Grape Island Alarm Article in Patriot Ledger

An article I wrote on the Grape Island Alarm appears in this weekend's edition of The Patriot Ledger. The Grape Island Alarm was a relatively unknown skirmish between the British and patriots during the Revolutionary War that took place on one of the Boston Harbor Islands. Click here to read the article. More of the letters of Abigail and John Adams referenced in the article appear in Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands.

Mount Auburn Cemetery Article in AAA Horizons

Mount Auburn Cemetery is one of my favorite places to visit around Boston. The Garden of Graves is filled with such history and beauty. And just a few weeks ago a new Visitors Center opened in the cemetery's Story Chapel, just inside the main gate. The Visitors Center includes interpretive displays on the creation, history, and operation of the cemetery and an introductory video. An article I wrote on Mount Auburn Cemetery appears in the May 2008 issue of AAA Horizons, the monthly periodical sent to members of AAA Southern New England. Here is a link to the article.

Boston's Top Buildings

Architects from around the country are descending upon Boston today for the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects. (No word on whether Art Vandelay will be in attendance.) As part of the coverage of the convention, Architectural Record magazine released a list of Boston's Top 10 buildings. The magazine's top 10 are

1. Harrison Gray Otis House
2. Massachusetts State House
3. Trinity Church
4. Boston Public Library
5. Baker House
6. Kresge Auditorium
7. Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
8. Christian Science Center
9. John Hancock Tower
10. Institute of Contemporary Art

I certainly can't argue with the State House, Trinity Church, the BPL (not crazy about the newer part of the building designed by Philip Johnson), and the John Hancock Tower. (And possibly the Christian Science Center.) The Hancock is probably one of my favorite skyscrapers. Even though its design is sleek and relatively simple, it's still very dynamic depending upon the weather and the angle at which you view it. I would have had any of these buildings rated at the top rather than the Harrison Gray Otis House.

The rest of the buildings wouldn't have been on my top 10. I'm reserving judgement on the ICA for now to see how it fits in with the rest of the South Boston Waterfront when it's developed. The ICA is one of those buildings I think looks better lit up at night rather than in the plain light of day, and from some of the sightlines available from the undeveloped land around the museum I don't find the ICA too captivating.

What other buildings would have made my list? Custom House, Old City Hall, Boston Athenaeum, and Boston Light (if Boston Light could be considered a building).

Understandably, Architectural Record didn't name the city's worst buildings. I would have to give the nod to the Lindemann Mental Health Center on Staniford Street. This brutalist architecture is really depressing, particularly when it rains. An example of form follows function? I guess I just don't like brutalism because City Hall and the New England Aquarium don't do anything for me. And why is the harbor view from the nearby Harbor Towers one of the best in Boston? Because it doesn't include the Harbor Towers.

The Gilded Grasshopper Edges Jiminy Cricket

ForbesTraveler.com has come out with a ranking of America's 25 most-visited tourist sites, and the list is pretty interesting. (For example, more people visit the Delaware Water Gap than the Grand Canyon? Who knew?)

One of the surprises to me was that Faneuil Hall Marketplace was fourth on the list--ahead of Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim. According to ForbesTraveler.com, 20 million people visited Faneuil Hall Marketplace last year, while 17.1 million visited the Magic Kingdom and 14.9 million people visited Disneyland. Now before we go thinking that Peter Faneuil's gift to Boston holds a greater place in the heart of Americans than Cinderella's castle and the country's most beloved rodent, most of the visitors to Faneuil Hall Marketplace undoubtedly are hitting the stores and eateries of Quincy Market and skipping a visit to the Cradle of Liberty--Faneuil Hall itself. (And I think the Disney World number may be undercounted because the story just mentions the Magic Kingdom and not the other theme parks at Disney World.) Still, we can delude ourselves in thinking that Faneuil Hall's gilded grasshopper is more of a draw than Jiminy Cricket.

The top 10 most-visited sites in America are:
1. Times Square
2. Las Vegas Strip
3. Washington, DC Mall and Monuments
4. Faneuil Hall Marketplace
5. Disney Magic Kingdom
6. Disneyland
7. Fisherman's Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco)
8. Niagara Falls
9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
10. Chicago Navy Pier

Looking at the list, I realize I've been pretty fortunate to have been to each one of these places. Guess I have to get cracking to visit the Delaware Water Gap.

