Best Boston Blog Post of 2017

Lots of great Blog posts, but only seven made the final cut

This was a great year for creative Boston Blog post. Lots of great content was discovered this year.

It was a lot of fun researching different topics and learning more about the city along the way. Hopefully, the post was entertaining and informative.

Top Seven Boston Blog Posts

In no particular order....

• Oliver Ames Jr. Square - I knew the Ames family had a long history in Boston, it was fun learning about the square.
• District Hall - great place to visit and be inspired by other entrapanures.
• William Dawes - Paul Revere wasn't the only hero on April 19, 1775.
• Boston Public Gardens Foot Bridge - A popular tourist attraction with some interesting history.
• Governor John Brooks - Interesting history about a Revolutionary War volunteer who lead a team of revolutionary fighters in Concord on April 1775. Later he became the 11th Governor of Massachusetts.
• John Winthrop Statue - lot of history behind a statue that many people may never see.
• Coconut Grove Night Club Fire - Some information about a Boston's worst night club disaster.

There's still lots of great content planned for 2018. If you have any topics that you would like to see get covered let me know.

Largest Parking Garages in Metro Boston

Parking Garage sizes for various lots in the Boston area.

There are lots of places to park in Boston. I thought it would be interesting to find out the size of the parking garages in and around Boston.

These were gathered from various sources:

• Websites that manages the parking facilities - Not all facilities list parking spaces. Is it a big secret?
• City of Boston - Lots of outdated information
• Parkopedia.com - Didn't always show the accurate information.

Lead the Field - Prudential Parking Garage

The Prudential Center Garage biggest claim to fame is they are the "Largest Parking garage in New England with 3,600 spaces." Actually the largest garage in New England is the Mohegan Sun garagewith spaces for 13,000 vehicles.

Parking Garages in the Boston Area

Here's an interesting list of other parking garages sizes in and around Boston. This information is accurate as of December 21, 2017.

Some Parking Garages along the MBTA routes:

Other Notable Garages

• Disneyland parking garage holds 10,000 vehicles.
• Disney Springs Strawberry Lot holds 1,130 vehicles.
• Largest garage in New York City is the garage at Pier 40/West Street with 3,500 spaces
• The West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada holds the record for the largest parking structure in North America with 20,000 spaces.

Phillips Brooks Statue

Some interesting information about the Phillips Brooks statue in Copley Square

Next to the Trinity Church, in Copley Square, is a statue of Phillips Brooks.

Things that I learned about Phillips Brooks and the Statue

• Phillips Brooks was born on December 13, 1835, in Boston, Massachusetts
• Attended Boston Latin School and then went to Harvard University in the Fall of 1851, graduated in the class of 1855.
• Rector of Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, 1862 - 1869
• In April 23, 1865, he read a sermon at President's Lincoln Funeral near Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Lincoln was assassinated in Washington, DC eight days earlier.
• In 1865 he took a trip to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve he took a horseback trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. It was this trip that inspired him to think about a song called "O Little Town of Bethlehem."
• He officially wrote the "O Little Town of Bethlehem" song in 1868 when he was at the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia.
• Phillips Brooks introduced Christianity to Helen Keller and then introduced her to Anne Sullivan.
• One of the few Americans that preached at London's West Minister Abbey
• Rector of Trinity Church (Copley Square), Boston, 1869 - 1891
• Was the rector of the Old Trinity Church when it was on Summer Street in 1872. The Church burn down in the Great Boston Fire of 1872.
• Some people regard the new Trinity Church as a memorial to Bishop Phillips Brooks.
• Bishop of Massachusetts, 1891 - 1893
• Died January 23, 1893.
• The Hall of Fame for Great Americans has a replica of the Daniel Chester French statue of Phillips Brooks. The original can still be seen inside the Trinity Church.

