Boston Tips

Globe Corner Bookstore

The Globe Corner Bookstore added another page to its illustrious history with its re-opening in May, 2006 at its new location at 90 Mount Auburn Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

The Globe was established in 1829 as the Old Corner Bookstore at the corner of Washington and School Street where it housed the famed Ticknor and Fields publishing company. The company added "Globe" to its name when it began specializing in travel books. The store closed its downtown location in 1997 when it was driven out by high rents and declining in-town economic conditions.

In the new store, the Globe lives up to its reputation one of the best travel bookstores in North America. They stock a wide range of books and maps for the traveler - guides and literature as well as historic, topographic, road and hiking maps.

The Globe also sponsors the Adventure Travel Lecture Series, most of which are held at First Parish Church near Harvard Square. The lectures are free but reservations are recommended because these events fill up fast. The Globe is open daily and well worth a quick trip on the Red Line to get there. Telephone: 617-497-6277.

The James Blake House

The oldest house on record in Boston is the James Blake house in the Dorchester section of the city. Blake built the house, located at 735 Columbia Road, in about 1648. He later became a prominent Bostonian, serving at various times as selectman, deputy and constable.

The Blake house is of particular significance in the history of American architecture, and is often studied by architecture students because it is believed to be the only house in the United States built using a distinct country framing technique common in West England. The house is two stories with a central chimney, a gable roof and it has a heavy timber frame.

The Blake House is also an excellent candidate for your next trivia showdown - it is thought to be the first American house ever moved from its original site in order to rescue it from demolition. The move took place in 1895 and was the first major project taken on by the newly-formed Dorchester Historical Society.

Hub of the Universe

Boston's claim to fame as “The Hub of the Universe” was the work of none other than Oliver Wendall Holmes. In 1858, Holmes referred to the Massachusetts State House Building as the “Hub of the Solar System”. Bostonians liked the sound of that so the nickname, with minor modifications, stuck. When the now defunct Filenes built their flagship store at the corner of Washington and Summer Streets, a fancy bronze marker was installed to forever give credence to the name.

"Make Way for Ducklings" Sculpture in Boston Public Garden

Robert McCloskey's book “Make Way for Ducklings” is immortalized in the Public Garden at Boston Common in the famous bronze statues of Mrs. Mallard and her young'uns. The book won the Caldecott Medal when it was written in 1941 and it has remained hugely popular ever since. “Ducklings” has never gone out of print and has sold more than two million copies. It tells the story of a pair of ducks looking for a safe place to raise their family, away from the foxes and turtles that so worry Mrs. Mallard. They like everything about the Public Garden except for the lack of food – a dilemma soon solved by the people drifting by on the famed Swan Boats who tossed them peanuts and by a kindly policeman. The book hits other familiar Boston sites – such as the Charles River, Beacon Hill, and Louisville Square and the Public Garden is a great place to take the family. To illustrate the book, McCloskey used live ducklings as models and their descendants still grace the Garden today. The sculpture was done by Nancy Schon and erected in 1987. It is set in cobblestones and spans 35 feet. The kids will love memorizing the names of the much-loved ducklings: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack and Quack.

Charlie on the MTA

Remember “Charlie on the MTA”? It was a 1959 song that spent a long time at the top of the charts and it was Boston's transit system that did poor Charlie in. The song was written by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes in 1948 as part of Boston politician Walter O'Brien's campaign for mayor of the city. Back in those days, ticket price hikes were accomplished by means of a complicated exit fare so the turnstiles would not have to be changed every time the price went up. O'Brien wanted to simplify the system and get rid of the exit fares. The song had Charlie boarding the train at Kendall Square station and changing for Jamaica Plain. Then, for want of a nickel for the dreaded exit fare, Charlie was stuck on board. Every day, his wife would pop up at Scollay Square station (now the Government Center stop) to toss Charlie a sandwich “as the train went rumbling through”. Listeners never quite understood why she didn't just hand him a nickel instead of a sandwich but then there would be no song. Sung by the Kingston Trio, the MTA song became a familiar piece of American folk music and still enjoys some popularity today. Especially in Boston. When the Mass Transit Authority instituted an automatic card system, they called it the “Charlie Card”. And where's Charlie today? Still on board, some say...”He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston – he's the man who never returned.” Poor ole Charlie.