 19th, and early 20th-century American paintings. America's oldest family-owned art gallery, Vose has founded 160 years ago.

Family-owned gallery features American Impressionist art along with contemporary pieces by realists.

They are located at 238 Newbury Street. Getting there from the library is easy, simply walk out the main library doors by Boylston Street and cross Boylston Street. Take a right on Exeter Street, and then a left on Newbury Street. The Vose Gallery will be on the left side about 1/2 block down, it's right next to CVS. Just before Fairfield Street.

Free Library Tours

The Boston Public Library offers daily tours highlighting the architecture of its famed Central Library buildings by Charles Follen McKim and Philip Johnson as well as the art treasures within, including works by Daniel Chester French and John Singer Sargent.

The tours start near the McKim Entrance, stop by the one of the borrower services desks for information on the next tour.

Boston Logan International Airport

Boston Logan International Airport (IATA Code BOS) is the largest airport in New England. Most New Englanders call the airport, simply "Logan."

Since we are going to be flying out of the airport soon, I thought it would be interesting to learn a bit about the airport. Here are some things that I have learned about the airport.

Airport History

• The original airfield was created by the United States Army
• First airplane to land on the field was on June 13, 1923.
• That's 19 years, 5 months, 27 days after the Wright Brothers first flight.
• Commercial Aircraft started flying out in 1927.
• In 1927, Charles Lindbergh and the "Spirit of St. Louis" landed in Boston after a solo flight across the Atlantic
• Official Name is the General Edward Lawrence Logan Airport. (June 12, 1943)
• Previous Name was the Commonwealth Airport, some people may refer to it as the "East Boston Airport"
• In 1947, the airport became International with passenger flights to Canada, Bermuda, Lisbon and London.
• In 1959, Massport took over the airport
• In 1973, Massport built a 22-story airport control tower. (The largest in the world.)
• Today the Airport covers 2,384 acres and six runways.
• Currently rank 17th busiest airport in the United States.
• The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger aircraft to ever have landed at the airport.
• Private Planes can land at Logan Airport. Departure Fees start at $10 daytime. Nighttime field use starts at $59. - Massport Aircraft Operating & Parking Fees

General Edward Lawrence Logan

• Born in South Boston and Graduated from Boston Latin
• Served in the 9th Massachusetts Regiment in 1897
• Commanded the 101st Regiment in World War I
• Justice of the South Boston Court in 1914
• Died July 6, 1939 and buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery
• A statue of General Logan by Joseph Coletti was unveiled at the entrance to the former Boston Airport when it was officially renamed the General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport in a public ceremony in 1956.
• The statue has been moved with each major airport expansion.
• The statue is currently located on Porter Street. You will see it on your left as you get on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

The joke around the city is that the airport is named after an infrequent flier. The question is: Why did Boston name an airport after General Edward Lawrence Logan? For all of his many accomplishments, Lieutenant General Logan never flew in an airplane.

Certificate of Occupancy

At the 177 Huntington Ave Office Building you can still see signs of the old building owner. On the back stairs, at each floor landing is a "Certificate of Occupancy." This is a copy of one of the documents:

Click on image for a larger version.

This particular Certificate of Occupancy defines the max load for all floors in the building as 50 lbs per square foot.

Some information about the Building Code in the City of Boston:

The act was changed a few years later:

In older building, built before 1975, you will find in one of the stairwells, most likely not a heavy traffic one, a Certificate of Occupancy.

Martin Luther King Lived Here

In the early 1950s, Martin Luther King lived in Boston while he was attending school at Boston University of Theology.

He lived at two locations:

Freshman Year

Apartment at 170 Saint Botolph Street, Boston Mass.

Martin Luther King lived on St. Botolph Street for his first semester at Boston University of Divinity. He lived between Albemarle and Blackwood Street. (170 Saint Botolph Street)

Remaining Years

397 Massachusetts Ave, Boston Mass.

Next Semester he and a student at Tuffs moved to an apartment nearby on Massachusetts Ave, just beyond the Mass Ave Orange Line station. While living there met his wife Coretta Scott of Alabama. ( 397 Massachusetts Ave)

He received his Ph.D. degree on June 5, 1955.

Note: Both locations are priviate residences.

Map of Back Bay at the Back Bay MBTA Station

While waiting for the commuter rail at any of the seven tracks you will see a map of Boston's Back bay. While some of the maps are showing 'Old Boston Town," there are a few modern maps. I am guessing that the maps are there to help people located various points in the Back Bay.

Maps are Outdated

Commuters waiting for the Framingham/Worcester trains may not pay much attention to the maps in the terminal. They are located in various places along the train tracks. The maps may seem fine, but if you take a close look at the map and you may discover something doesn't look quite right.

