FRIDAY-WEDNESDAY, Dec. 18-23rd, 2009

Harvard Square Holiday Fair, FREE

• 40 artists & craftspeople offering unique gifts
• jewelry, clothing, pottery, tiles, wooden kitchen utensils, tiles…
• Friday-Wednesday 18th-23rd

Outdoor: First Parish Unitarian Church, Church St. and Mass Ave, Harvard Square Directions | Website

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THURSDAY DEC. 24, 2009

Candlelight Christmas Eve Service, FREE

• Christmas sermon & organ music open to the public
• 7:30 pm service

Indoors: Marsh Chapel, 735 Comm. Ave.

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ONGOING

Free Ice Skating at Reilly Memorial Rink, FREE

• Indoor rink, rental $5
• Mon.-Thurs. 1:30-2:30 pm, Fri. 5-6:50 pm, Sat.-Sun. 2-3:50 pm

Indoor: 355 Chestnut Hill Ave, Brighton | Website

Ice Skating at Larz Anderson Park, $7 ($5 rental)

• Outdoor rink
• Tues-Thurs 10-noon, Fri. 7:45-9:45 pm, Sat-Sun noon-5 pm

Outdoors: 23 Newton St, Brookline | Website

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THROUGH THURSDAY DEC. 24, 2009

Downtown Crossing Holiday Market, FREE

• Outdoor craft market with artists selling gifts, baked goods, meats, Christmas decorations, ect.
• Live performers 12-2 pm & 5-7 pm
• Monday-Saturday 11 am – 7 pm, Sunday noon- 6 pm

Outdoors: Summer Street in Downtown Crossing | Event website

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SATURDAY DEC. 26, 2009

‘Twas the Night After XMas Part 4′ Harper’s Ferry, $10 ($12 at door)

• 18+ show with Los Wunder Twins Del Rap, Rest Assured, Wiz AKA Samuel Adams & Exposition

Indoors: Harper’s Ferry | Map

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SATURDAY DEC. 26-TUESDAY DEC. 29, 2009

Disney Show On Ice, $22

• Disney stories come to life in ice show to celebrate 100 years

Indoors: TD Banknorth Garden | Disney On Ice | Tickets

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SATURDAYS through DEC 26, 2009

2 hours FREE metered parking in Boston every Saturday

FREE parking on Sunday as always, no time limit attached | Press Relase

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THURSDAY DEC. 31, 2009

Boston’s First Night, $18

• Day long festival with music, fireworks, dance, comedy
• $18, $15 online

Indoors: 30+ locations | Event website

By Dave Cheng and Nicola Hassapis

Bells are ringing, lights are twinkling yet shoppers are waiting for last-minute sales or a chance to hold onto their hard-earned dollars a little longer in Boston’s downtown shopping district.

“People are definitely more conservative in their spending,” said Susan Ellis, who works in the cosmetics department at Macy’s in Downtown Crossing. “But we say the same thing every year and get panic-stricken, and then they all come out the last week.”

Ellis’ sentiments were echoed by 68-year-old Alice Mahoney, owner of local printmaking company Boston Off the Wall, who has worked in the area all her life.

“Stores just keep lowering prices, so people just wait and wait. But this year the big companies have said they bought less merchandise so they’re not going to need to do that,” she said.

Some shoppers are buying – just buying less. Others are scouting for bargains.

“My kids will still get some of what’s on their lists,” said Anne Kieran, a mother of two. “They just won’t get as many things as maybe they would have a couple years ago.”

And even those who choose not to shop are busy this time of year. A report in The New York Times said police departments across the country report a rise in shoplifting arrests — 10 to 20 percent higher this year than last, with more than $35 million in merchandise is stolen each day nationwide.

“Around the holidays it definitely peaks,” said a security officer at local mall/food court The Corner who asked not to be identified by his full name. “But so far I’ve only seen a couple of incidents. I’ve heard all these horror stories, but nothing big yet.”

