This is from an article at boston.com about the stunning increase in visitors since the museum moved to its stunning new building.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Play Date, City Style
My Boston Baby
How many kids grow up tossing around a football on the very grounds where the game was first devised? Or have daily access to one of only 2 public research libraries? Go to summer camp at the Zoo?
I am often surprised (translation: irritated) when people question the wisdom of raising my child in Boston. I am amazed that they can’t see the innumerable advantages of being so near to so much culture, knowledge, government, history, technology, and natural beauty. I appreciate that we are able to drop by the Museum of Fine Arts after school, canoe on Mother Brook on Sunday afternoon, and hear the cheers of the Fenway crowd on the way get a guitar restrung. We can watch a Broadway show, learn about opera, or watch Shakespeare in the park after an afternoon of shopping.
And for none of these little adventures do I need to load up the car, grab a roadmap, circle a rotary for 10 minutes, decode a train schedule, or pack a change of clothes and emergency gas money.
Because we live here, we are able to appreciate the treasures of this town casually and with exceptional frequency. The advantages of culture are worth the small stresses of city living.
Art for the (Shorter) Masses
One of our new faves is the sleek, hip Institute of Contemporary Art. Many kids will find the ICA to be an easier trip than the MFA or the Garnder (All are excellent, just different.) It’s smaller, easier to navigate, has a gorgeous glass elevator, and to quote a very cute 10 year old: “you don’t just stare at pictures.”
The ICA first drew me in when I noticed their FREE family Saturdays. Two adults per family get in free on the last Saturday of the month. The bonus here is that on these Saturdays the museum offers “play dates” – a performance and art activities for the child or family.
These are not perfunctory projects - no cardboard cartouches or drawings of paintings. On our first playdate Maya learned about architecture and made a great sculpture out of recyclables.. I was amazed at the beauty of the piece, and proud of her pride in it.
Our fave playdate was part of a larger event, Kidsbuild 2009, in which children from across the city were invited to create the ICA-city on the floor of the ICA’s stage. It was an elaborate, enriching process. Maya chose a lot, decide what type of building, pulled a permit, designed, gathered materials, built, and went through the inspection process. I had no idea she’d have any interest in building a fire station out of leftover building and decorating samples, and I doubt she did either, but it was much fun, a great success, and she still tells people about her fire station.
During these visits, We usually take a brief jaunt through the exhibits, and some she likes more than others. She loved Anish Kapoor, grand, surprising, bright, confusing – very appealing to a ten year old, who really doesn’t care about the art’s meaning or the artisit's intentions.
Shepard Fairey, I was surprised she didn’t really react much to – I thought she would like the “prettiness” of some of the work, appreciate its notoriety, or at least think the technique cool. But apparently Kapoor’s ridonkulously large ball of wax is more appealing than Fairey's "Guns and Roses."
But I guess that’s art - everyone sees it differently.
Why I Love to Play
Maya and I agree that a great part of the play dates is the performances. During the day, there are a few shows at the ICA theatre – one was a fun, silly bubble magic show – and another I particularly enjoyed was a dance lesson/show by B-Side and Rainbow Tribe.
I love these play dates because we get to do an art activity together, and I don’t need to find supplies, rack my brain for ideas, or try teach any lesson. (All that is done for me. )
Even more so, I love our play dates because they are free, they can be brief, and they can be followed by a walk along the ever-improving harbor. We can splurge and have a quality meal at the museum's café, or we can munch granola bars on the museum's steps watching sailboats sway and the Codzilla zoom in the harbor.
Shepard Fairey, I was surprised she didn’t really react much to – I thought she would like the “prettiness” of some of the work, appreciate its notoriety, or at least think the technique cool. But apparently Kapoor’s ridonkulously large ball of wax is more appealing than Fairey's "Guns and Roses."
But I guess that’s art - everyone sees it differently.
Why I Love to Play
Maya and I agree that a great part of the play dates is the performances. During the day, there are a few shows at the ICA theatre – one was a fun, silly bubble magic show – and another I particularly enjoyed was a dance lesson/show by B-Side and Rainbow Tribe.
I love these play dates because we get to do an art activity together, and I don’t need to find supplies, rack my brain for ideas, or try teach any lesson. (All that is done for me. )
Even more so, I love our play dates because they are free, they can be brief, and they can be followed by a walk along the ever-improving harbor. We can splurge and have a quality meal at the museum's café, or we can munch granola bars on the museum's steps watching sailboats sway and the Codzilla zoom in the harbor.
Monday, July 13, 2009
the MBTA
An Assignment
I have received an assignment for school in which I am to write from my personal perspective about my blog’s topic. I am happy living in the Hub, but I will admit there are times I feel frustration, and casually wonder about greener grass.
Closing the Zoo? Few BPS high schools offer sports? Sick call abuse by firefighters?
