Full Description
Faneuil Hall is fine and the duck boats are just dandy, but if you want to go beyond the Boston of brochures and get to the heart of this mysterious, charming old metropolis, you have to dig deep and be willing to get a little weird. 111 Places in Boston That You Must Not Miss is a guidebook with a twist: one that takes you far off the beaten path - and the Freedom Trail - to explore a side of the city that's offbeat, unexpected, and completely fascinating for visitors and locals alike.
Whether you want to pay your respects at the memorial for a fictional character, sneak behind a vending machine to go shopping for sneakers, sip cocktails where hardened criminals sat behind bars, or hang out with some life-sized puppets, you can do it all here... and before dinnertime, to boot. Throw on your Red Sox cap, hop on the T, and uncover some secrets along the way.
Contents
40 South Street
For those about to frock | 10
The Abiel Smith School
Curriculum and community care? | 12
Aerosmith Apartment
Definitely not where Love in an Elevator happened | 14
American Flatbread
Pies and pins | 16
The Ancient Crypt
Mo' bodies, mo' problems | 18
Arax Market
All the ingredients for a festive feast | 20
Artisans Asylum
Meet your (inner) maker | 22
Backbar
Clandestine cocktails in a tiny speakeasy | 24
Berlin Wall Chunk
A chip off the old bloc | 26
Blackfriars Massacre Site
The hits just kept on coming | 28
Bos. Shop South End
Beyond boutique | 30
Boston Barber & Tattoo Co.
Where buzz cuts meet body art | 32
Boston Cyberarts Gallery
Catch a glimpse of the future before your train | 34
Bully Boy Distillers
Whiskey business | 36
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Up your romantic dinner (or breakfast) game | 38
Capoeira Angola
Where dancing = dueling | 40
Casa Portugal
A taste of the Iberian Peninsula | 42
Charles River Museum
Find out why you're totally screwed | 44
Chez-Vous
The skating is the hardest part | 46
Christian Herter Park
A hidden world in plain sight | 48
Church of the Covenant
Glitz, glam, and God | 50
Cloth Collaborative
The warp and weft of care | 52
Club Passim
For folk's sake | 54
Cochituate Standpipe
Far up, far out | 56
Cocoanut Grove Tragedy
Where the hottest spot in town burned down | 58
Coit Observatory
Somewhere, out there, beyond the pale moonlight | 60
Colonnade Rooftop Pool
Sun and splash in the sky | 62
Comfort Kitchen
Diasporic home cooking | 64
The Coolidge After Dark
Get reel weird | 66
Curio Spice Co.
A little goes a long way | 68
Cutler Majestic Theatre
Gilded playhouse with a long and spirited history | 70
Dani's Queer Bar
A rare sapphic refuge | 72
Death of Quentin Compson
A tale of three plaques | 74
The Dutch House
A former hub of hot chocolate | 76
EBO & Co. Grocery
Oyster wishes and caviar dreams | 78
E. E. Cummings' Grave
The last stanza | 80
Echo Bridge
Hear, hear | 82
Esh Circus Arts
Join the circus for a few hours or forever | 84
Ether Monument
An homage to the comfortably numb | 86
Fake Viking Memorials
Remembering what never was | 88
Fat Baby
And the cutest crapper award goes to... | 90
Fenway Park Living Museum
Behind the batting cages | 92
The First Casualty
The Revolutionary War takes its first life | 94
First Same-Sex Wedding
I do, you do, they do, we all do - since 2004! | 96
Formaggio Kitchen
Spelunking for Stilton | 98
Franklin Park Bear Pens
A grisly grizzly relic | 100
Friend Smithsonian Museum
A wee bit of art | 102
Garden of Peace
A living tribute to Boston murder victims | 104
The Garment District
Not your grandma's store - but maybe her jeans! | 106
Giant Baby Heads
No cheek-pinching allowed | 108
Giant Hockey Stick
What the puck?? | 110
Graffiti Alley
Spray it, don't say it | 112
Great Brink's Robbery Site
They worked hard for the money | 114
The Great Molasses Flood
A reminder of a tragic and sticky situation | 116
Harbor Island Secrets
Live out a ferry tale | 118
Harvard Lampoon Building
They've got jokes | 120
Havana Club
It takes two to salsa | 122
Hibernian Hall
A storied building | 124
The Hood Milk Bottle
You're going to need a bigger glass | 126
Houdini Plaque
Where Harry Houdini escaped Boston's dirty water | 128
Indoor Lightning Storms
It's electrifying at the MOS | 130
The Italian Donkey
A strange souvenir | 132
Jackson's Sawed-Off Head
A presidential pardon? | 134
Jamaica Pond Taco Bench
Sometimes it's just easier to stand | 136
JFK's Birthplace
Pop by where JFK popped out | 138
King Philip's War
You'd never know it happened here | 140
L Street Tavern
I guess I'll have two more of these | 142
Langone Park Bocce Courts
Eight can play this game | 144
Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Get your motor running | 146
Liberty Hotel
A jail gone upscale | 148
The Lilypad
Arts and drafts | 150
The Living Room Project
Art patrons aren't the only kinds of collectors | 152
Lynch Family Skatepark
Half pipes, full hearts, can't lose | 154
The Magic Nail
If they don't win, blame the nail | 156
The Mapparium
Journey to the center of the Earth | 158
Marathon Bombing Memorial
Always in our hearts | 160
Martin's Park
A playground with a purpose | 162
The MCZ
You'll bug out over their beetles | 164
Metropolitan Waterworks Museum
Tabernacle of steam | 166
The Museum of Modern Renaissance
Magical mandalas in the middle of Somerville | 168
NETA
Greenbacks to green buds | 170
November Project
Cheapest gym membership ever | 172
Nuggets
Digging for gold and platinum | 174
Omni Parker House
John, Jackie, and Ho Chi Minh walk into a hotel | 176
Overlook Shelter Ruins
Puddin' on the ritz | 178
Pao Arts Center
Cherishing Chinatown | 180
The Paramount
Sit down for a killer brunch | 182
The People's Karaoke
Sing it to me one more time | 184
Polly Thayer Self-Portrait
A painter in her own strokes | 186
Porchfest
All the burb's a stage | 188
Puppet Free Library
Come in and play | 190
Rebel Rebel
Where every night is ladies' night | 192
Reflex Letterpress
I like the way you ink | 194
Revere's Piping Plovers
Winged friends at America's oldest public beach | 196
Rita Hester Mural
A worldwide wakeup call | 198
Roxy's Arcade
Kiddin' around | 200
Sacred Cod
Thank cod for small favors | 202
Salmagundi
A haven for hats | 204
The Sargent Gallery
It took nearly 30 years and still isn't done | 206
Singing Beach
The sand is alive with the sound of music | 208
The Skinny House
Home, petite home | 210
SoWa Vintage Market
Bizarre bazaar Every Sunday, rain or shine, | 212
Swapfest: The Flea at MIT
Wondercabinet of obscure technology | 214
Taza Chocolate Factory
You don't even need a golden ticket | 216
Tremont Temple
Ghosts of Dickens past | 218
Upper Allston
It's ALL in Allston! | 220
Victory Gardens
Blooming continuously since 1942 | 222
Vilna Shul
Jews that go way back | 224
Wally's Jazz Club
Let's talk about sax, baby | 226
Washington Tower
From six feet under to 125 feet above | 228
ZUMIX
Not your average after-school program | 230