Come shop handmade and support local artists by doing your holiday shopping at Boston Handmade’s own gallery store in Boston’s Downtown Crossing district!  Here are the details:

~ NOVEMBER 27 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 ~
“Boston Handmade Downtown Gallery”
Wednesdays - Sundays
11am – 7pm
505 Washington St.
Boston, MA
Downtown Crossing

Come find something for everybody!  Photography, notecards, pottery, baby clothing, children’s toys, fine jewelry, and more!

MaJenta Designs will also be selling her glass pendants, keychain bottle openers, pocket mirrors, magnets, and portable purse hooks, and more!

There’s something about Downtown Crossing that fascinates me, but also creeps me out. A lot.

Maybe it’s all the empty storefronts, the giant pit where Filene’s and Filene’s Basement used to be, or the fact that the best thing about this historically unique area is now an H&M. Or maybe it’s that every day at about 6 or 7 p.m., the area becomes a complete ghost town.

Really. One minute there are people everywhere, and the next everyone has filtered into the T station and all that’s left in the area are big piles of trash.

So when my Online Journalism professor said we had to create a slideshow, I knew exactly what I wanted to take photos of. I took my shakey old Nikon point and shoot to Downtown Crossing around 5 p.m. one afternoon, when people were getting out of work, then came back at about 10 p.m. that night to see how different everything was.

Click here to see the Flickr slideshow. The photos are not quite the best quality, so it’s best viewed on a small screen. While squinting.

I am considering Filene’s Basement more of a brand resurrection than a brand renaissance. While the company has dwindled in the last few years, Bostonians have always known the brand. The facade at the original Downtown Crossing location remains as a shrine to the once prominent retail brand with hopes of rising once again to its original glory. Alas, the wait may be over. According to today’s Boston Globe article Basement hopes for bounce of the century:

Filene’s Basement is launching its biggest advertising campaign in a decade, with network and cable television spots, newspaper ads, and gift card giveaways to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary.

As Filene’s Basement enters its first holiday season after emerging from bankruptcy protection this summer, new owner Marcy Syms wants to make a splash with the historic company that claims to have invented the bargain.

Filene’s is launching an integrated marketing campaign $1 million campaign which will include:

• commercials on “Good Morning America,’’ the “Today’’ show, and the “Early Show’’ during this week’s launch and during the week of Thanksgiving.
• Filene’s workers will be wearing “Where Bargains Were Born’’ T-shirts and buttons,
• and anniversary mugs and T-shirts are available for sale.

In addition to that:

Filene’s Basement is gearing up for the holiday season with its marketing campaign emphasizing its legacy of bargains. The advertisements show customers raving about designer goods at Filene’s Basement, and a six-minute 100th anniversary DVD will be aired in stores featuring footage from a documentary film on the history of Filene’s Basement. The store promotions include free $10 gift cards, free anniversary T-shirts, and up to $200 off men’s suits.

It seems that Filene’s is taking the right steps to relaunch the brand and this integrated approach has the ingredients to be very successful. It’s nice to see a brand re-emerge from bankruptcy during tough economic times.

Editor’s Note: Now, I would like to share a personal anecdote about what the Filene’s Basement brand means to me. During World War II there was a military dance held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. In attendance were a young captain from Connecticut and an army secretary from Boston. She was wearing a red dress from Filene’s Basement. The red dress caught the eye of the young captain and after correspondence throughout the war, their relationship grew and upon his return from overseas, they were married, had children, grandchildren (one of which is me) and even a great-grandchild.

I swear, this isn’t a food blog.

And… here’s the explanation: On a whim my friend asked me to join her in Boston for dinner. I haven’t seen her in quite some time, so I agreed. After wandering around Downtown Crossings for twenty minutes we stumbled on Marliave.