Map Oddity

Example of some of the Oddity that you may see on the map: (This is the top left section)

• Red Arrow - Part of the the Prudential Mall is missing? Where is Barnes & Noble?
• Green Arrow - Boylston Street doesn't have a road divider.
• Blue Arrow - What about the pedestrian bridge over Huntington Ave?

Looks like the maps are from the Dukakis Administration.

The outdated maps are somewhat useful to get a rough idea where they are to other points in the Back Bay such as Boston Public Gardens and Newbury Street.

However, the maps are outdated. The MBTA can take three courses of action:

• Update all the maps, which may cost a lot of money but are useful for tourists.
• Add a sign to let people know the maps are outdated. (Historic Back Bay in the 1980s)
• Do nothing as nobody really pays attention to the maps.

Finding the Map

You can see the old Boston map between Track 7 and 5 at the Back Bay Commuter rail station.

When you walk into the station from the Dartmouth Street entrance, enter the doors with "South End" and walk by the Dunkin Donuts stand.

Turn left after Dunkin Donuts and go down the stairs where you see "Tracks 5 & 7."

Take a right at the bottom and then another right. Take a short walk along the train tracks.

Walk to the overhead digital clock look to the right and you'll see the classic map.

Robin William Bench

In the movie "Good Will Hunting" there is is a scene where Robin Williams and Matt Damon talk on a bench at the Boston Gardens.

In Boston, this is known as the Robin William's bench. Bostonians placed flowers and other memorabilia on the bench when he died on August 11, 2014.

Good Will Hunting

"Some people think they know everything - yet they UNDERSTAND nothing"

November 11, 2016

Someone doing Yoga on the Robin William's bench at the Boston Public Gardens.

Finding the Robin Williams Bench

Robin Williams park bench is located in the Boston Public Gardens, near the George Washington Statue and the Public Garden's Foot Bridge. There is no marker or indicator that this is Robin William's bench.

• From the George Washington Statue, walk toward the Public Garden Foot Bridge.
• Take a left at the first Path.
• Walk down the path until it connects to another path.
• On your right is the Robin Williams Bench.

There are two markers in the stone at the bench. As your facing the bench and look on the ground:

• On the left: "A place for Barbara and her Pups to pause"
• On the Right: "In Memory of Jeffrey A. Guyer "Breath in hope, breathe out love."

David Ortiz Bridge

In October 10 2016, the City of Boston named the bridge between Fenway Park and Kenmore Square the David Ortiz bridge. The bridge was formally known as the "Brookline Avenue Bridge."

Who is David Oriz

David Ortiz sign to the Boston Red Sox on January 22, 2003. In a few short years he became the most important clutch hitter for the Boston Red Sox. He is regarded as one of the best clutch hitters of all time, Ortiz had 11 career walk-off home runs during the regular season and 2 during the postseason.

He became the MVP of the 2013 World Series by getting the team focus on winning.

Landmark Bridge

Most people are familiar with the bridge they probably walked on it going to a baseball game at Fenway Park.

The city of Boston wanted to make a big deal of the bridge so they put up four bridge signs. The signs are located on each end of the bridge.

There are several good photo opportunities of the 'Ortiz Bridge' sign. There a great opportunity with the sign, Fenway Park and the Prudential building. The best opportunity is crossing the Brookline Ave at Fenway Park and taking a picture with the landmark Citgo Sign.

Great shot of the Ortiz sign and the Citgo Sign in Kenmore Square.

Selfies Alert

After you cross the bridge, there is a bonus sign just as you get down the stairs. The sign is in the window at a perfect height for selfies.

Getting there

The best way to get to the bridge is to catch the Green Line to Kenmore Square and walk to Fenway Park. The signs for the 'David Ortiz' bridge are very large and you won't miss it!

Henry and Paint

At the corner of Dartmouth Street and Stuart Street is one of the entrances to the Copley Place. Over the past year, many commuters have had to use this entrance to access the Bay Bay station from Copley Place due to the constructions of another entrance closer to the station.

In front of this entrance is an art display featuring two horses.

Henry and Paint

The two horses that are in the area in front of Copley Plaza are named Henry and Paint. Both of them have a plaque underneath them.

There is a plaque underneath both horses and they both have the following inscription:

The plaque also gives the dimension of the two horses:

Future of the Copley Place Entrance

The future of "Henry" and "Paint" is uncertain, as Simon Property Group planned to build a 52-story tower at the corner of Dartmouth Street and Stuart Street.

Boston Redevelopment Agency approved of the 52-story tower on May 14, 2015. The 52-story tower was due to include 542 condos and apartments as well as retail and had been a long, long time planning.

In October 2016, Simon Property Group halted any forward progress of the new tower due to rising construction costs and concerns over the rising supply of luxury housing.

Symphony Hall

Holiday Pops at Symphony Hall

For many Bostonian's the Holiday Pops is a popular annual tradition, this year marks the 43rd year of celebrating Christmas music. Tickets are extremely hard to get, and usually sell out within hours of going on sale.