Things that I learned about Phillips Brooks Statue

• The bronze on marble base statue was unveiled on January 22, 1910
• The Statue was done by Augustus Saint-Gaudens using Tennessee marble in Vermont.
• Augustus Saint-Gaudens died before the work started and it was completed by his assistants
• A committee of thirty-one people were in charge of fundraising and statue design.
• More than $95,000 was raised for the statue, which was more than needed to build the statue.
• A case was heard before the State Supreme Court on January 21, 1919, Charles W. Eliot & Others vs Trinity Church, about authorizing to move the statue to the Theological School in Cambridge, as there were some people that didn't like the statue created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
• In court, Charles Eliot argued that a better statue was suited for the location. Bela Pratt created a different statue of Phillips Brooks and many people thought Pratt's statue had a better resemblance to the former preacher.
• The Massachusetts State Supreme Court sided with the Trinity Church saying that it didn't have any power to force the Trinity Church to move the statue. The court said, "When charitable gifts can be administered according to the directions of the donors, the court "is not at liberty to modify it upon considerations of policy or convenience."
• The statue done by Bela L. Pratt was placed in the North Andover common in 1925.
• Today you can't see the statue because of construction going on around the Trinity Church

Map of the Boston Marathon Finish Line Locations

Map of the four Boston Marathon Finish line locations

Last year I blogged about all the finish line locations for the Boston Marathon. It was a fun project to research the locations and the history of each site.

I looked at the blog content again and thought having a map would be a nice visual enhancement to the content.

Classic Boston Map

Back bay has changed a little over the past few years. So using a standard Google maps isn't going to help in this situation. Fortunately, there is a map in the Back Bay MBTA station that is about 20 years old. So I'll use that to show where the finish lines were located.

I took a picture of the map on the Commuter rail platform and then used Super Vectorizer 2 to convert it to an SVG image. I did this to allow the lines and shapes to be more define and make the map a bit clearer to read.

Finish Line Location Map

Click on image for a larger version of the map.

1. 1897- 1898 - The Early Years
2. 1899 - 1964 - Exeter Street Years
3. 1965 - 1985 - The Prudential Years
4. 1985 - Present - The John Hancock Years

Governor John Brooks

Fourteen Interesting things about Governor John Brooks

John Brooks was a well-admired doctor, respected military officer, and politician from Massachusetts. He served as the 11th Governor of Massachusetts from 1816 to 1823 and was one of the last Federalist officials elected in the United States.

There is no statue or monument in Boston for John Brooks. There is just a simple painting that is hanging at the Massachusetts State House a few feet from where he once held office. In Medford, there is a tablet honoring her famous resident.

Picture of John Brooks hanging in the Massachusetts State House.

Fourteen things I learned about John Brooks

There's a lot to tell about John Brooks, here are a few things that I found interesting.

• There is no record on when John Brooks was born. He was baptized on May 4, 1752. In the 18th century, parents usually baptized their children within 5 days of being born.
• At the age of 14 he studied medicine under Dr. Simon Tufts in his practice in Medford.
• He was a very active in the local militia. His military experience was basically watching the British army conduct military operations and practiced various military exercises on Dr. Simon Tufts yard.
• When he turned 21, he left Medford to his own practice in nearby Reading, Massachusetts.
• While in Reading he married Miss Lucy Smith. They had three children; Lucy, Alexander Scammella and John.
• On April 19, 1775, he was alerted about the British marching to Concord from Paul Revere and lead a company of minute-men to Concord and Lexington. He arrived in Concord as the British were retreating back to Boston. His team of minute-men chased the British back to Charlestown. His calm courage was seen by many revolutionary leaders and he received the commission of a major in the newly formed Continental army.
• He also fought at Bunker Hill and at the Heights of Dorchester, which victory caused the British to evacuate Boston.
• He was praised for his loyalty to the Continental Army and promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment.
• Served under George Washington in the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776 - including the Battle of Saratoga.
• Was praised by George Washington and by Gen. Lafayette
• After the war he went back to his practice as a hero to his fellow Medford citizens.
• On January 13, 1800, he gave the eulogy for George Washington to Medford saying, "Thus was our much-loved friend, the Father of His Country, great in war, great in peace, great in life, and great in the moment of his defoliation."
• Served as the 11th Governor of Massachusetts 1816 to 1823.
• His biggest accomplishment as Governor was selling off 30,000 square miles of Maine became a state. The Government of Massachusetts sold off the land to help pay off the War debt.
• He was the president of the Washington Monument Association, the Bunker-hill Monument Association.

