what to do U wherewher e to go U what to see July 13–26, 2009 Boston FOR KIDS INCLUDING: New England Aquarium Boston Children’s Museum Museum of Science NEW WEB bostonguide.com now iPhone and Windows® smartphone compatible! oyster perpetual gmt-master ii The moon landing 40th anniversary. See how it Media Sponsors: OFFICIALROLEXJEWELER JFK ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL AND GMT-MASTER II ARE TRADEMARKS. began at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. Columbia Point, Boston. jfklibrary.org StunningCollection of Murano Glass N_Xc\ NXkZ_ E\n <e^cXe[ 8hlXi`ld J`dfej @D8O K_\Xki\ Pfli e\ok Furnishings, Murano Glass, Sculptures, Paintings, X[m\ekli\ Tuscan Leather, Chess Sets, Capodimonte Porcelain Central Wharf, Boston, MA www.neaq.org | 617-973-5206 H:K:CIN C>C: C:L7JGN HIG::I s 7DHIDC B6HH68=JH:IIH XnX`kj telephone s LLL <6AA:G>6;ADG:CI>6 8DB DAVID YURMAN JOHN HARDY MIKIMOTO PATEK PHILIPPE STEUBEN PANERAI TOBY POMEROY CARTIER IPPOLITA ALEX SEPKUS BUCCELLAITI BAUME & MERCIER HERMES MIKIMOTO contents l Jew icia e ff le O r COVER STORY 14 Boston for Kids The Hub’s top spots for the younger set DEPARTMENTS 10 hubbub Sand Sculpting Festival and great museum deals 18 calendar of events 20 exploring boston 20 SIGHTSEEING 30 FREEDOM TRAIL 32 NEIGHBORHOODS 47 MAPS 54 around the hub 54 CURRENT EVENTS 62 ON EXHIBIT 67 SHOPPING 73 NIGHTLIFE 76 DINING on the cover: JUMPING FOR JOY: Kelly and Patrick of Model Kelly and Patrick enjoy the Club Inc. take a break in interactive dance floor in the front of a colorful display Boston Children’s Museum’s during their day of fun at the Kid Power exhibit area. Refer to story, page 14. Boston Children’s Museum. PHOTOBY Photo: Jonathan Daisy J O N AT H A N D AISY PANERAI TTAG HEUER CARTIER ALEX SEPKUS BUCCELLAITI HARRY KOTLAR HEREND HERMES MIKIMOTO IPPOLITA PENNY PREVILLE ROBERTO COIN MARCO BICEGO IPPOLITA HEREND ___ BOSTONGUIDE.COM 7 The Official Guide to BOSTON www.bostonguide.com July 13–26, 2009 Volume 59 • Number 4 Tim Montgomery • PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Josh B. Wardrop • EDITOR Scott Roberto • ART DIRECTOR Sharon Hudak Miller • PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Jonathan Daisy, 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, Ian Randall • 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 ___ ___ 8 BOSTONGUIDE.COM BOSTONGUIDE.COM 9 HUB BUBby Josh B. Wardrop 4HE SHOPPING 4HE DINING 4HE BEST OF IT ALL $INING /PTIONS 5NDER /NE 2OOF Enter Sandmen (And Women) f you’ve ever spent the better part of a lazy summer’s day at the beach engaged in the Ipainstaking art of sandcastle building, you know the sense of pride that comes from creat- ing your own mighty sand fortress that’s impervious to everything but a good strong ocean "EGIN YOUR "OSTON EXPERIENCE AT .EW %NGLANDS wave. Take that sense of accomplishment and magnify it by about a million and you’ll have NUMBER ONE SHOPPING AND DINING DESTINATION an idea what it feels like to claim the bragging rights that come from competing in the 3TOP BY THE #USTOMER 3ERVICE $ESK TO RECEIVE YOUR annual New England Sand Sculpting Festival, taking place July 15–19 at Revere Beach, &2%% 3HOPPING 0ASS GOOD FOR DISCOUNTS AT OVER just north of Boston. SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS INCLUDING A FREE CUP OF Master sand artists from all over the world travel to the Massachusetts seaside every year to build some of the most amazingly detailed, intricate and just plain massive sand AWARD WINNING .EW %NGLAND CLAM CHOWDER AND sculptures you’ll ever see—all from nothing more than sand and water. Enormous quanti- DISCOUNTED ADMISSION TO "OSTONS ONLY SKY HIGH ties of sand were delivered to the beach on July 10 from Hudson, N.H., with each sculptor OBSERVATION DECK getting 10 tons to work with. Passersby get to watch these silicon artisans mold anything and everything from rollercoasters to cartoon characters before the Festival itself (complete DESTINATION EXTRAORDINARY with food vendors, games and fireworks) kicks into high gear. That’s when visitors get their chance to view the award-winners and cast their vote for the