The food was amazing and the interior was simple, yet old school refreshing. If you can, grab a seat upstairs overlooking the streets and try the lavender ice cream.

http://www.marliave.com/menus/

Spice up your lunch break and get your summer started with Healthworks this Thursday, May 28^th. Grab your coworkers, friends, or family members and take part in a free Zumba class. Healthworks’ fitness professionals will be leading two 30 minute Zumba classes, which is a blend of Latin American music and dance moves. The Zumba classes will take place in Downtown Crossing on Summer Street (in front of Macy’s) at 12:15 or 1:00 pm. Athletic clothing and footwear is recommended, but not required. You’ll be having so much fun swinging those hips you won’t even realize you’re working out!

I was recently reading an excellent blog post over at Planning Livable Communities about the apparent failure of the pedestrian only area of Downtown Crossing at night in Boston.  According to the post, the Boston Globe tells how the area loses it’s charm at night without the cars.  That absolutely floors me and is further evidence how backwards we sometimes have it with relation to creating a people-friendly urban environment.  How the heck do cars create a more charming environment.

According to Wikipedia, there are approximately 30 pedestrian malls (one form of a pedestrian street) in the United States.  As a Canadian, I do know there are some major pedestrian streets in some of the larger cities in the country (Sparks Street in Ottawa comes to mind).  Yet, despite the vision to create an ideal urban environment with relation to these pedestrianized districts, a lot fall flat here in North America.  One has to ask why when such a thing sounds like  a pleasent image in our urban environment.

One of my explanations is that pedestrianized streets often feel like afterthoughts in both Canada and the United States and rarely take the focus away from larger city center shopping malls or other major downtown centers already established in the city.  This is very much the opposite of European cities where these pedestrianized zones are often a major destination within the city.  Take Sparks Street in Ottawa for example.  Approximately five minutes from the street is the Rideau Center, Ottawa’s major downtown shopping center with a large number of  choice chain retailers.  Since Ottawa is obviously a very cold place, where do you think many residents or tourists decide to shop.  Sparks Street isn’t marketed as anything more than a pedestrian street.  It isn’t marketed as a great destination in the city and feels more marginal compared with other regions within the downtown core.  Thus, retailers and other businesses depending on people traffic fail here despite the limitless possibilities.

It is a real shame that we are unable to truly take advantage of a zone without auto traffic in the city.  For these are places that are truly made for the people and yet often prove unsuccessful, even to the point where they are removed entirely.  It’s a sad prospect and yet it doesn’t seem like something that could be too hard to popularize if there was simply more focus put on them.

There a few ways of knowing that you’re in Boston’s financial district. It might be the austere office buildings or the Banks of America at every turn. Men and women with briefcases are good giveaways, too. Still, perhaps the greatest identifying factor of the Financial District/Downtown Crossing area is the sheer number of sandwiches per city block.

In order to support a sprawling population of hungry professionals and power lunchers, the Financial District has become a city of sandwiches in itself, with deli-type storefronts seemingly every few feet. While the traditional lunchtime offerings certainly have their loyal customers (and with such fine ingredients as Boar’s Head cold cuts, why shouldn’t they?) the bustling lunch break culture of Boston’s professional district seems rather taken with boldness of the flavorful Chilean import, the chacarero.

Chacarero.

Named for the circular sandwich which has brought it fame, Chacarero is a Downtown Crossing storefront open Monday through Friday to serve up a variety of chacareros made to customer specifications. The traditional chacarero is made with either grilled chicken or grilled steak, each available in a barbecue flavor as well. Additionally, each sandwich, which is served on a round, soft bread baked daily, is stacked with Muenster cheese and fresh tomato slices. The fresh bread is adorned with avocado spread and a secret hot sauce, which can be applied to various effects. The key characteristic of a chacarero is the addition of steamed green beans. Yes, that classic vegetable side, on a sandwich.

The careful layering process.

While the green beans add a unique textural dimension, the highlight of the sandwich is the bread, which is soft, light, and yet a reliable vessel for the volume and consistency of the sandwich’s fillings. Despite the slippery green beans, the sandwich stays together to the last bite, and the bread, rather than acting solely as a means to keep some fillings together, contributes its own rich flavor to the sandwich as a whole.