The show features many popular Christmas songs, as Keith Lockhart conducts the orchestra and encourages the crowd to sing-a-long. The crowd favorite was the 12 days of Christmas and the singers add a bit of humor to the classic song.

We sat on the first balcony near the stage and enjoyed the music and watching Keith Lockhart. We highly recommend sitting between rows 1 - 20 on the first balcony. The nice thing about the balcony is that kids can see the performance because there's no obstruction view. If you sit at the tables on the orchestra floor you can't see the all the orchestra clearly.

Camera and recording equipment are prohibited in Symphony Hall during concerts. However, there were plenty of guests that were taking pictures of the performance using their smartphones.

View from the First Balcony, Seat 10

Fun Facts about the Boston Symphony Hall

• Located at 301 Massachusetts Ave
• Symphony Hall opened on October 15, 1900 with a performace of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis"
• The Building was Designed by McKim, Mead and White
• McKim, Mead and White also designed Boston Public Library five years earlier
• Symphony Hall was the first American Hall to have scientific acoustic planning.
• Harvard Professor Wallace C. Sabine did the acoustical research
• President Eisenhower spoke at the National Council of Catholic Women in 1954
• 1,000 Navy Inducts were sworn in at Symphony Hall in 1942
• Holiday Pops started in 1973 and was first called "A Pops Christmas Party."
• Arthur Fiedler was the first conductor to lead Holiday Pops.
• The hall has served other types of events such as civic observances as various conventions, political meetings, commencements, inaugurations, religious worship, debates, flower shows, fashion shows, automobile shows, ball and banquets.

Event Parking at the Prudential Garage

The Holiday Pops is considered a Special Event and qualifies for discount parking. This means that the Prudential garage is the best place to park for the Holiday Pops.

The parking situation at the Prudential has recently changed to now include automatic checkout. I inquired to the Prudential parking staff on how to take advantage of the discount parking with the new changes.

This is the response I received:

Make sure when you exit the garage to call over the attendant to get your parking discount. Failure to do so will result in a higher parking rate.

Prudental Garage Special Event Rate

Valid for evening and weekend events only, at Symphony Hall, Berklee, Huntington Theater, Jordan Hall
Special $18.00 Event Rate
Enter after 2:00 p.m. Mon-Fri
Enter after 7:00 a.m. Weekends
Exit by 3:00 a.m.
Customer must surrender ticket event stub at garage exit

Symphony Hall is a 5-minute walk from the Prudential Center.

Prudential Skywalk Observatory

One of the best views of Boston is from the 50th floor of the Prudential Building. That's where you'll find the Skywalk Observatory - Boston's only 360 city view.

Along with the amazing view of Boston are several interactive exhibits that will inform you about the history of Boston. Some of the exhibits that you'll see when you're walking around the floor:

• Interactive Multimedia Exhibits, including a "Who wants to be an American Citizen?" Which features ten real citizenship question in a Jeopardy-type format.
• Multimedia Theater - A state-of-the-art movie theater, which continually runs two short films: "Wings Over Boston," an up-close feel of the entire city, and "Dreams of Freedom," a multimedia journey through time.
• Boston Immigration - Learn how immigrants came to Boston. See example items that people would pack in their crates as they made their journey to America.

Fun Facts about the Prudential SkyWalk

• The Prudential Tower is 750 feet tall, 150 feet wide and 178 feet long.
• The Observatory is 50 stories above ground. (740 feet)
• It takes 30 seconds, via elevator, to get to the 50-story observation. This means the elevator is traveling 24 ft/s (feet per second)
• When the Skywalk first opened on April 19, 1965, people waited in line up to four hours to get to the top.
• The ticket booth in the Prudential Mall, near Dunkin Donuts, will let you know the current visibility. In addition, you can also go up to the 50th floor and see the visibility before deciding to purchase tickets.
• When you get off of the elevator and walk to the ticket booth, the first view you see is Cambridge.
• Mt. Wachusetts is visible from the Prudential Skywalk.
• On a clear day, you can see the mountains of New Hampshire and far into the South Shore.
• There is a penny souvenir machine - bring quarters and pennies if you collect Penny Souvenirs.
• The four telescopes around the floor take 2 quarters and worth it if you would like a close up views of faraway points. There is a little step so that little ones can see through the telescope.
• The 500,000 visitor was greeted on a ceremony on September 2, 1965 - 135 days after the SkyView opened.
• In 1980, it cost $1.75 to access the Observatory.
• Prudential garage can hold 3,500 automobiles.

When to Visit

Visit in the afternoon if you looking for views/pictures of Fenway Park, Metro West and Back Bay

Visit in the morning if you want good pictures of Downtown Boston. Otherwise, you may end up seeing the Prudential shadow in your pictures.

Downtown Boston from the Skywalk Observatory at 3pm on November 11, 2016.