Santa’s Local Elves: South End, Back Bay, Beacon Hill

Christmas Lights in Boston, photograph by Brian Talbot

While December can be one of the cheeriest times of year, it is definitely one of the most hectic and stressful too. With to-do lists brimming with tasks like decorating, shopping, baking, wrapping, on top of already busy routines, it’s amazing that we have time to celebrate at all! But it’s the hard-working people at area stores and eateries that are perhaps the busiest during this time of year. After all, they are the ones who are acting as Santa’s local elves, dispatching gifts through bricks and mortar shops, found in each and every Boston area neighborhood and town. To celebrate their hard work, and to highlight our appreciation for these fiercely independent local stores, we’ve put together a gift-buying guide to a few of our favorite Greater Boston neighborhoods, which will appear on the Union Park Press blog each Friday through the month of December.

This week, we start by focusing on a few neighborhoods in Boston proper. Some of the best holiday shopping happens when you ditch your car and plan to make a day out of it by walking around some of Boston’s prettiest neighborhoods.  Grab your kids or your best pals and get out there!

SoWa Sundays, photograph by SoWa

South End

Fuel up! We love the coffee and treats at the South End Buttery, but we’ve also been known to visit Francesca’s for a big mug (bowl?) of hot chocolate too.

Shop ‘til you Drop: After coffee, be sure to visit Hudson, Michelle Willey, Gracie Finn’s for great gifts for the home—all on Union Park Street. (What can we say, we love the address!) Off Union Park Street, be sure to take a look at the upcycled gems at J.E.M on Shawmut Avenue, the cool, modern décor at Lekker on Washington Street, or funky duds for dudes at Sault or Motely on Tremont Street.

Looking for a great gift for the new mom or dad in your life? Pick up a copy of Boston Baby or the brand-spanking new North Shore Baby at either Tadpole on Clarendon Street or Coco Baby (Formerly Kiwi Baby) on Washington Street.

Do Lunch: Whether you go for pizza at Picco, a hearty salad at Union, or a solid sandwich at our perennial favorite, Flour, you can’t make a bad choice for food in the South End.

Après-Shopping Drinks: Put down those bags, put up those feet, and take a load off with a drink in hand. Grab a nice glass of wine at the Butcher Shop, Petit Robert Bistro, or Hamersley’s. For something to make your evening festive and bright, try the cocktails at The Gallows, Gaslight, or the Beehive.

Special Shopping Event: SoWa Holiday Market, December 10. For more information, check out their site.

Trident Booksellers & Cafe, photograph by Michael Kappel

Back Bay

Fuel up! L’Aroma Café on Newbury Street is a great place to start off the day before hitting the pavement. Espresso Royale is another java hotspot, and always serves up the perfect latte.

Shop ‘til you Drop: Amid the pricier boutiques on Newbury Street, seek out affordable, durable, and meaningful goods at the Trident Books and Cafe. Boston’s last remaining independently owned bookstore carries a wide assortment of novels and non-fiction that will please everyone on your list. We suggest taking a look at their regional section, where you will find Union Park Press titles such as Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands and Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces. Stick around for a warm mug of coffee or cocoa at their warm café.

Do Lunch: Old favorite Stephanie’s will please most groups, though if you are looking for a lighter meal, try Snappy Sushi, where they serve up great maki rolls. For chocolate lovers, you might want to try Max Brenner on Boylston Street, but be sure to save your appetite for dessert!

Après-Shopping Drinks: For a nice, cold beer, try Parish Café or the Rattlesnake on Boylston. For a glass of wine or a pretty cocktail, you can’t miss the drinks at Met Back Bay, Sel de la Terre, or Back Bay Social. For something a bit more elegant and quiet, score a cozy chair at the window either at the Taj or the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons. Bliss! 

Beacon Hill during the Holidays, photograph by Eric Roth for Traditional Home

Beacon Hill

Fuel up! Café Vanille is a cozy, French-leaning café with great coffee and even tastier treats.