Sandwiches at Chacarero are available in two sizes, small and large. I ordered a large vegetarian sandwich, which substituted roasted red peppers for chicken or steak. The sandwich, light yet satisfying, with a pleasant lingering aftertaste, is the perfect prelude for, quite simply, another chacarero. They’re that good.

Classic sandwich cross-section.

Lunchtime sandwiches did not always enjoy the popularity they do today. In fact, the sandwich as a lunchtime staple did not emerge until the 19th century, when people began moving into cities in large numbers to find work. Working men began bringing hearty, portable sandwiches to work to sustain them throughout the working day. Women, looking for alternatives to men’s saloons as gathering places,  began convening in tea shops to snack on dainty canapes.

Chacarero storefront.

Check out Chacarero here

and stay tuned for more installments in sandwich history. And a lot more sandwich eating.

Yesterday was a crazy, crazy day. First, my friend J was trying to set me up with a friend of his, who’s 10 years my junior, lives in NYC and, as far as I can tell, is gay. Pretty good match, I’d say. Then, I had to take the T. This in itself is not anything special, but it turned out quite crazy. Now, I don’t take the T too often. I used to take the T for 3 years to get to work, commuting from Brookline to South Boston, which meant taking the green line to the red line and then a bus. Oh, I have so many funny and weird stories from those days. But I digress.

So, I took the red line from Davis to Park. It was a little after 430pm and the car was not busy. After we left Davis, this guy came and sit across the aisle from me. He put his legs up on the seats, basically occupying three seats. He had dyed orange hair, wore rolled up jeans, white sneakers and no socks. After making himself comfortable, he turned his head and started staring at me. I started feeling uncomfortable, ’cause he kinda looked weird. Then, he took a cigarette out of his pocket, then a lighter out of his pocket, lit up his cigarette and… started… smoking! Seriously. Yes, we were on the train. WTF, I thought. I could see the thought clouds over other people: “WTF!?”.  He took two drags, and then put the cigarette out. With his fingers. I kid you not.

By that time I am feeling REALLY uncomfortable. And then came the most feared moment: He talked to me. “Miz, do you have a dollar to buy a coffee?” “No, sorry”, I replied. “You know, my buddy bought me a $10 membership to a restaurant and I need to pay him back”, he shot back. What?! A membership to a restaurant? WTF. I said nothing back, just smiled and nodded, and by that time, thank God, we arrived at Porter, I got out of the train, and then hopped on to the next car.

Wow, what a crazy man… I sit down, looked up, and found myself looking at two of the ugliest people ever. They were twin brothers and they looked like this bird (honestly), plus they were wearing glasses. I felt like I was in a theatre of the absurd play…

Nothing else to report from Porter to Park. I got off at Park, got out of the station, got on my cell and had a 5-minute conversation with J, while 80% of the guys that walked in front of me, looked at me and smiled. I’m thinking, why’s everyone so nice, this can’t be Boston. By the end of my phone call, and while I’m standing next to a snow bank, there comes this normal looking guy, who’s smoking (I know, all of a sudden everybody’s smoking), says “excuse me”, climbs the snowbank, puts out the cigarette on the snow and then throws the stub in the trash can, which is conveniently surrounded by a 3-foot high snow wall.  Then climbs back out of the snow onto the cleared area. “That’s pretty remarkable, climbing snow mountains to get to a trash can for a cigarette stub”, I tell him. “I always do that”, he replies. Well, his mother would be proud of him. And yeah, this can’t be Boston.