But consider extensive public transportation; imagine world class restaurants and shopping close to nature preserves and beaches; think of living amid history.
People can spout hundreds of benefits to living in or visiting Boston, and no matter how extensive, the next person will have a different list.
And it goes the same way if one were to enumerate the frustrations of this town. The grievances are many, and varied.
The interesting thing to me is that so much would appear under both headings.
Like the T.
In My Opinion…
When I hear the screeches, booms and putt-putts of a bus coming, I don’t mind so much: that’s my ride – but for so many others, the sound of a city bus is the slurpy, swirly, sucking sound of money gurgling down a drain.
From my personal perspective, as a part-time student, single mother, and working woman, the T is to me an indispensable element of a large, diverse city. I don’t always have the income to support a car and high insurance rates, I seldom have a job that offers (free) parking anyway, and I love to use the T to get to the many places my daughter loves to go: a park, the beach, a museum, a friend’s house, a school event.
I have received an assignment for school in which I am to write from my personal perspective about my blog’s topic. I am happy living in the Hub, but I will admit there are times I feel frustration, and casually wonder about greener grass.
Closing the Zoo? Few BPS high schools offer sports? Sick call abuse by firefighters?
But consider extensive public transportation; imagine world class restaurants and shopping close to nature preserves and beaches; think of living amid history.
People can spout hundreds of benefits to living in or visiting Boston, and no matter how extensive, the next person will have a different list.
And it goes the same way if one were to enumerate the frustrations of this town. The grievances are many, and varied.
The interesting thing to me is that so much would appear under both headings.
Like the T.
In My Opinion…
When I hear the screeches, booms and putt-putts of a bus coming, I don’t mind so much: that’s my ride – but for so many others, the sound of a city bus is the slurpy, swirly, sucking sound of money gurgling down a drain.
From my personal perspective, as a part-time student, single mother, and working woman, the T is to me an indispensable element of a large, diverse city. I don’t always have the income to support a car and high insurance rates, I seldom have a job that offers (free) parking anyway, and I love to use the T to get to the many places my daughter loves to go: a park, the beach, a museum, a friend’s house, a school event.
Controversy
The Boston Globe today describes a “Transportation Standoff". The article is fuel for those who like to stoke fires of controversy and contention. In the competition for state dollars, suburban drivers and urban rail riders both have legitimate needs, while the state has limited aid.
The MBTA has suggested that, even with the influx of a large chunk of revenue from the upcoming sales tax increase, it may need to raise fares or cut services. The proposed fare increases, nearing an average of 20%, and applied across all branches of the system, still won't come close to eliminating debt estimated at as much as $5 billion.
But take a look at the Orange Line platform at Haymarket or try to cross from the #39 bus stop into the station at Forest Hills on a rainy day without getting your feet damp. (If you've not passed through this area on such a day, I will vouch that it is near impossible – only those who plan each step strategically can enter the station with dry toes. OK, unless, you’re wearing your Wellies.)
The T obviously needs more money:
- they transport hundreds of thousands of people daily.
- the t police are important presence in the more than 100 towns in the T’s service area
- the environmental benefit is obvious
- our roads and parking facilities cannot bear many more cars
But there is, too, evidence of mismanagement within the T. As one of those agencies subject to little oversight, and full of union employees, it is naturally known for excesses like double dippers, excess overtime, and piggy pensions.
Conclusion???
We need the T to stay cheap and run often because it is depended on by students, tourists, the poor, and ever so many businesses that that cannot afford to offer parking to employees. Think of the school students who ride daily with student passes – imagine that many more buses on the road at 7 AM, or a bunch of newly licensed teens clogging the left turn lanes in their jalopies? Maybe the image of thousands of Red Sox fans circling Kenmore Square in their SUV’s, vying for parking spots on game days is more affecting …
But I fear the T actually needs both more injections from the state or the feds AND a fare hike. What it may need most of all is severe housecleaning to exterminate its unneccessaries, inefficiencies, and underperformers.
The T is integral to enjoying the benefits of our amazing city. Everyone may need to sacrifice for what some would consider the greater good, what I would consider the common good.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Boston Public Library: Treasure Hunting
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2009-05/features/personal-new-england/boston-ma-public-library
it started with a wax hand...
I was standing in a line that was so slow-moving I suspected I was part of some social experiment to see how long people will stand in fake lines that don’t move. My daughter, Maya and I had happened upon a fair promoting Massachusetts tourism and she was waiting in line at the Yankee Candle tent to dip her hand in hot, melted wax - just for “fun.”
This was one of our 3 hot days in June – and it was probably the worst day to carry home a wax hand in a plastic bag, but if an activity is free, interesting to a 10 year old, and doesn’t involve me chasing the kickball down a hill because I overthrew on an out attempt, then I’m into it. I whined about my thirst, worried about sunscreen and threw dirty looks toward the dog in front of us, but Maya patiently waited. I spotted a copy of Yankee magazine’s May/June issue on a nearby table and flipped through descriptions of lovely New England scenes. I was so pleased to see this short article about the treasures of the Boston Public Library. It has long been one of my favorite (indoor) escapes in this city, and it deserves more appreciation for the many treasures that have come to rest within its gilded halls.
