Archive for the ‘Back Bay, Beacon Hill’ Category
July 22, 2008
I have an acquaintance who is very into a place called Upper Beacon Hill. Upon arriving in Boston a few years back, I just sort of assumed that this meant the top of the hill, but as I learned a short time later, it’s something else entirely.
A more geographically accurate name would be the East Slope, since the North and South slopes already use that style of appellation. But no—Upper Beacon Hill is what it’s called, though I think a pretty fair argument can be made that it might very well be a neighborhood unto itself.
Up until 1900 or so, Upper Beacon Hill was very much a part of the rest of the the Hill. But as successive waves of Irish and Italian immigrants crowded into Boston, the Beacon Hill Brahmins, who once lived right up to the edges of Scollay Square, crept back over the hillside, eventually landing in palatial homes on the South Slope and Louisburg Square.
Cambridge and Somerset Streets, on the other hand, became ever more a part of the vibrant, loud and just a little bit shady Scollay Square area, and we all know what happened to that. While some stately high rises from before the turn of the century remain, much of the neighborhood was raised and rebuilt, right along with Government Center and the West End.
The photo in the upper right is of Pemberton Square in 1885, care of the Boston Atheneum’s collection; here’s a view of Pemberton Square today. I wouldn’t say Upper Beacon Hill is any better or worse than the rest of the neighborhood, but you’d be hard pressed to argue that it’s not different.
Some properties, in and nearby:
21 Beacon St #8D
Upper Beacon Hill, MA 02108
0 Bed, 1 Bath
290 sq. ft.
$220,000
20 Beacon St #3
Upper Beacon Hill, MA 02108
3 Bed, 3 Bath
2,310 sq. ft.
$1,895,000
21 Bowdoin St #2C
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Bed, 1 Bath
619 sq. ft.
$379,000
Poetry Friday for Wine and Open Houses
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 18, 2008
The Back Bay summer air is fetid
They built on swamps—and now regret it.
But still, the weekend days are yearned for;
Clever residents outfox the fervor.
As heatwaves grow the more intense
They think not of things the heat prevents,
For they know what summer best allows is
To get soused, and look at open houses.
3 Gloucester St #5
Back Bay, MA 02115
0 Bed, 1 Bath
347 sq. ft.
$276,000
Open House, Sunday, July 20, 1:30pm-3:00pm
46 Comm Ave #10
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
788 sq. ft.
$615,000
Open House, Sunday, July 20, 12:00pm-2:00pm
103 Beacon St #1
Back Bay, MA
1 Bed, 1 Bath
845 sq. ft.
$590,000
Open House, Sunday, July 20, 12:30pm-2:30pm
A Summer Scene from Beacon Hill
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 17, 2008
While plenty of people around the city of Boston dread summer and its upsurge in violence, open windows and hot weather bring conflict of a different sort to Beacon Hill.
Let me recount an episode I witnessed last summer:
I was biking home, and as soon as I turned (illegally) from West Cedar onto Phillips, I heard a car horn. A few blocks up the hill, a moving van boxed in an SUV while a well dressed man leaned on the horn through the open driver’s side window.
Being the car-hating sort, I found it entertaining, but a young couple a few doors down was less entertained:
Young Woman: Hey, could you please stop honking your horn?
Irate Driver: No! Not until these guys move the stupid truck.
Young Man: If you don’t stop honking, we’re calling the police.
Irate Driver: Good, call the police! Then they can get these jerks to move their truck
Young Man: You’re ruining the quality of life for everyone else!
Irate Driver: No, [indicating movers] they’re ruining it!
Young Woman: No, they’re providing a valuable service and contributing to the economy, at the cost of five minutes of your time. You’re just being a jerk.
C’mon, where else are you gonna get banter like that outside your window? The 6th story of a condo tower on the Greenway? A sprawling ranch out in Sudbury? Heck, even in Back Bay, the streets are too wide for good old-fashioned hollering out the window.
Maybe, with the right crowd of people, you could create a similar scene in the North End, but there’d probably be a lot more shouting and less reasoning. And let’s face it, if you wanted that, you could just go on the internet.
Farmer’s Market Season
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 15, 2008
Since this time last year, the feds bailed out Bear Sterns, IndyMac collapsed, and it’s pretty much even-money on whether Lehman Brothers or Amy Winehouse will kick the bucket next. Don’t even get me started on Countrywide.