Shop ‘til you Drop: For fun gifts and books, visit our Charles Street favorite, Blackstone’s Beacon Hill, which carries fun Boston and New England- centered gifts, including Union Park Press titles such as Under Cape Cod Waters and The Die Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston. For rich, edible holiday treats, try Beacon Hill Chocolate. For great clothes and accessories, visit the aptly named Holiday Boutique, Crush Boutique, or North River Outfitter. 

Do Lunch: Visit the beloved neighborhood spot, The Paramount, for quality comfort food. Try Figs for specialty pizza, or Panificio for a nice soup and sandwich combination.

Après-Shopping Drinks: A glass of wine at Bin 26 will warm you right up, while you might want to order something classic, like a Manhattan, at Beacon Hill Bistro. Cozy up to the bar at 75 Chestnut, which is always beautifully decorated for the holidays. For unparalleled atmosphere while you sip, go grab yourself a champagne cocktail at the Liberty Hotel.

Special Shopping Event: Beacon Hill Holiday Stroll,  December 8, from 6-9pm. For more information, click here.

Check back next week for more!

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Historic Homes For The Holidays: Victoria Mansion

Victoria Mansion, photograph by William H. Johnson

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the holiday season has officially begun. It’s the time for holiday decorations, Christmas carols, and, this year at Victoria Mansion, a combination of the two. This year’s Christmas at Victoria Mansion theme is “Deck the Halls: the Carols of Christmas,” and there has never been a better time visit this lavish Portland mansion.

Featured in our latest title, New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens, Victoria Mansion is one of the finest surviving examples of mid-nineteenth-century American architecture and a perfect holiday getaway.

Designed specifically to flaunt their wealth, Victoria Mansion, the most costly residence built in Maine as of 1860, was built as a summer home for Ruggles Morse and his wife, native Mainers who had since moved to New Orleans. Though they visited soon after its completion in 1860, they were unable to summer there again until after the Civil War. Visitors to the mansion may notice that the main hall ceiling depicts only three of the four virtues. Since Morse, a hotelier in New Orleans, made his fortune wining and dining, Temperance is missing. Damaged by a hurricane in 1938 and scheduled for demolition in 1940 (to be replaced by a gas station!), the mansion was saved by Dr. William H. Holmes and his sister, Clara, who turned it into a museum. Today, the mansion, a National Historic Landmark, is a historic house museum and a preservation success story, with 90 percent of its original décor intact.

Inside Victoria Mansion, photograph by William H. Johnson

While regular-season tours are offered from May to October, holiday tours begin the day after Thanksgiving and last through early January. Each year, the mansion decorates for Christmas according to a different theme. Take a look at New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens to see the holiday decorations of years past, and then make a trip to the mansion to see this year’s theme: “Deck the Halls: the Carols of Christmas.” Each room’s decorations have been inspired by a different Christmas carol from the Victorian period. They have confirmed on their Facebook page that “I Saw Three Ships” and “Here We Come A-Wassailing” are represented; visit the house to see what other carols were chosen! Go on December 2 if possible to take advantage of Five Dollar First Fridays: tickets will only be $5, the mansion will stay open until 8:30pm, and real, non-alcoholic wassail will be served!

If you Go….

Victoria Mansion
109 Danforth Street
Portland, Maine 04101
207-772-4841

Drive time from Boston: 2 hours

 

Curious about the Morse family and their extravagant Portland mansion? Pick up a copy of New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens at one of these local bookshops:

Longfellow Books, 1 Monument Square, Portland
Annie’s Book Stop, 295 Forest Avenue, Portland
Nonesuch Books, 50 Market Street, South Portland

Get fueled up and ready for a big day exploring Portland at the following cafes and restaurants:

Coffee By Design, 620 Congress Street or 67 India Street, Portland
Duckfat for some amazing sandwiches and fries, 43 Middle Street, Portland
Hot Suppa, for a unique and delicious meal any time of the day, 703 Congress Street
Eat great food amongst funky art at Local 188, 685 Congress Street

This post is part of a larger series celebrating the sites included in our latest title, New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens, by Kim Knox Beckius with photography by William H. Johnson. See recent posts on the William Cullen Bryant Homestead, Hildene, and the Mark Twain House for fun fall and early winter getaway ideas!