People’s Choice. For the hard- "ACK"AY\3(/0025\WWWPRUDENTIALCENTERCOM working sand sculptors, this may be no day at the beach, but for festival attendees it’s a truly breathtaking sight. Refer to listing, page 60. ___ "OSTON $UCK 4OURS \ (ARU \ 6INEYARD 6INES \ 3EPHORA \ ,EGAL 3EA &OODS 10 BOSTONGUIDE.COM ABOVEPHOTOBY H EIDI M OESINGER hubbub (cont. from page 10) Great Bargains Exhibited at Local Museums t’s hard to put a price tag exhibits for families of all Finally, there’s no dis- Ion the value that comes ages is lowered to just $1. count like a 100% discount, from viewing great works Refer to listing, page 62, and that’s what’s offered at of art and being exposed to and story, page 14, for the Museum of Fine Arts cultural and educational more information. (pictured above) on July 19 enrichment. However, the On July 16 from 5–8 and the Isabella Stewart vast majority of Boston’s p.m., the Harvard Museum Gardner Museum on July world-class museums are of Natural History hosts one 23. The MFA hosts a Free forced to do just that in of its monthly Summer Community Day from 10 order to make ends meet. Nights at the Museum, in a.m.–4:45 p.m., offering visi- That doesn’t mean, though, which the admission price tors free general admission that there aren’t some great is reduced by half (to $4.50 to the exhibition halls, while opportunities out there this for adults, $3.50 for seniors the Gardner Museum pres- month to experience some and students, and $3 for ents a “Pleasure Gardens” of our region’s top muse- children ages 3–18). Gallery Neighborhood Night from ums for bargain prices— guides offer informal tours 5–8 p.m. Visitors can tour the and, in some cases, free. of the museum’s Glass Gardner’s beautiful, blos- Every Friday evening Flowers exhibit, and a spe- soming courtyard garden, from 5–9 p.m., the Boston cial talk dealing with one of plant seeds in pots to bring Children’s Museum teams HMNH’s many displays of home and make a musical up with Target stores to animal, vegetable and min- windchime while enjoying offer Family Night, in eral fossils is offered in the music from the Berklee which admission to its exhibit halls. Refer to list- Bluegrass Band. Refer to three floors of interactive ing, page 64. listings, pages 62 & 63. ___ ABOVEPHOTOBY LOU J ONES / 12 BOSTONGUIDE.COM COURTESYOF M USEUMOF F INE A RTS ,B OSTON OSTON ATTRACTS VISITORS BECAUSE OF ITS ABUNDANT HISTORY, great restaurants and nightlife and lovely classic architecture—none of which means much to children. For youngsters, vacations should be about fun, and fortunately, Boston is a city brimming with just that. Take Boston the heirs to your dominion to any of the 21 spots outlined below and watch their Bfaces come aglow with something other than the reflection from their iPod or PSP. EDU-TAINMENT was like at the outdoor historical museum The Boston Children’s Old Sturbridge Village (refer to for Kids Museum (refer to listing, page 62), an listing, page 28). institution devoted to stimulating young Sports history counts as history, too, and The Hub’s hottest people’s minds and creative sides through any New Englander can tell you we’ve got spots for tots (and hands-on exhibits of all kinds, is the Hub’s plenty of it in this region. That’s what makes premiere spot for young children. Highlights The Sports Museum at TD big kids, too!) include the three-story New Balance Climb; Garden (refer to listing, page 64) such a cool, by Josh B. Wardrop the Kid Power exhibit, boasting activity- must-see place for sports lovers of all ages. based stations like the Power Launch and The museum—spread out across two floors the Lightspace Dance Floor; the special of the arena—features murals of legendary PlaySpace for children 3 years old and Boston sports figures, as well as equipment younger; and the Art Studio, in which and uniforms belonging to legends like Larry children can explore their creativity Bird, Ted Williams and others. working with a variety of materials. Aspiring marine Though kids don’t always muster biologists will have a BUBBLING OVER: Kelly and up enthusiasm for school, Boston’s whale of a time at the Patrick of Model Club Inc.