No exaggeration...
The Boston Public Library holds some amazing collections of art, sculpture, prints, manuscripts, rare books, and plenty more. The McKim building itself (what I refer to as the “old” building) is a National Historic Landmark. I urge everyone who lives in or visits Boston to step inside and explore when you have a bit of time. It is a place where you can spend an hour or a day. You could prowl alone, bring out -of -town guests to show off items museums wish they had, or join an Art & Architecture tour led by an enthusiastic BPL volunteer.
Be sure to enter from Dartmouth Street - the two seated ladies out front (the bronze ones, not the ones asking for change ) represent Art and Science, and have been restored to their youthful glows. Flags fly by day and ornate lamps light up the facade after dusk. The inscription over the entry proclaims the library “Free to All,” the first library in this nation to offer a lending library.
it started with a wax hand...
I was standing in a line that was so slow-moving I suspected I was part of some social experiment to see how long people will stand in fake lines that don’t move. My daughter, Maya and I had happened upon a fair promoting Massachusetts tourism and she was waiting in line at the Yankee Candle tent to dip her hand in hot, melted wax - just for “fun.”
This was one of our 3 hot days in June – and it was probably the worst day to carry home a wax hand in a plastic bag, but if an activity is free, interesting to a 10 year old, and doesn’t involve me chasing the kickball down a hill because I overthrew on an out attempt, then I’m into it. I whined about my thirst, worried about sunscreen and threw dirty looks toward the dog in front of us, but Maya patiently waited. I spotted a copy of Yankee magazine’s May/June issue on a nearby table and flipped through descriptions of lovely New England scenes. I was so pleased to see this short article about the treasures of the Boston Public Library. It has long been one of my favorite (indoor) escapes in this city, and it deserves more appreciation for the many treasures that have come to rest within its gilded halls.
No exaggeration...
The Boston Public Library holds some amazing collections of art, sculpture, prints, manuscripts, rare books, and plenty more. The McKim building itself (what I refer to as the “old” building) is a National Historic Landmark. I urge everyone who lives in or visits Boston to step inside and explore when you have a bit of time. It is a place where you can spend an hour or a day. You could prowl alone, bring out -of -town guests to show off items museums wish they had, or join an Art & Architecture tour led by an enthusiastic BPL volunteer.
Be sure to enter from Dartmouth Street - the two seated ladies out front (the bronze ones, not the ones asking for change ) represent Art and Science, and have been restored to their youthful glows. Flags fly by day and ornate lamps light up the facade after dusk. The inscription over the entry proclaims the library “Free to All,” the first library in this nation to offer a lending library.
Some of my personal favorites inside:
- The Library Lions: enormous marble lions greet you at the grand staircase. They are actually a memorial to Civil War infantrymen.
- Bates Hall: named in honor of Joshua Bates, whose 1850 $50,000 donation set the library on its path to openness and excellence. This hall is a grand reading room of heavy wooden tables and green lamps set in a marble hall under glorious windows.
- John Singer Sargent Murals: It supposedly took Sargent more than 20 years to paint and install the masterpiece, said to be his first mural project. The theme is Judaism and Christianity - apparently appropriate for a public library in 1915.
- Courtyard: a peaceful and pretty Italianate resting place sits between the historic McKim Building and the modern Johnson Building. A fountain in the center spurts sparkling water amid meticulously cared for greenery. A lovely place to read, utilize the free wi-fi, or gaze at the beautiful architecture
- Exhibits: The library exhibits loot from amongst its immense collection. My favorite was John Adams Unbound, and I look forward to the current show: Cool + Collected: Treasures of the BPL http://www.bpl.org/news/collected.htm
- Online Gem: if you appreciate history or just think old movies are cute, check out these cute short films of Boston loooong ago. Boston at the Movies http://www.bpl.org/online/bostonmovies.htm
Bonus: Boston residents can borrow passes from the library for free or reduced cost entry to many Boston attractions.
The places, restrictions and number of passes vary at different branches, but most offer passes to the Zoo, Aquarium, Museum of Fine Arts, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, as well as the JFK Library, Wheelock Family Theater and the Children's Museum.
Whenever you go, and for whatever reason - maybe you simply want a book - just take this bit of advice I tell everyone passing through Boston : Look Up! Besides being on the lookout for pigeons and, well, you know - much of Boston's beauty is in the wonderfully ornate and interesting buildings. This is true of the BPL inside and out- some awesome art is on the ceiling!
(btw, wax hand made it home, on the bus, and has proven to be a great place to drop unused hairbands.)
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