Holiday Events Around New England

Photograph of the Faneuil Hall Christmas Tree courtesy of Shutterscript

This week’s unseasonably warm weather may have you convinced otherwise, but believe it or not, Hanukkah begins in just three weeks, and Christmas is in less than four! Towns around New England are preparing by draping everything in white lights, placing menorahs in windows, and hauling large fir trees into city plazas. Area stores are inundated with frenzied shoppers, and mall Santas’ laps are sore from the weight of the hundreds of children ticking off lists of their most desired presents. Amid all this craziness, it’s easy to forget that the holidays are a time for family. That’s why Union Park Press pulled together the following list of top family-friendly Holiday events in Boston and around New England!

• As every Bostonian knows, nothing marks the beginning of the Holiday season quite like the return of the Boston Pops Holiday Tour. From December 7^th to the 24^th, conductor Keith Lockhart and the Pops will perform seasonal favorites every night at Symphony Hall. For showtimes and tickets, check out the Orchestra’s website.

• Another Boston holiday classic is the Boston Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker.” The Ballet will perform the timeless dance several times a week from November 25^th through December 31^st. This is also the last year to catch this particular version, which has been running for 17 years. You can find shoW times and ticket prices here.

Photograph of the Nutcracker courtesy of Rosalia O'Connor

• Feel the need to stretch your legs to relieve the inevitable holiday stress? Take the Historic Holiday Stroll along the Freedom Trail. A tour guide donning 19^th century clothing tells tales of how Boston’s holiday traditions have changed over the years. Tickets are $29 for adults and $19 for children under 18. Tours are offered Thursday through Sunday from now until January 20^th. For more information, visit the Freedom Trail’s website.

• If you have young children, consider journeying to Santa’s Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. The park, which is open on weekends in December, offers rides such as a Christmas Carousel and The Great Humbug Adventure. Kids can visit Santa’s house and feed and pet real reindeer. Tickets are free for children under 3, $26 for those ages 4 to 61, and $24 for seniors over 62.

•  A selection of the Newport Mansions in Newport, Rhode Island remain open throughout the winter and are beautifully decorated for the holiday season. From now until January 2^nd, visit the Breakers, Marble House, and the Elms to see the properties decked out with poinsettias, wreaths, and lights. Tickets are $28 in advance and $35 at the door. Kids ages 6 to 17 are $10 each. Don’t forget to bring your copy of New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens!

Photograph of New Hampshire's Polar Express courtesy of Festiva Resorts

• After reading Chris Van Allsburg’s timeless story, The Polar Express, who hasn’t wanted to hop aboard a train to the North Pole? The Polar Express Event of New England in Lincoln and North Conway, New Hampshire takes you on a scenic two-hour journey through the White Mountains. Hear a reading of Allsburg’s tale and meet Santa and his elves! Tickets are extremely limited for this event and start at $45 each. Children under 2 ride for free. Though tickets are a bit pricey, proceeds benefit various literacy programs.

This is just a sampling of the great holiday events going on this time of year. For a more thorough list, be sure to visit the Travel New England website of UPP author (and resident New England expert) Kim Knox Beckius. Happy holidays!

Union Park Press New England Calendar Series: December 2011

We’re used to seeing beautiful photographs of Boston and New England around the Union Park Press office. After all, when you publish books about the Boston Harbor Islands, Greater Boston’s parks and gardens, and underwater photography from Cape Cod, you are bound to see some spectacular shots.

We have decided that it’s time to share some of those images with our friends and fellow New England-lovers by putting out a desktop calendar each month that uses an image from one of our books.

This month, we chose to represent December with a gorgeous landscape shot of The Breakers, the historic Vanderbilt mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. We will be profiling this stunning house museum again next week in our “Historic Homes for the Holidays” series, so be sure to check back soon!

The image, which was taken by New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens photographer William H. Johnson, shows the magnificent mansion all dressed up for the holidays.

We hope you enjoy this monthly series and that you come back next month to see what we have in store for January, 2012 (!!)