On another note, the Downtown Crossing stores were empty. Deserted. Sad looking. I bought nothing. I stimulated the economy enough in December. And what do I get in return? A 401(k) statement with half the $$ I had in last year. Oh, well…

Later I took the T to Harvard to see the Best of Open Screen 2007/2008 at the Brattle. I had some time to kill so I decided to get myself a hot chocolate from Peet’s (yeah, that was wrong, I should have gone to Burdick’s instead). I put my order in, the place was not busy at all, and stood by the “pick up” spot and waited for my beverage to be prepared. The guy who took my order was the same guy who prepared my cocoa, and when it was ready, he came to where I was standing, looked at me and said with an unnecessarily loud voice “Hot cocoa for P!!!” I was like, dude, I’m right here, the only person standing here, why are you shouting? Jeez…

The night was mild and I went for a walk down Brattle street. Harvard Square was deserted. It was a little before 7pm and there was no one around. Where were all the students? Not in the square, as far as I can tell. The bars, the restaurants looked empty. It was rather sad.

The Best of Open Screen Boston 2007/2008 at the Brattle was fun. The Open Screen is basically an open mic for short fims. The shorts are shown at the Coolidge, anything anyone brings that is not longer than 10 minutes. And what they showed last night was the best. A couple of shorts were quite pretentious, the majority were funny, one was really bad, and some were really good. ”Restoration Project” by Jesse Kreitzer, was a short about his effort to restore a damaged reel of film that his grandfather has shot in the late 40s, and then the restored short film itself was shown, black and white images of Jesse’s father as an infant and his mother (Jesse’s grandmother) taking care of the infant. Very sweet. I also liked “Travelogue” by Kevin McCarthy, with cool images and sounds of Japan. “Kuboa” by Dave B. was interestingly beautiful, in an ethereal way.

Then I took the T from Harvard to Davis. I settled in my seat, my brain still full of images from the shorts, and then came this voice “Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please! Watch the black guy dance!” And, yes, there they were, the dancer and his boom box. He turned on his boom box (I love the 80s), playing a Michael Jackson tune (It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white), and started dancing. Like, advanced stuff. Doing hand stands, somersaults up and down the aisle, and somersaults while suspending himself from the poles. Yep, that’s entertainment. I have seen a dancer on the T before, but that was a very fitting conclusion to my strange T-riding day.

When I got to Davis, I walked the bikepath back home, it was such a beautiful, balmy night. I passed this woman walking her dog and then I heard her telling the dog “Gimme five, gimme five, gimme five”. I didn’t know dogs can do that.

When I finally made it home, I tell you one thing, home never felt saner…

The 038 this morning was cancelled. Of course not until 8:00 AM, when it leaves Kingston at 7:37, and I had already walked from my apartment to the stop. Lame.

It’s OK, I only was late to work and lost part of my paycheck because of it. No big deal.

I took the 040 in an hour later, and then the subways were crawling. A 10 minute wait for the Red at South Station. Then a 15 minute wait for an Orange line train at Downtown Crossing.

On the plus side, the musician at the Forrest Hills side of DTX this morning was giving a stiring rendition of “Sexual Healing” that was so good, I considered tossing him a buck. Then I realized it was the only dollar I had, and oh ya, I was standing there losing money off my paycheck. Sorry Marvin Gaye sound-a-like. You were really good, but I’m broke.

I passed by him on the way to the T station. It was his furry overcoat that caught my eye first. The ironies and paradoxes so strung up in an item of luxury and this man’s place in society. After all, fur coats have been regaled to be at least a partially ostentatious display of sorts – I’m sure this conception originated from the time when there was no such thing as faux fur, when any stole or jacket was displayed proudly and triumphantly with this innuendo: I killed an animal, or I can afford to wear a dead animal on my body. But even now, that conception carries over, and this is the reason my eye was so captivated: in detecting discrepancies, the mind lingers a little longer.

The street was not too busy; a few pedestrians passing by, but it was quiet. This man keenly eyed me as I approached. “Can you spare any change, miss?” he pleaded.

The next thing I noticed was the gap in between his teeth and how this affected the way he spoke; he had a slight lisp, like the gurgling of sounds.