Rev. Mr. Foster says of John Brook services of April 19, 1775,:

General Lafayette says of John Brooks in a letter dated September 20, 1824,:

Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1817

Classic Thanksgiving Proclamation given 100 years ago.

It???s a tradition for a state governor to have a proclamation for Thanksgiving. It???s a special way to give thanks and encourage people to spend time with their families.

Every President has given a Thanksgiving Proclamation - with the exception of William Henry Harrison as he only served office for 32 days in 1841.

Governor John Brooks was the 11th Governor of Massachusetts. He served from 1816???1823.

Thanksgiving Proclamation

This is part of the Thanksgiving Proclamation that John Brook gave back on October 29, 1817 (200 Years ago!):

Download the Entire Speech

When this speech was given, there were only 19 states in the United States! The State of Maine was still part of Massachusetts, it wasn???t until March 15, 1820, when Maine became an independent state.

Thanksgiving in December

Thanksgiving wasn't moved to November until 1942. On December 26, 1941, a joint resolution of Congress designated the fourth Thursday in November to be the new Thanksgiving Day.

Frog Pond

Frog pond is a small man-made pond in the Boston Public Commons. The pond is a perfect place for kids to cool off in the summer, and a great place for winter skating.

The pond is very shallow as it roughly a foot deep.

A description from a map near the Park Street Station:

Ten things I learned about Frog Pond.

• When Boston Common was founded in 1634, the frog pond area was simply a watering hole for cows that were roaming around the Commons.
• In 1848, the city installed a water fountain inside the pond to commemorate clean water flowing to Boston. This was a big event and hundreds of residents turned out to the opening ceremony.
• July 7, 1859, An elephant, owned by Sam Rice, bathed in Frog Pond. Many years when the Circus came to town they let the Elephants play in the water.
• In 1898, the pond officially became a swimming area. (This is probably when Elephants were no longer allowed into the Pond.)
• According to the Friends of Boston Commons, this year was the earliest that the Frog Pond skating rink opened.
• Each year there is a Frog Pond Skating Spectacular during the Boston Common Tree Lighting ceremony.
• For many years, the Park Commission would just fill the pond with water and let it freeze. There was no enclosure
• There was no skating on the pond during much of the 1980s. On January 5, 1989, skating returned to the Commons with a more formal skating area.
• Cost $6 for adults to skate on the pond, and skates may be rented for $9. At Rockefeller Plaza, in New York City, it cost $25 to skate on the ice and rentals cost $12.
• Bobby the skating Seal is available to help kids build confidence to skate. Kids simply push the Seal while they skate on the ice.

State House Great Hall Clock

In the center hall of the Massachusetts State House is the ???Hall of Flags??? in the center ceiling is a clock. Many people may not know about the history around this clock.

Nine Things about the Great Hall Clock

• New York artist Ronald Fischer was selected from 480 applicants in 1988.
• The clock was designed by R.M. Fischer a New York artist, to serve as a functional piece of artwork. Fischer was inspired by the clocks that grace the town halls, churches and other meeting halls of New England.
• In an attempt to relate to the space surrounding the clock, he has employed many arcs and circles that echo the architectural elements of the building such as the arched doorways and circular patterns of the marbled floor.
• The lantern-like shape clock weighs in at 1-tons and is 15 foot around.
• Massachusetts raised $100,000 for the clock in 1986. It wasn???t installed until 1990.
• Some people not only complained about the cost of the artwork but that it was done by a New Yorker.
• The clock was requires when any new building or renovation with public money to allocate 1 percent or a maximum of $100,000 to art.
• 27 states or territories have a "Percent for Art??? program, currently Massachusetts is the only state in New England without a program.
• Currently there is An Act to establish a Massachusetts percent for arts program By Representatives Walsh of Framingham and Atkins of Concord. This particular legislation would reinstate the ???Percent for Art??? program back to Massachusetts.