How to set this image as your Desktop Background:

• Download this for your desktop screen in resolutions of 1280 x 800 (small), 1440 x 900 (medium), or 1920 x 1200 (large), based on the size of your screen.
• Right-click (or ctrl-click for some Mac users) on the image, and chose the option that says, “Set as Desktop Background”, “Use as Desktop Picture”, — the exact wording will depend on the browser you use.
• If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen (on a Mac: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop; on Windows: Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose “Fit to screen” as the display mode of your background image.
• Voila! You have a beautiful, seasonal desktop calendar to keep you on track all month long.

Parks vs. Parking: What’s that Space Worth?

Black Friday is nearly upon us! All good Americans are honor-bound to abandon their turkey-addled relatives, proceed to the nearest shopping district, and buy stuff. If you are a suburbanite, you are also obligated to spend time complaining about how hard it is to park at the mall, and sneer at the city stores without parking lots; if you are a city-dweller, your job is to ridicule suburbanites who can’t bear to be more than ten yards from their cars at any time. But what if suburbanites had their way? What if the city stores did all have parking lots right next door?

That is the question posed in a pair of recent study comparing parking in three cities in Massachusetts (Cambridge, Somerville, and Lowell) and four other small cities in the northeast and midwest. University of Connecticut researchers Christopher McCahill and Norman Garrick looked at how the supply of parking and driving behavior changed over time. Then, they checked on statistics for number of employees in the city, number of residents, and other measures of happy-city activity.

Locally, Cambridge and Somerville have kept auto use low by American standards. Fewer than 60% of Camberville’s residents commute by car, compared with 91% of Lowell’s work force. The cities also provide radically different amounts of parking. Cambridge and Somerville together commit less than 80 square feet for parking per resident/worker, while Lowell offers a spacious 171 square feet of parking for every resident and employee. Ah, the luxury of Lowell!

So what happens when you fill a city with convenient parking lots? Not much, according to McCahill and Garrick.

The cities with the most parking—and thus the most automobile use—also had the lowest amount of activity, measured by the number of residents plus employees per square mile. Since 1960, cities with the lowest levels of parking and automobile use added on average 3,500 employees per square mile: Cambridge added 7000 employees per square mile. By contrast, auto-dependent communities like Hartford and Lowell have lost jobs since 1960.

The problem, it seems, is that when you commit urban land to parking, you can’t use it for anything else. As this photo shows, cars take up a lot more space to transport people than buses or bicycles (or feet!). You can’t go shopping in a parking lot, or meet a friend for lunch there, or, stop to smell the flowers, because there aren’t any flowers. McCahill and Garrick write,  “This [loss of space to parking] will result in a lower number of total activities, unless the land use intensity increases. The lost activities typically relocate further out in the surrounding region, outside of the urban core.” Why go to a city if there isn’t anything to do there? You’d might as well go someplace where you can park.

Plenty of people are arguing with these ideas. Cambridge is special, they say, because of all the development around Kendall Square during the internet boom, and the city only stopped making new parking in 1985 because it was legally obligated to under the Clean Air Act (I can’t find direct confirmation of this idea, but the Cambridge Pedestrian Plan is full of good reasons why Cambridge should limit parking anyway.) But would Kendall Square have revived if the city had required acres of parking around the shiny new buildings? Or did it grow in magnificence because Cambridge already had a Kendall Square T-stop in place? (or was it the Miracle of Science that enticed investors?) You can find an exception, and explanation for every city—but the correlation between increased parking and loss of jobs, residents, and tax revenue is still there.

But my job here isn’t to lobby for multi-modal transport options. I write about parks which also take up space where people could live and work, as I discussed in this space a few months ago. But parks are supposed to be “third places” where people can meet and mingle with folks they wouldn’t otherwise encounter. And they’re pretty.

Organized park advocates spend a fair amount of time quantifying the economic impact of parks. Chicago’s mind-bogglingly successful Millennium Park is supposed to be contributing more than $100 million a year to the local economy via increased hotel revenues, retail sales and so on. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority noted that real estate values of commercial next to the Rose Kennedy Greenway jumped by more than 577% between 1988 and 2005–but that jump may have partly been caused by relief that the Big Dig was finally over. The Trust for Public Land estimated that Bostonians got more than $354 million of use out of Boston parks in 2006… but having a nice time walking your dog doesn’t make new jobs. Or does it?