He held a disposable paper cup in his hands, and he held it out towards me, an insinuating gesture of sorts. I fumbled around in my wallet and dumped out a few coins, which I then proceeded to drop in his cup. He looked down, and I knew he wanted to count how much change I gave him, but I interrupted this thought of his with a question.

“I’m taking some pictures today. Do you mind if I take some of you?” I asked.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” he replied.

A toothy, coy smile appeared on his face, as he pulled his chin in closer to his neck, and his eyes folded into little crescent moons. He had a childish, endearing look to his smile – as if for a split second, he had no financial worries in mind. I was caught off guard by that smile.

“Oh, you don’t have to smile if you don’t want to,” I told him.

He counted his change and seemed to lapse into the next segment of his life: I was a used good – I had already given him money, and now he was waiting to solicit more. It wasn’t a personal thing; it was just the way he lived his life. He stood against the brick wall calmly as he looked behind me to see if there were any more pedestrians coming his way.

This is my favorite picture of him.

Every once in awhile, he looked directly into my camera, with a calm steady gaze. Our exchange of words was few, but there seemed to be a mutual reciprocity – an exchange of goods – that was understood. I wasn’t buying anything off of him, and he wasn’t putting on a show – but for the few coins I could give him, he gave me a few stares and smiles.

P.S.

Do we bear any resemblance to each other? Now when I wear my fur coat (less than $20 at a vintage sale, man!), I think of Mr. Fur Coat.

I was walking around Downtown Crossing on Saturday, scouring the streets for some good photo ops. I didn’t actually know where I was, geographically speaking. Directionless, I followed whichever street looked most appetizing at the moment, and I made mental maps in my head as to what each street looked like and what turn I had taken. CVS here – right – left- a mattress store there – left. It was biting cold that day – a blustery, wintry day where the air becomes this penetrating force of a monster pricking your skin like sharp little needles. People were attending to their own business: families strolling, wanderers wandering, tourists descending upon the shops like flocks of greedy geese – a typical day in Boston. But when I got off that T stop, trusting only my instincts to lead me where I wanted to go, not knowing what to expect, I felt a bit estranged from the world – which is how I always feel when I initially set off in a new place wielding my camera. I am a foreigner exploring with my eyes, digesting all the sights voraciously, attempting to detect the frequencies of the place.

At one point, as I was about to give up and head back to the T Station, I noticed a little pseudo-festival set up by Macy’s – a very weird, unusual outdoor exhibition which consisted of a few performing rappers, a petting zoo, a Starbucks truck, and a few food & souvenir vendors.

After surveying my surroundings, I headed over to the Starbucks truck, hoping to get a free hot drink to warm me up a bit. As I was deciding whether or not to stand in line, a middle-aged man with his hands full came bumbling around clumsily, bumping into me with his bags. He noticed what he had done and he turned to me – “Sorry, are you waiting in line?” I looked back at him. He had lopsided, broken glasses. Eccentric, in a worn-down frumpled suit. His tie was out of place, and I secretly loved the texture of his coat. I notice sartorial things like that. “No, it’s fine, I’m just trying to take a few pictures.” I added in that second part to prompt his curiosity. And he took the bait, asking me questions about what I was photographing, etc.

“Can I take a few portraits of you?” I asked. Immediately, his face lit up, and he began babbling a little. “Well, what should I do? Is there some kind of face I should make? How do you want me to stand?” His face contorted into a wry, sheepish, crooked smile. One eye crinkled while the other remained open behind his horn-rimmed glasses. “You can act natural,” I replied.The way he spoke carried a sort of untainted enthusiasm, as if he hadn’t conversed with anyone in a long time. You could hardly call this man socially adept, but maybe that is what made him all the more genuine.

“But this is my natural face,” he told me, in an earnest tone. His facial expression shifted a little – it seemed to contort again, but maybe in the opposite direction. It looked like he was trying to balance his face. “I smile all the time,” he said.

