The Third Decade

Tea at the Shirley-Eustis House

Despite the misty and rainy weather yesterday, Discover Roxbury's first afternoon tea at the Shirley-Eustis House was fantastic. Everyone was dressed elegantly, with ladies in their hats, and Chef Nadine Nelson presented a creative array of food items that included a refreshing berry-infused drink, chocolate chip and berry muffins, blueberry bundt cake, roasted turkey breast finger sandwiches with an herb-strawberry cream cheese spread, beef satay with chipotle sauce, and berry trifle with whipped cream made fresh at the table, among other things. By the time the event ended, everyone left with wide smiles on their faces and many made it a point to say that they would return with friends if another tea was offered. Needless to say, we're thinking of offering another in the auturn. Stay tuned.

Note: 3D works for Discover Roxbury.

Ugliest Building in the World?

We can't have it all. Shortly after being voted America's favorite city in 2008 by readers of Travel and Leisure, Boston has now been chosen by VirtualTourist.com as having one of the ugliest buildings in the world (specifically, City Hall). The article I read on Yahoo didn't specify whether the list was in order of ugliness, but our City Hall is listed as number one! Granted, it ain't pretty. But, is that really one of the ugliest buildings in the world? The world is a big place with lots of bad architecture. I can't believe City Hall made it to the top 10. Any word from the mayor on this?

A funny thing happened on the way to Roxbury...

About 7 months ago - when I first started working at Discover Roxbury - I drafted a little flyer which played around with the average person's conception of local geography and points of interest. The idea was to illustrate that there are worthwhile activities and experiences on the other side of Mass Ave.

Well, after months of sharing ideas and multiple discussions with a variety of people, a banner was finally developed to hang on the side of trolley tours. I can't remember how many revisions and debates there were about each image, the color scheme, and the overall layout. But, the point is that we developed something we all really liked. Unfortunately, last Saturday was the first and only time we were able to use it. I wasn't on the tour when the following happened, but this is what I was told:

Our most reliable trolley driver tied the banner to the side of trolley just before leaving Harvard Square with a private tour. The trolley traveled down Mass Ave and headed to Boston over the Mass Ave bridge. Just before crossing completely, one of the passengers announced that the banner blew off. The driver stopped, ran back over part of the bridge to look for the banner, but apparently it had blown off the bridge and into the Charles River. 

It figures that the one point during which they were crossing water it would blow off! My Executive Director said it was a beautiful banner, but I didn't even get a chance to see it. On the bright side, at least we had the opportunity to display it for people in Cambridge. 

Anyway, if any of you rowers, sailors, or river cleaners come across it, please contact us. As you can see, our phone number and website are on the banner. Thanks!

Brilliant Idea

On many occasions I've thought that Boston's landmarks could use more lighting at night. We don't have to turn into Vegas or NYC, but a little more light at night would be nice. Today's article in the Globe brings a welcome breath of fresh air to an otherwise stuffy approach the city takes toward its landmarks. I would have liked a slightly different approach to the choice of buildings, though. Instead of focusing on two or three large landmarks spread across downtown, I think there'd be more visual impact by focusing on smaller buildings clustered closer together. For example, lighting up Copley Square - with a focus on some/better lighting for Trinity Church, Old South Meeting House, and the Boston Public Library - would be where I'd start. That area has plenty of interesting architectural detail and a steady stream of people well into the night. Still, if the buildings chosen for the initial project help move city officials to expand the project to other areas later, I won't argue with the results.

Art in the Park

Just when I thought I had seen everything around my neighborhood, I ran across something new. While the boyfriend and I were walking around and enjoying the day, he pointed out these five faux manhole covers in the middle of Cedar Square Park. I was instantly impressed and surprised that no one had ever mentioned them before. It's great that there's art in every little corner of the city. Too bad there isn't a centralized place where people can find out about them easily.

Gratitude

This is just a quick note to thank UniversalHub and Bostonist for linking to the draft of my poster on Saturday and Monday. I didn't expect it to get much notice since it's not a photo, but I'm glad you saw fit to blog about it. I was worried that the boss would be a little upset about the draft being referenced and read before it was revised, but she was actually pleased to see it get noticed. If it pleases the boss, it pleases me. So again, thanks! If anything, now I feel pressure to take a crash course in graphic design.

Anyway, I am now no longer unemployed and am loving my new job. It's great to be involved at a reasonably influential level with Discover Roxbury and I'm excited to help it grow and become more visible. Naturally, there will be more fliers as the spring and summer programs are unveiled and eventually that salmon-colored website will be modernized. Part of the reason I love the job is that I get to work from home - at least until another program in the office building moves out and frees up some space. For the moment it's a little difficult to separate work life and home life, but the commute is mad easy so I've got no reasons to complain. Then again, the office is only a 10 minute walk from home down a quiet residential street, so it's not like "going to work" will be a real burden anyway.

One last bit of promotion before ending: there's a Roxbury women's history tour coming up on Saturday, April 5, which is co-sponsored by the Boston Women's Heritage Trail. If interested, download a copy of the informational flier here. OK, so that's it for using my personal blog for work. Look forward to seeing the Discover Roxbury website get updated this spring and finding information about events there.

Exhibition: Urban Fragments

I'm going to take this moment for a little self-promotion.

My first solo exhibition of photography will be at The Savant Project in February. I'll have work on display for the whole month, but the opening reception is on Friday, February 1st, 5pm-7:30pm. If you're in the area, feel free to drop by.

Support local artists and independent businesses.

Ending the Isolation

After a brief, self-imposed seclusion, I'm free again to enjoy the outside world. For the past few weeks I've either been slammed with work or doing freelance web design for ACT Roxbury and Roxbury Open Studios. For the most part I'm done with those projects, and I hope their redesigned sites will be big draws.

One more personal plug: come visit me - and 150 other visual artists - at Roxbury Open Studios on October 13-14. I've met lots of the other artists and seen a lot of the submissions. This looks like it's going to be the biggest and best show yet.

Boston Underwater?

I should finish packing and uploading music to my iPod, but first I wanted to point out this Diesel ad seen on Left Brain. Is that the Hancock tower just to the left of the model's arm?

The New ICA

The new ICA building is a beautiful new addition to Boston and the waterfront. After reading articles in the Globe and New York Times I was excited to see the museum with my own eyes. Unfortunately, the line to enter the museum was 2 hours long, so my boyfriend and I just decided to walk around the museum to take in the architecture. From the outside, the building is smaller than I expected it to be. But, the lighting and design make it shine brigher than just about anything else in the city. Considering the building's current isolation with parking lots on 3 sides and water on the fourth, the solid design and bright lighting make the museum a modern day beacon for art enthusiasts and the curious. Given the large amount of open space around the museum and in the Seaport District generally, I hope architects and designers make an effort to place more bold and inspiring architecture in the area. Since the waterfront neighborhood is generally devoid of historically significant buildings, it's time Boston step up to the modernist plate and give itself an area for playful designs. Hopefully the ICA is the first step in that direction.