Parking lots are one type of public space; parks are another. Public toilets, T stations, homeless shelters, hospitals, schools, and highway interchanges all have an effect on the land around them–how it iss perceived, how it is used. The problem is judging what these public institutions do, and their value to the community.

McCahill and Garrick quote Hartford officials stating in 1972, “the most critical improvement to [neighborhood shopping districts] which could be made at this time is the provision of off-street parking facilities.” That improved off-street parking probably made life easier for the suburban commuters, and worse for the city, which lost jobs, residents, and tax revenue. I’m sure Hartford  got what it paid for. I don’t think it was worth it.

Small Business Saturday – Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend Deals!

‘Tis the season! This year, Union Park Press is participating in Small Business Saturday (11/26/11). As we’ve mentioned these past few weeks, Small Business Saturday fits in neatly with our READ LOCAL mission, we strongly believe that buying locally—in particular at local bookstores—is a small act that makes a HUGE difference for local businesses, the community, and the economy. So, what are you waiting for?! Get a head start on your holiday shopping with these fantastic deals from Union Park Press:

BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS BUNDLE: $25

Your deal: Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands: A Guide to the City’s Hidden Shores + NEW National Geographic Map of the Boston Harbor Islands + everything you need to know to explore the 34 islands in Boston’s backyard.

TWO STUNNING COLLECTIONS OF 125+ NEW ENGLAND SITES: $35

Your deal: New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens + Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces for the garden lovers and history buffs in your life.

A STEAL FOR NEW ENGLAND SPORTS FANS: $8.95

Your deal: 50% off The Die-Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston: A Spectator’s Handbook. Even the die-hard that knows everything will be stumped by some of the amazing anecdotes covered by author Chris Klein.

 GO-TO GUIDES THAT EVERY LOCAL PARENT NEEDS: $27

Your deal: Buy 2 copies of Boston Baby: A Guide for Urban Parents or North Shore Baby: A Guide for Parents North of Boston and get the 2^nd 50% off.

BONUS for the holiday weekend… As we are small, a local retailer, and our books are available online, we’ve decided that these deals should be available for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. So, get shopping! Place your orders between 6AM on Black Friday and midnight on Cyber Monday…And have a happy, healthy, holiday season from the team at UPP!

Thank YOU, as always, for supporting our small, local press.

Occupying Boston’s Public Planning

Occupy Boston, New England’s newest city on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, will be staying put for at least two more weeks; a judge has issued a restraining order against the city of Boston, preventing police from clearing out the protestors and their tents until after a December 1 hearing.

That order puts a kibosh on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy’s November 8 letter to Mayor Menino asking the city to oust the protestors, largely on the grounds that a cancelled public food festival and the overshadowed Farmers’ Market have lost money (After all, we certainly don’t have any place near the Greenway in Boston where people could buy meals or sell vegetables  like Faneuil Hall, City Hall Plaza, or Haymarket; this public park is really our only hope for food.) Of course, the Greenway Conservancy is legally required to allow public protests on its grounds by state law, as I’ve written previously, so Menino did well to delay acting.

So we have a few days—precious moments!—left to dream about what this little city could be. At this point, the old Garden Under Glass plan for the Dewey Square park site is as dead as, well, plants that aren’t under glass in the winter, and it’s a bit cold to wander about with pen and paper sketching possibilities. Perhaps we could persuade some of the area’s interactive online landscape designers to help out, so we can plan from our comfortable homes.

I realize that central planning of the layout of the tent city is anathema to Occupy Boston’s principle of decision-making by consensus at their General Assembly—but there are ways to engage entire communities in planning. Exhibit A is Interactive Somerville, put together by Somerville’s Community Corridor Planning (CCP) coalition to help Somervillains think about the planning for the MBTA’s Green Line Extension. The interactive part is a map where users can post pictures of areas around future Green Line stops, ideas for improving the city, articles, videos, and data—and anyone on the web can see the same information!