New England Travel Article on Minor League Baseball

Check out the current issue of New England Travel magazine for an article I wrote on a minor league baseball road trip across New England. With tickets to Red Sox games at such a premium--both in terms of supply and price--the only affordable way to catch a game is head down to the farm. Luckily, there are three affiliates of the Red Sox within easy driving distance of Boston. The article maps out a good old-fashioned road trip to see the Pawtucket Red Sox, Lowell Spinners, and Portland Sea Dogs.

The current issue of New England Travel was piggybacked along with the May issue of Boston magazine to home subscribers and can also be found on newsstands. There's a picture of me on the field in Lowell that runs with the article. It's on the web site and also fills about three-quarters of a page in the magazine.

Abigail Adams Cairn

There is a scene in the second part of the recently concluded HBO miniseries John Adams where Abigail and the Adams children are awakened from their sleep in the early morning by the thunder of British cannon fire during the Battle of Bunker Hill. In the early morning dusk, Abigail leads John Quincy and Charles up a nearby hill from their homestead where they see in plain sight the British ships bombarding the patriots and Charlestown aflame.

That hill is Penns Hill in present-day Quincy, and it is located about a half mile from the two saltbox houses owned by the family in June 1775. Those houses still stand and are part of Adams National Historical Park. And atop Penns Hill is the Abigail Adams Cairn, a stone monument that marks the spot where Abigail and the young future president watched the burning of Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill. A plaque on the cairn reads: "From this spot, with her son, John Quincy Adams, then a boy of seven by her side, Abigail Adams watched the smoke of burning Charlestown, while listening to the guns of Bunker Hill. Saturday, 17 June, 1775." The marker was dedicated by the Society of the Daughters of the Revolution on June 17, 1896.

The Adams birthplaces are now located at the corner of a busy intersection on a main road filled with businesses and with a Dunkin Donuts right down the road, and suburban Quincy has now filled the land around Penns Hill. The cairn is located right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and with the tall trees and houses that fill the landscape today, it's no longer possible to spy Bunker Hill.

The Abigail Adams Cairn is located on Viden Road in Quincy, just off Franklin Street.

Top Ten Things to Do on the Boston Harbor Islands

The ferry service to the Boston Harbor Islands will begin again for 2008 on Saturday, May 3. This urban oasis provides an endless number of recreational opportunities, historical sites, and natural wonders just minutes away from downtown. While each island offers its own unique opportunity for discovery, the following highlights are the very best things to do and see on your island adventures:

1. Scale to the top of Boston Light. Take a guided tour of the oldest light station in the country and climb the seventy-six spiral steps and two short ladders to come face-to-face with the lighthouse’s giant Fresnel lens.

2. Take a dip. Grab your bathing suit, towel, and suntan lotion and head to the sand and surf at Spectacle Island’s new lifeguarded beach.

3. Wander Fort Warren’s dark passages. Explore the spooky tunnels of this historic fort that once held Confederate prisoners during the Civil War.

4. Pitch a tent. Camp out on the islands and catch unforgettable sunrises and sunsets in the shadows of the city skyline. Spend the night on Grape Island for the most bucolic setting.

5. Grab a paddle. Beginning kayakers can spend the afternoon exploring the Hingham Harbor islands, while experienced kayakers can brave the outer harbor to visit the Brewsters.

6. See Boston in a new light. The Boston skyline looks spectacular from the ferry and the islands, but there’s no better view of the city and harbor than from Spectacle Island’s north drumlin.

7. Scale Thompson Island’s ropes and climbing walls. Participate in one of Outward Bound’s programs and challenge your limitations by conquering the ropes course and climbing towers.

8. Pack a lunch. There are a plethora of fantastic spots to picnic on the Boston Harbor Islands, but the picnic areas on Bumpkin and Great Brewster Islands offer unparalleled vistas.

9. Brush up on your fish tales. Fish populations are rebounding along with the harbor’s water quality. Striped bass, bluefish, flounder, and cod are among the fish that are biting.

10. Follow your feathered friends. Grab a pair of binoculars and try to spot some of the more than 100 species of birds that frequent the Boston Harbor Islands.

For more information on the Boston Harbor Islands, pick up a copy of my new book, Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands, published by Union Park Press. It will be available in bookstores in June and is available for preorder from Amazon and BN.com.