George Soros, who made a square billion predicting the collapse of the Pound Sterling in the early 1990s, said we’re looking at a catastrophic bear market. Even Martin Feldstein, the man behind the spend-now-earn-later-ethos of Reaganomics, predicted a fairly serious economic slide in the foreseeable future.
The government even stated it will bail out the two largest mortgage lenders in the history of the known universe, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, should the need arise. Oh, and to top it off, the Dow is down over 3,000 points since this time last year—that’s 23% for those of you playing at home.
So, how can it still cost $460 a month to park your car downtown? How is real estate in Back Bay still going for $750 a square foot? Is a somewhat debatable drop in high-end condo sales the worst this impending economic catastrophe has to offer the Hub?
Boston must have some sort of Simpsons Movie style-bubble protecting it from all this. That, or the inevitable credit-crunch shoe has yet to drop. Your call. Here are some Back Bay homes around that $750-per-square-foot mark:
239 Comm Ave #53
Back Bay, MA 02116
2 Beds, 2 Baths
1,215 sq. ft.
$865,000
$712/sq. ft.
231 Marlborough St
Back Bay, MA 02116
5 Beds, 4.5 Baths
5,552 sq. ft. (big!)
$4,400,000
$793/sq. ft.
166 Beacon St #4
Back Bay, MA 02116
2 Beds, 2.5 Baths
1,701 sq. ft.
$1,499,000
$881/sq. ft.
Open Houses: Make it a Roof Deck Sunday
Sweet Digs Boston Home
July 11, 2008
This time of year, there’s nothing quite like a roof deck. A cool evening breeze after a hot day, long views across a relatively flat city, a cold beverage, perhaps—there’s really not much else that can replicate the feeling. The fact that people seem not to use them all that much in this city kinda blows my mind.
While most any roof deck in the city pales in comparison to that one over in near Kenmore Square (y’know, with the complimentary $100 dollar food voucher?), there’s still something to be said for having some open space slapped on to the top of your building. Last week’s fireworks, for example, were stunning from the Beacon Hill parapets (at least until the all that pesky smoke got in the way).
So fight back against the legislators that would ban rooftop gatherings—go see some open houses with roof decks this weekend! They’re often reasonably priced, and offer by far the best way to unwind after a sweaty bike ride home or a jam-packed T ride.
234 Beacon St #5A
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
674 sq. ft.
$509,000
Open House, Sunday, June 13, 12:00pm-1:30pm
59 Phillips St #7
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Bed, 1 Bath
472 sq. ft.
$379,000
Open House, Sunday, June 13, 12:45pm-2:00pm
145 Pinckney St #111
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Bed, 1 Bath
660 sq. ft.
$450,000
Open House, Sunday, June 13, 12:00pm-1:00pm
The Newbury Street Starbucks: Where They Really Care
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 9, 2008
The Church Street Starbucks in Harvard Square made my enemies list today. Let me tell you how.
I should begin by saying I’m not all that big a fan of Starbucks in general. I’d much rather sit down to milk art on a latte flavored with homemade caramel sauce, and let the world drift by me as I sip at someplace like the divine L’Aroma Cafe.
But sometimes you’re in a hurry, or out of town, or mad at the world, and you want something you know will feel good, without the quirk and personal touches that make a local coffee shop great. And it’s only the best Starbuckses out there that give you that fast, friendly, efficient service that you need in those times.
My day job’s in Harvard Square. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great coffee shops there, too, but I was in a hurry and wanted something cold and caffeinated posthaste. So rather than walk all the way around the corner to Peet’s, I figured I’d head over the Church Street Starbucks for a Chai Frappuccino. When I got there, though, the place was packed.
No big deal, I thought, I’ll just wait in line. While I’m not the sort who’s above cheating the queue late-night at Daisy Buchanon’s, Starbucks’ service is fast enough that I’ll be in and out in a minute or two; besides, all these folks probably need refreshment as much as I do.
Thing was, the shop had about 4 different baristas taking orders, and plenty of other sunken-eyed coffee fiends just weren’t feeling as philosophical about their addictions as I was.