And find it, which has always been my particular challenge; cities tend to file stuff by, say, the department involved (Planning, Board of Health, Fence Viewer) instead of by location. As we know from Dr. John Snow’s pinpointing the source of the 1854 London cholera outbreak in a feces-laden well, much is revealed by mapping. Given that the Greenway Conservancy’s letter stated that “sanitary conditions are deteriorating,” perhaps Occupy Boston should do some sanitary mapping before December 1.

But as the sales of millions of GPS units have confirmed, a lot of people hate maps. They hate reading them, they hate thinking about them, they hate just looking at them on a screen. There’s another solution for the unmapped masses; interactive planning “games” that look like a Second-Life walk-through. The difference is that the planning games are based on real places. The challenges players encounter as they look for apartments, or jobs, or a good restaurant in these games are the same problems residents have to solve in real life. Or, at least, they’re an interactive simulation of those problems.

Why bother with a game, when you could just walk out on the street and see the same things? Well, first of all, because people don’t see the same things on the street. Life looks different to ten-year-old kids walking to school, a 75-year-old retirees, a 35-year-old single mothers. What’s more, no one in those three groups is likely to show up to Planning Board meetings and puzzle over site elevations; they aren’t trained to read them.

Emerson College’s Engagement Lab has put together several games to help more people participate in urban planning.  Just a few blocks from Occupy Boston is the site of the Lab’s Participatory Chinatown, which has won a bunch of awards. From the Participatory Chinatown blog:

Physical deliberation, virtual interaction, and web-input are integrated into an engagement process that encourages residents of all ages and abilities to participate. No prior urban planning experience is necessary; interest is the only prerequisite for involvement. …Participants sit side-by-side in physical space and simultaneously co-inhabit a 3D virtual space where they engage in rapid prototyping and testing of urban design proposals.

What that means is that people sitting next to each other can try out different layouts, see how they work, and talk to each other about it! Fancy that!

It’s almost like having a Occupy-Boston style General Assembly about development around Chinatown… or it would be, if the group playing the games had any power to make decisions. It’s not clear to me what’s become of Participatory Chinatown’s results, but you can watch a video of the process here.

The group has also put together a less picture-heavy game set-up called Community Plan It, which is a bit more like Interactive Somerville–well, it has a map. Players collect tokens by doing something (I couldn’t tell what, exactly, from the web site), then spend them to promote values in their community, like open space or after-school programs. The Engagement Lab ran a Community Plan It game in Boston Public Schools earlier this fall. The results aren’t published, but you can watch a video of the process, accompanied by music from Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Possess Your Heart.” (A song titled “I Occupy this Space,” or perhaps “I Value Public Input,” might have been more appropriate, but you’ve got to let artists express themselves. Free speech is more precious, after all.)

So what would Occupy Boston look like if the protestors could plan their city, instead of waiting to see when they’ll be expelled? Would the General Assembly be located in the center of Dewey Square, instead of alongside the vent building? Would there be covered walkways, hexayurts that might survive the snow, a rainbow flag at the entrance, or perhaps even… green space? I don’t know. I have a feeling we won’t get to find out.

 

Historic Homes for the Holidays: Mark Twain House and Museum

On his first trip to Hartford, Samuel Longhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, commented, “You do not know what beauty is until you have been here.” Soon afterward, the Clemenses moved to Hartford, where they built a brick Victorian at Nook Farm, and remained there for 17 years, during which such masterpieces as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Prince and the Pauper were written.

Mark Twain House, photo courtesy of William H. Johnson

As the place where he spent the happiest, most prolific years of his life, the Mark Twain House, featured in our latest title, New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens, is a must-see for any Twain fan.

Although the Clemenses moved into the house in 1874, the interior décor couldn’t be completed until 1881, when the royalties for Tom Sawyer came in. Money problems later forced the family to abandon their beloved home and move abroad, while Twain earned money lecturing across Europe, as his poor business investments put them so deeply in debt. Unable to bear living in the house after the death of their daughter Suzy, the Clemenses sold the house in 1903, after which it served as a boys’ school, apartment building, and public library before restoration began in 1955.

Mark Twain's Billiard Room, photo by William H. Johnson

Open for tours year-round, the house has been restored to the period from 1881 to 1891, using photographic and written records. Containing many original family furnishings—including the billiard table on which Twain would spread out his manuscript pages—the house and its adjacent museum have a collection of approximately 16,000 artifacts, such as his last pair of spectacles and love letters between Sam and his wife Livy.

