Top of the Hub

Saturday, November 22, 2008

52nd Floor of the Prudential Tower, Looking Towards Hancock Tower

My friends and I celebrated my upcoming 28th birthday by spending an evening out in frigid Boston (it didn't reach 30 degrees yesterday, to my knowledge) for drinks. We began the night at the bar at Top of the Hub, located 750 feet above the ground in the top floor of the Prudential Tower. We moved elsewhere after a few hours.

Luckily, the night was clear (otherwise it would have been truly miserable), so the view from the tower was fantastic. I managed to capture this view with an old point-and-shoot camera before I was told by a manager to leave the dining area...made me feel a tad lower-class, but I understood that those people had waited in line for those views. Anyways, prominent in the center-right of the photo is the 800-foot Hancock Tower, with the much shorter Westin Hotel in front of it. Boylston Street, running through Back Bay, is apparent by the vibrant blur to the left, and the Mass Pike (I-90) curves off to the right of the towers.

Boston Center for the Arts

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Boston Center for the Arts (Cyclorama Building), Tremont Street, Boston

The Boston Cyclorama Building, completed and opened in 1884 to house one of 4 circular murals of the Battle of Gettysburg, is now home to the Boston Center for the Arts. While the building no longer serves its original purpose, it continues to serve as a focal point of the South End's artistic culture as an exhibition space.

The 12th Annual Boston International Fine Arts Show was held inside the building this weekend. A number of galleries from around the world displayed their pieces, most of which were from the 19th and 20th centuries but many also being contemporary pieces.

Arnold Arboretum

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA

Despite the cloudy weather, my walk through the Arboretum on Saturday afternoon was a great experience. Although the peak foliage season has passed, there was still plenty of color on many trees, especially on the maples. Not surprisingly, the fruits of many of these trees lingered on the branches, such as these tiny purple berries.

Boston Public Garden

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Boston Public Garden

This view looks towards the old Art Deco-inspired Hancock Tower in the center (home of the famous weather beacon), the newer Hancock Tower to the right, and the steeple of the Civil War-era Arlington Street Church at the corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets.

It was a dreary day, but plenty of people were out due to the somewhat mild temps.

Mission Hill, Boston

Sunday, October 26, 2008

View of Mission Hill and New England Baptist Hospital, Boston.

What I like about this picture is that it appears to capture a typical New England village setting, complete with colored leaves, quaint housing, and an old, brick institution on the crest of a hill. This turns out to be Mission Hill, which is a neighborhood behind Harvard Medical School that is almost in the center of Boston.

Mission Hill has been gentrified over the past few years (even since I moved into town, 5 years ago) and has become an appealing neighborhood for those who work in the mammoth Harvard/Longwood Medical Area. The New England Baptist Hospital graces the top of the hill...while not one of the main teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard (those being along Longwood Avenue and Francis Street at the base of the hill), it is one of the leading hospitals specializing in orthopedic care in this country. For instance, Jack Nicklaus had a hip replacement performed there a few years ago.

Paraglider...Franconia Notch, NH

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Cannon Mountain, Franconia Notch, NH

Here I go at trying to reincarnate this blog...this time with a picture about once a week, not necessarily of the same day as the date of post. I found that it was too difficult to lug my camera around every day to keep up with the pic-a-day blog. I never wanted to give it up, though.

Anyway, I was in New Hampshire for a graduate program retreat last weekend, and a few of us decided to drive up to Cannon Mountain (home of the late Old Man of the Mountain formation, which collapsed back in 2003...look for a depiction on the New Hampshire state quarter) for a ride up the 80-person "aerial tram", or gondola. I must acknowledge Matt and Mel for handing us 4 tickets to the tram, since they didn't have the time to make it up there on their leaf-peeping tour a week prior. At least they were able to enjoy the other nearby attraction in Franconia Notch, the Flume.

A note about the paragliding. First of all, we were at an elevation of 4,200 feet. It was cold (24 degrees) and very windy. We watched a paraglider fall from sky sky and plummet towards the forest below using a reserve parachute. We think he was fine...scary, still. As fun as paragliding looked that afternoon, I wouldn't want to do it from this mountaintop, especially on a day as windy as this one.

Queen Mary

June 2, 2008

Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA

I stayed on this ship overnight on my last leg of my trip to Southern California. The RMS Queen Mary, launched in 1936, served during WWII as a troop ship and afterward as a luxury liner for Cunard, transporting passengers between the UK and the United States. It ended its service in 1967 (when the Queen Elizabeth 2, also recently retired and to become a floating hotel, was launched to replace the Queen Mary's service), at which point it made its permanent home at Long Beach, California, as a museum and hotel. The ship, over 1000 feet long, still remains as one of the largest passenger ships in the world. It once held the Blue Riband for speed crossing the Atlantic (from 1938-1952, both eastbound and westbound, before being outrun by the SS United States).

I stayed in a first class cabin (turned into a hotel room) on portside, M deck (uppermost for cabins) facing the bay. It was quite an experience. Walking around the upper decks at night was a special treat.