I was OK with the the confused looking elementary schooler who stumbled in front of me to buy a sandwich, but when the guy who’d already been served his iced-venti-mocha-whatever came back around to the counter with a pound of coffee to grind, I was getting miffed.
So when, after both people in front of me had engaged at the register, another barista came by and asked for the next “guest”, I stepped over to him and ordered. And he said “Ok,” in a psuedo-polite tone of voice, “but could you get back into line where you were so things don’t get all, like, mixed up?”
Faux pas, bro. First off, I’ve spent enough time working jobs like yours to know that “Are you sure you were the next person in line?” or “I’m sorry, I think someone else was ahead of you” is the proper way to address a line-jumping customer.
Second, I’m the guy who’s been standing here patiently while you’ve been serving whoever felt like barging up to the register. And thirdly, though I’ve got plenty of spit to waste showering you in colorful descriptives, you ain’t worth the time and there’s another Starbucks over at the Harvard Square Garage.
Though I doubt the Church Street Starbucks is suffering for lack of my $4.20, I think they deserve some online recognition for their poorly-run shop. I’ve seen crowds of the snootiest, most thoughtless Bostonians, in full-on shopping rampage mode, flood the Newbury Street Starbucks (between Dartmouth and Exeter) and the staff has shuffled them through, happy and caffeinated, with the efficiency of a Swiss watch.
Maybe it’s because those Newbury baristas know that certain Back Bay customers will make their lives living hell for five full minutes if an order is even slightly botched, but I like to think it’s because they care. The fact that I can’t tell proves this is a level of service you just can’t get at the Natick mall.
So here are some properties walking distance from what my well-traveled palate considers to be one of the finest Starbucks in the land:
160 Comm Ave #413
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Beds, 1 Bath
977 sq. ft.
$695,000
271 Dartmouth #5B
Back Bay, MA 02116
0 Beds, 1 Bath
521 sq. ft.
$325,000
201 Newbury St #506
Back Bay, MA 02116
2 Beds, 2.5 Bath
1,314 sq. ft.
$895,000
Boston Sweet Digs Home
The Price of Solitude? $700/square foot
July 7, 2008
One of the nice things about Beacon Hill is that a stroll around the block almost a unique experience, at least on this side of the Atlantic.
Never mind the layers of history or the architectural complexity; where else in the heart of an American city can you walk around the block and enjoy total reprieve from the sex-crazed, fuel-injected, weight-loss-or-triple your money back bombardment of consumerist culture?
Even in the most tucked away portions of Back Bay and the South End, there are tiny boutiques, just waiting to spring out at you—tastefully, of course, but their presence remains all the same.
Only a few spare corner stores, laundromats and dry cleaners serve to break the spell in Beacon Hill, and you’d be hard pressed to pick them out at a moment’s glance.
And then there’s the traffic. While parking might be a bear, the convoluted maze of narrow one-ways that passes for transportation infrastructure on the Hill all but eliminates the constant, squawking roar of motor vehicle traffic.
That’s not a quiet neighborhood; that’s solitude. And you want to know the price of solitude? Check out Sudbury’s reaction to a simple bike path—and that’s 45 minutes of gridlock west of here, with nary a Whole Foods in sight.
51 Anderson St. #1
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
2 Beds, 1 Bath
615 sq. ft.
$439,000
69 Myrtle St #6
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
2 Beds, 1 Bath
1,110 sq. ft.
$789,000
59 W Cedar St #5
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Beds, 1 Bath
625 sq. ft.
$459,000
Keeping Safe on the Mean Streets of Beacon Hill
Sweet Digs Boston Home
July 2, 2008
The Fox25 anchors flipped their desks over with excitement when the story broke around 10 last night: a meth lab, downtown, in Beacon Hill, right behind the State House? Right down the street from their Beacon Hill Studios!?
Sadly, it wasn’t to be.
The ravaging muckrakers would have to settle for a Level 2 HAZMAT situation. Disappointed, too, no doubt, was an army of developers and would-be homebuyers looking to sweep in and pick off properties now that the massively-overhyped meth epidemic took hold. After all, Dot residents warned us long ago it would happen to us.
But really, isn’t the idea of a mad chemist more disturbing than a simple drug lab? Beacon Hill is crawling with well-educated, expensive minds with all sorts of destructive knowledge. Those who can’t cook exotic toxins or build nuclear weapons could certainly bury you in torts, claim denials, and hostile takeovers.