“You don’t have to smile – just act natural,” I said.

“Should I frown?” he asked.

“Well…”

“I once did community theatre,” he began excitedly. “We learned a lot of facial expressions there.”

I started snapping away, while he talked about mimes and more community theatre.

There are so many adjectives that I could use to describe this man. Sometimes in life you stumble on people who demand categorical words – eccentric, odd, quirky, peculiar, offbeat, lopsided – but then you begin to realize that none of these words can even begin to encapsulate people as a whole. Labels are so petty; words are our effort to make sense of things, and sometimes they are diminishing.

“What’s your name?” the man asked at one point.

“Natalie,” I replied. He followed with a string of questions – rapid fire. He was curious.

My wanderlust is ultimately satiated by the motley people I meet… the people who glare at me and the people who talk to me… the people who belong to another world and the people who belong to my world. People are layered… people are swaddled in a million layers – and each time you stop for a moment, you hope they shed just one layer so you can see a little deeper into their core. I don’t know where this man fits in, but he is special.

As we parted ways, he yelled to me, “Great meeting you, Natalie! Do you need me for anything else? Maybe we will run into each other again!”

I went downtown on Saturday to get tickets for the upcoming Andrew Bird show at the Orpheum. It was a cold and windy day, as in VERY cold and windy, but I was willing to sacrifice my coziness to avoid paying the ridiculous ticketmaster fees. Crappy weather aside, it was nice to talk to a box office person and have the chance to have a CHOICE of seats, like “do you have anything at the mezzanine?” “yes, sure, I can put you at the center row B”. Eat that ticketbastard!!!! After scoring great seats and feeling a little warmer I walked a little further down at Washington and Franklin, where there’s a construction site, and one building has only one facade left standing. You know how it is when it is cold and windy, everybody’s walking with the head down; I was looking up and shooting.

Beams and Chair

Mix and Dont Match

 

Help Me

The Beauty and the Beast

A few construction workers and only a couple of pieces of heavy equipment are  currently on site. They seem to be pushing dirt around, not making much noticeable headway. The site is the property of the new Filene’s tower in Downtown Crossing, a project that could completely revitalize the entire district.

The latest rendering of the Filene's Tower coming to Downtown Crossing.

The project is being held up at the moment mostly due to the developers inability to secure funding for the $650 million project. With the collapse of several major credit companies, many of the people that developers would normally go to for loans are being more wary and cautious about where they lend their money.

One issue with the project is that, to date, developers Gale International and Vornado Realty Trust have been unable to lock down a major tenant. They maintain that some hotel chains are interested, and that some high end office tenants are in the works, but they don’t have anything concrete to show investors. Law firm Fish & Richardson recently expressed interest in leasing space at the new tower, but they are hesitant because they want to be ready to move into the new space as soon as their current lease expires in at the end of 2010 (the new tower is scheduled to open by early 2011).

Despite the lack of investors stepping up to the plate for this project, developers claim that the project is still on schedule. They amount the whole funding issue up to a temporary snag, and still expect the new tower to open on time.

Source: Boston Globe
Image: Urban Planet

WEDNESDAY DEC. 2, 2009

Candlelight Advent Organ/Harpsichord Concert, FREE

• Advent-themed songs on organ & harsichord
• 8:00 pm

Indoors: First Lutheran Church of Boston directions

Event website

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THURSDAY, DEC. 3, 2009

Boston’s Official Tree Lighting, FREE

• Official tree lighting in the Boston Common
• Refreshments & musical performances
• 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Outdoor: Boston Common, near Park St. T stop

Event website

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SATURDAY, DEC. 5, 2009

Chinese Tea Social, FREE

• Hosted by BU’s Chinese Students Assoc. & Howard Thurman Center
• Teas from around the world, chinese pastries, games
• noon – 2:00 pm