Ames-Webster Mansion

On the corner of Dartmouth Street and Commonwealth Ave is the Ames-Webster Mansion.

Nine Things I learned about the Ames-Webster Mansion

• Orginal Mansion was built in 1872 for Stephen Van Rensselaer Thayer by Peabody and Stearns.
• September 9, 1880 - Frederick Lothrop Ames purchased the house. The house was remodeled and expanded.
• June 7, 1923 - Edwin S. Webster purchased the property from the Ames family - He co-founded Stone Webster, Ince. died in 1950
• March 15, 2013 - Sold to FAL Boston LLC for $14,500,000. (It was originally listed for $23,000,000 in 2011.
• The Ames-Webster Mansion has one of the largest private halls in the Back Bay (63 x18-ft). The property is 26,000-square-foot -- with 50 rooms and 28 fireplaces and parking for up to six cars
• The property is currently being transformed into three two to four bedroom luxury condominiums by Sheikh Fahad M.S. Al Athel through his company FAL Boston LLC. The company is investing $35 million into the renovation. The project is expected to be completed by 2019. (About the same time as One Dalton Street)
• Each unit is expected to list for $20 million.
• The Ames-Webster Mansion was once considered to be the Massachusetts Governor's residence. Massachusetts still doesn't have a residence for the sitting Governor and is one of only 5 states that don't offer to house to the sitting Governor.

Locating The Mansion

The Mansion is located at the corner of Dartmouth Street and Commonwealth Ave. The building isn't open to the public but worth walking by to see the outside architecture.

Ghost Encounter at the Boston Athenaeum

Weird ghost stories that get told don't usually have much weight. Usually, it's told by people that want the attention.

However, the ghost story at the Boston Athenaeum is not only scary but the person who encountered the ghost was a pretty famous author.

Characters Background Information

Reverend Thaddeus Mason Harris was a Harvard librarian, Unitarian minister and was a lifetime member of the Boston Athenaeum.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a well-established author famous for many books including The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Ghost Encounter

In early spring 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne was in the library doing some research for his book "The New Adam and Eve".

He visited the library on and off for several months and encounter other authors in the Athenaeum readings rooms. He even saw Reverend Harris sitting in his favorite chair reading the Boston Post.

One day, As he was leaving the reading room a librarian informed him that Reverand Harris had passed on. Nathaniel Hawthorne was sad to hear the news as he wanted to introduce himself to him but never got a chance.

The next day he returned to the library and sat down and looked over to the Reverand chair by the fireplace and spotted Reverend Harris reading the newspaper by the window. He was probably reading his own obituary.

This went on for weeks, as every time Nathaniel Hawthorne visited the library he would see Reverend Harris sitting in the chair reading a newspaper.

Nathaniel Hawthorne never saw Reverend Harris enter the room or leave. No one else appeared to see the Reverend.

Nathaniel Hawthorne has claimed that it appeared like the Reverend wanted to talk to him but remained silent waiting to be spoken to first. After a few weeks, Reverend Harris stopped showing up in his chair.

About ten years later, while visiting friends in Europe they convinced him to put the story in writing. It would eventually get published in the Living Age magazine on February 10, 1900. (The Ghost of Doctor Harris, page 345

Read The Ghost of Doctor Harris

Download The Ghost of Doctor Harris and read the story of the encounter by Nathaniel Hawthorne by the author.

About the Boston Athenaem

The Boston Athenaeum is a private library and the oldest library in Boston. In order to access the reading rooms mentioned in the story, you need to take a tour of the library. Currently tours start at $10.

Individual Membership to the library is $315 a year.