So forget the ongoing flap in JP/Mission Hill/Roxbury—Beacon Hill is the most dangerous neighborhood in town. Here’s a list of “safer” properties, just in case this disturbing trend continues:
19 Joy St #A
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
2 Beds, 1.5 Bath
1,345 sq. ft.
$699,000
You might be thinking “hmm, seems a little close to last night’s chaos”; and it is. But chemicals tend to roll downhill, and winds prevail from the West, meaning that this place would put you first on the scene without any of the danger.
6 Goodwin Pl #B
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
0 Beds, 1 Bath
235 sq. ft.
$185,000
Want to keep people from messing with you? Buy the smallest, cheapest property in the neighborhood. They’ll think “This guy’s got nothing to lose” and step aside when you walk down the street. Plus, the basement location is useful for natural disasters, such as tornadoes, as well any explosions that might occur nearby.
145 Pinckney St #432
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Beds, 1 Bath
625 sq. ft.
$429,000
First to know, first to go. When disaster strikes, you’re on Storrow, then 93 North in seconds. Or, if the roads are already clogged, be the first to the North Station ticket window to reserve a seat on the Downeaster. And if things have really gone wrong, you can sprint to the river, steal a boat and sail to Mexico.
Start Saving for Winter Now
Sweet Digs Boston Home
June 27, 2008
Today’s been hot and stormy, but the weekend forecast looks much more inviting, or at least less hot. Perfect weather to take a nice, relaxed stroll down Commonwealth Avenue, and take in a few open houses.
The Comm Ave Mall, with its Victorian-style benches, statuary and much-needed downtown greenspace, might seem like just another nice feature of Back Bay neighborhood. But it also serves as the third link (going outbound) on Boston’s Emerald Necklace, a string of parks running from the Common practically to Roslindale.
So while it makes for the nice urban equivalent of a front lawn, the Comm Ave mall also serves as on-ramp to a massive non-automotive thoroughfare. Want to take in a movie on the Common? Just scenic walk away. Game at Fenway? Another scenic walk. Heck, disco bowling in JP. Yeah–another scenic walk.
And to think there was once talk of turning it all into condos.
64 Comm Ave #9
Back Bay, MA 02116
0 Beds, 1 Bath
595 sq. ft.
$429,000
135 Comm Ave #1
Back Bay, MA 02116
0 Beds, 1 Bath
450 sq. ft.
$349,000
183 Comm Ave #2
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Beds, 1 Bath
677 sq. ft.
$435,000
Mount Vernon Street for a Mere Six Figures
Sweet Digs Boston Home
June 26, 2008
Were I a man of unlimited means, the sort who could live anywhere Beacon Hill, without a doubt I’d choose to live on Mount Vernon Street.
Say what you will about the cachet of Louisburg Square–I find the combination of cobblestones and speed bumps redundant, I hear the neighborhood association is something of a beast, and c’mon: it used to be called “Mount Whoredom” (bawdy pun no doubt intended by the coiner).
Mount Vernon Street has plenty of things that the Square simply can’t offer. The option to drive in either direction, for example. Off-street parking. Driveways. A lawn. Gardens. Shade trees that aren’t confined to a silly little park.
But what really seals the deal for me is the architecture. The brick bowfronts in Louisburg Square look OK, but are fairly anonymous; they turn up all over Boston (Back Bay, the South End, Charlestown) and once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.
Mount Vernon, on the other hand, is a veritable feast for the eyes. The novelist Henry James called it the most beautiful street in America, and it samples the full range of styles employed by one Charles Bulfinch; you might remember him from such buildings as the Massachusetts State House, Faneuil Hall, and the US Capitol Building.
The downside is that, of course, is such real estate is prohibitively expensive. But a few opportunities do occasionally arise for mere equestrians to buy in. Here are three properties on that Street of Streets asking less than one million dollars:
93 Mt. Vernon St. #A
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
Beds:1 /Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 654
$479,000
57 Mt. Vernon St.
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
Beds:1 /Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 913
$635,000
80 Mt. Vernon St.
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
Beds:2 /Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 1,206
$849,000
Making the Delivery: Lowball if you Dare
Sweet Digs Boston Home