Indoors: Howard Thurman Center_________________________

Group Fitness Class, FREE

• Winter workout series by Equinox
• Saturdays 10:00 am

Indoors: Liberty Hotel map

More information

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Holiday Cupcake Tea at Ritz-Carlton, $22

• Includes flight of 5 petit cupcakes + choice of tea/hot cocoa
• Space is limited, reservations required
• Saturdays, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Indoors: Ritz-Carlton Boston Common directions

More information

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SUNDAY NOV. 30 – SATURDAY DEC. 5, 2009

Downtown Crossing Holiday Market, FREE

• Outdoor craft market with artists selling gifts, baked goods, meats, Christmas decorations, ect.
• Live performers 12-2 pm & 5-7 pm
• Monday-Saturday 11 am – 7 pm, Sunday noon- 6 pm

Outdoors: Summer Street in Downtown Crossing

Event website

The season has ended as abruptly as it began. When it all started in June I couldn’t imagine what to expect, and never thought that a short six months later I was hoping that there was a way to extend the market season even further. It is cold at times, even wet or windy; but, all that aside I have met a number of amazing people from all walks of life.
All the customers are extremely nice and supportive.
Over the last month at Dewey Square I have had a great time and would like to thank everyone responsible for running that market for making it such a successful season. Special thanks to Megan, Mike, Johh, Emma for all their assistance, suggestions and willingness to help – see you guys later.
Even though the Market at Dewey Square has come to a close, I will be just a few minutes away at the downtown crossing holiday market. I will be there Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays beginning Monday November 30th. You can find more information at www.downtowncrossing.org.
Hope that everyone has a joyous Thanksgiving and keep in mind The Downtown Crossing Holiday Market when looking for unique gifts that are locally made – and some are delicious and edible.

So I rarely take the Orange Line of The T. I just don’t ever need it and it’s really a hassle to transfer from the Green Line to the Orange Line, especially to Forest Hill because it’s like pulling a U-Turn at Park Street and just going back in the same general direction you came from.

But today, I had no choice but to go to Forest Hill. As I walked through the concourse between Park Street and Downtown Crossing, I heard music. More specifically, I heard Ne-Yo. Okay, an MBTA station performer’s no big deal. He wasn’t that great, but it wasn’t painful to bear either. Nothing out of the ordinary with him.

What was amusing though was this one middle aged woman in green and peach sneakers getting her groove on and dancing along to “Because of You.” I found this to be so much more entertaining than the performer himself because it was just that awkward. She was so into it. I had to turn away a few times to keep from bursting out laughing, but I, along with others on the platform, had smirks on our faces until the train finally arrived.

Forget sex in the city, it’s all about sleeping in the city.

Bringing their latest creation to downtown Boston; the Morgans Hotel Group, has just expanded their portfolio with the upcoming grand opening of  The Ames Hotel Boston.

This 115 room boutique hotel is sure to become an instant hit, nestled between the Financial District and Downtown Crossing.  Interiors were designed by the Rockwell Group in combination with Cambridge Seven Associates. Both of whom assisted in the restoration of the beautiful, mosaic tile, barrel vaulted entry ceiling, brass staircase and stone exterior, all to the tune of $40 + million.

Aside from the intriguing interiors, the hotel is located close to major transit, historical destinations and is surrounded by a variety hip restaurants and vibrant night spots. However with noted chef Mark Goldberg (of Mistral and Top of the Hub fame) working his magic in the house restaurant; Woodward, you may decide to eat in.  

The 19th century Ames building- a local landmark, is a Romanesque Revival structure that shadows the Old State House and City Hall. As a former office building which sat unoccupied for a number of years, this new hotel is proving that Downtown Crossing still has the ability to attract new businesses and hopefully a young professional crowd. Joining the masses of upscale condo towers, chic restaurants and busy theatres, the Ames Hotel is symbolic of the gentrification taking place in the former Combat Zone.

Boston tourists can now sleep in style and comfort, and who knows, maybe the Ames Hotel will bring more movies, money and mayhem to the downtown core.