Boston Guide
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Ü >ÌÜ >ÌÊ ÌÌÊ ``Ê UUÊ Ü iÀiÜ iÀ iÊ ÌÌÊ }}Ê UUÊ Ü >ÌÜ >ÌÊ ÌÌÊ Ãii September 7–20, 2009 INSIDERSINSIDERS’ GUIDEto BOSTON INCLUDING: -} ÌÃii} / i ÃÌ ÃÌ >` Ì i 9Õ ½Ì i} LÀ ` Àii` /À> Ü Õ`ià E >«Ã NEW WEB bostonguide.com now iPhone and Windows® smartphone compatible! Johanna Baruch G:8:EI>DC L>I= I=: 6GI>HI H:E EB 6GI :M=>7>I H:E ID D8I oyster perpetual gmt-master ii CJB>CDJH D>A DC E6C:A 60" M 44" European Fine Arts Furnishings, Murano Glass, Sculptures, Paintings, Leather, Chess Sets, Capodimonte Porcelain OFFICIALROLEXJEWELER ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL AND GMT-MASTER II ARE TRADEMARKS. H:K:CIN C>C: C:L7JGN HIG::I s 7DHIDC B6HH68=JH:IIH telephone s LLL <6AA:G>6;ADG:CI>6 8DB 6 91, " , 9 "/" */ *** -/ 1 * ,* /" 9 *" ,"9 ,/ , **"/ 8 - *1- 1 / 1 E , , , - "/" contents COVER STORY 10 The Boston You Don’t Know Everything you didn’t know you wanted to know about the Hub DEPARTMENTS 8 hubbub 54 around the hub Cambridge Carnival 54 CURRENT EVENTS 62 ON EXHIBIT 18 calendar of events 66 SHOPPING 73 NIGHTLIFE 20 exploring boston 76 DINING 20 SIGHTSEEING 31 FREEDOM TRAIL 33 NEIGHBORHOODS 47 MAPS WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE: The seemingly mis- named Harvard Bridge spans the ``ÊÌ iÊ*iÀviVÌÊ >` Ì i *iÀviVÌ >` Charles River, connecting the Back Bay with the campus of the ÜÜÜ° Àii°V Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Refer to story, page 10. PHOTOBY ,58,58"/.$'2%%. "/.$ '2%%. C HRISTOPHER W EIGL *%7%,29 7!4#(%3 ')&43 s 3).#% on the cover: {£È ÞÃÌ -ÌÀiiÌ "-/" ȣǮ ÓÈÈ°{Ç{Ç A statue of famed patriot Paul Revere stands along the * ,* // 1 , ,/ , 8 - *1- 1 / ,,9 "/, >V , , - "/" **"/ >Þ LiÌÜii À}Ì >` iÀiiÞ -ÌÀiiÌ® Freedom Trail near the Old North Church in the North End. * 9 *, 6 ," ,/" " , " " **"/ , ___ BOSTONGUIDE.COM 5 The Official Guide to BOSTON www.bostonguide.com September 7–20, 2009 Volume 59 • Number 8 Tim Montgomery • PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Josh B. Wardrop • EDITOR Scott Roberto • ART DIRECTOR Sharon Hudak Miller • PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Kate Fraiman, Della Huff, Christopher Weigl • CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Kristen Berke, Amelia Mason, Emma Snider • EDITORIAL INTERNS Jacolyn Ann Firestone • VICE PRESIDENT, ADVERTISING Nancy O’Rourke • ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Rita A. Fucillo • DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Nicole Moy, Laura A. Norton • SALES AND MARKETING INTERNS Paul Hurst • NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES HURST & ASSOCIATES, INC. 800-397-8908 • [email protected] Peter Ng • INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER Melissa J. O’Reilly • BUSINESS MANAGER Tyler J. Montgomery • OPERATIONS MANAGER Jerome Rosenfeld • CHAIRMAN EMERITUS PANORAMA is published bi-weekly by New Venture Media Group LLC. Editorial and advertising offices at 332 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210. Telephone (617) 423-3400. Printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission of the publisher. PANORAMA is a member of the Massachusetts Lodging Association, The Back Bay Association, The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, The Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Boston Concierge Association, the Harvard Square Business Association, the Newbury Street League, the South End Business Alliance, the North End Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Crossing Association. a magazine affiliate ___ ___ 6 PANORAMA BOSTONGUIDE.COM 7 HUB BUBby Josh B. Wardrop The shopping. The dining. The best of it all. Dining Options Viva la Carnival! 27 Under One Roof! hen the average person thinks of the city of Cambridge, the things that commonly Wcome to mind are the Ivy League education found at Harvard University, the cutting- edge scientific breakthroughs achieved at MIT and a population heavily slanted toward the liberal side of politics. Rarely is this scholarly little city across the river confused with, say, a Caribbean paradise. Begin your Boston experience at New England’s However, each year Cambridge plays host to one of the area’s most vibrant celebrations number one shopping and dining destination. of Caribbean culture, the much-anticipated Cambridge Carnival. This year, the 17th annual Stop by the Customer Service Desk to receive your event is set to take place on September 13—a change from the carnival’s usual late-August FREE Shopping Pass, good for discounts at over date—and promises to enthrall audiences with its usual mixture of music, dance, food and 45 shops and restaurants, including a free cup of crafts celebrating Afro-Caribbean life. award winning New England clam chowder and Since the first Cambridge Carnival in 1992—a modest street fair at University Park—the event has grown into one of New England’s largest outdoor multicultural festivals, eventu- discounted admission to Boston’s only sky-high ally finding a home in Kendall Square. Dating back to the 1600s, the Carnival event has tra- observation deck. ditionally been a way for African cultures worldwide to celebrate their heritage, and that’s destination extraordinary. the case in Cambridge with this fete that combines steel pan drummers, food and craft ven- dors and other activities with the day’s centerpiece—a grand street masquerade parade that covers 1.3 miles and features throngs of performers in elaborate costumes that bring Back Bay |1.800.SHOP.PRU |www.prudentialcenter.com the nations of Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti and many others to life in an explosion of color and sound. Refer to listing, page 59. ___ Boston Duck Tours | Haru | Vineyard Vines | Sephora | Legal Sea Foods 8 PANORAMA by Josh B. Wardrop and Amelia Mason F YOU’VE BEEN TO BOSTON BEFORE, OR EVEN IF YOU’RE A NEWCOMER who’s done his or her research—Fodor’s Guide, Frommer’s or (ahem) the fine publication you’re holding right now—you’ve probably worked out the basics Iof Boston by now: The Freedom Trail, superb Italian food in The North End, shopping on Newbury Street, Fenway Park and the “Green Monster.” But beyond the popular attractions that our city has to offer, Boston is also a city rife with oddball history, hidden curiosities and quirky insider stories that you can’t hear just anywhere. That’s why Panorama wants to take the opportunity to answer the head-scratchers that you might ask yourself as you explore the Hub—which leads perfectly into our first question… 1. WHAT’S ALL THIS “HUB” STUFF? and the empty space where the Tea Party Ship I suppose most of us regard the city we live in & Museum is supposed to be. to be the center of the universe, but Boston’s From 1973–2001, the original Tea Party taken it to a new level. In 1858, Cambridge Museum and a replica of the Brig Beaver (one native Oliver Wendell Holmes described the of the original ships raided in 1773) could be Massachusetts State House as “the hub of the found in the Channel. Then, the building caught solar system.” Over time, this nickname stuck, fire in 2001 and was closed for repairs. During and evolved into the even grander “Hub of the the closure, an expansion for the museum was Universe” as a description of Boston’s place in planned, with renovations of the Brig Beaver creation. Local retail giant Filene’s even erect- and the construction of replicas of the other ed a plaque outside its flagship store at the two ships involved in the incident, the corner of Washington and Summer streets, Dartmouth and the declaring that particular spot to be the actual, Eleanor, beginning in A MONUMENTAL MYSTERY: geographical center of the universe. (To our 2004. Then, in 2007, the Who is that masked man (oppo- site)? The plaque may say John knowledge, neither Carl Sagan nor Stephen still-damaged museum Harvard, but the real story is a bit Hawking was consulted on this.) Sadly, the site caught fire again more involved (refer to page 12). plaque is today covered by a storage facility. during renovations to These days, our local delusion of grandeur is the bridge. After that, the existing structure mostly restrained to newspaper and maga- could no longer be salvaged, and in 2008, the zine articles as a shorthand way of referring whole thing was demolished. According to the to Boston (you’ve gotta admit, it sounds a lot latest report from Historic Tours of Americas, cooler than Beantown). owners and operators of the venue, a new Museum complete with all three ships is now 2. WHERE’S THE (TEA) PARTY AT? scheduled to open in the summer of 2010. The Boston Tea Party was a formative event not only in our city’s history, but our nation’s 3. SO, WHAT’S WITH THE LIGHTS history as well, making the site of the famed ON THE HANCOCK BUILDING? bit of rebellion a popular attraction for visi- Let’s say you’re in the Back Bay for a fun tors when they come to Boston. That’s why evening on the town, but you forgot to check it’s so sad to watch bemused and bewildered the weather report before heading out. Sure, tourists stand on the Congress Street Bridge you could go to weather.com on your iPhone or overlooking Fort Point Channel, looking back Blackberry, or you could take the approach and forth between the map in their hands that Bostonians have turned to through the ___ OPPOSITEPHOTOBY A LLIE F E LT BOSTONGUIDE.COM 11 7. WHO’S years: find the Old John Hancock Building his library to it. And Lie #3? The statue isn’t (a.k.a. the Berkeley Building, not to be con- even of John Harvard—no authentic portraits fused with the modern, 60-story John of the man himself existed when sculptor THAT Hancock Tower on nearby Clarendon Street) Daniel Chester French was commissioned to and look up.