Visit during the holiday season to see the house decorated with garlands and wreathes for Christmas. Go on December 4 to take part in the annual Holiday House Tour, including not only the Mark Twain House, but also other grand homes in the area not usually open to visitors. With music and a festive atmosphere to go along with it, the Holiday House Tour has been a Hartford tradition for more than thirty  holiday seasons.

Twain was enamored with this house, his dream home, which he claimed “had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see us with; and approvals and solicitudes and deep sympathies; it was of us, and we were in its confidence and live in its grace and in the peace of its benediction.” Now doesn’t that sound like a place you’d like to visit?

If you go…

Mark Twain House and Museum
351 Farmington Ave

Hartford, CT 06105

Drive time from Boston: 2 hours
Drive time from Providence: 1 1/2 hours

 

 

Curious about Mark Twain, the Clemenses, and their historic Hartford home? Pick up a copy of New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens at one of these local bookshops:

Millrace Books, Farmington CT
The Book Rack of Vernon, CT

This post is part of a larger series celebrating the sites included in our latest title, New England’s Historic Homes & Gardens, by Kim Knox Beckius with photography by William H. Johnson. See recent posts on the William Cullen Bryant Homestead and Hildene for more fun fall and early winter getaway ideas!

Family Outings For Thanksgiving in Massachusetts

Sometimes we forget it, but having kids can remind us: Thanksgiving is more than just stuffing yourself with turkey and pie and loosening your belt while watching football. In actual fact, it’s pretty easy to teach your children the meaning of Thanksgiving when you live in New England (whether you take that to be a historical lesson or a spiritual/religious one). How lucky we are to live in this part of the country where there are historical sites that bring our heritage to life, as well as beautiful outdoor spaces where you can connect with your family and the natural world.

Here are a few options, then, for different ways to introduce your family to Thanksgiving, past and present. Some of them can even take place while you’re waiting for the turkey to cook!  In an effort to please your entire family, we’ve also included some ideas for high school football outings–which is an equally great way to get out of the house and introduce the wee ones to aspects of the Thanksgiving tradition. Let us know if you have any ideas or comments—we’ll be happy to include them for other readers!

Points North

For those who don’t want to drive from the North Shore to the South Shore to get their historical reenactment fix on Thanksgiving day, bring the kids to the Parson Capen House in Topsfield!  The Topsfield Historical Society invites one and all to the annual Thanksgiving Open House at Parson Capen House in Topsfield, MA from 10 am to noon on Thanksgiving day, where your family can meet the Barretts. The Barretts will greet guests in period dress, roast a turkey in the open fireplace, and generously offer hot and cold cider and popcorn as refreshments. Admission is free; donations are accepted. The Parson Capen House is one of the finest surviving example of Elizabethan architecture in America. For more information: Boston Central.

Ward Reservation courtesy The Trustees of Reservations

There’s no better way to say Thanks then to take your family on a walk in the great outdoors. For Dana Rousmaniere, author of our upcoming title North Shore Baby, coming up with fantastic possibilities on Boston’s North Shore was a no-brainer. Her picks for Thanksgiving day would include Ward Reservation in Andover.

What makes the Ward Reservation a special place? Well, you and your family can climb a hill for great views extending from the surrounding Merrimack Valley to the Boston skyline or explore the sprawling landscape along almost 10 miles of trails. Trails link three major hills – Shrub, Boston, and Holt. The “Solstice Stones” mark the grassy summit of Holt Hill, the highest point in Essex County. This compass-like arrangement of stones indicates the cardinal points on the compass, the points of the summer and winter solstices, and the points of the spring and autumnal equinoxes. 

At the base of Holt Hill, step onto a boardwalk that leads to Pine Hole Pond to walk across a rare quaking bog, comprised of concentric rings of floating vegetation. Keep in mind that with almost 10 miles of trails, many are considered easy-to-moderate hiking, and described as strenuous in places. Ward Reservation is open year-round, 8am to sunset. Give yourself a minimum of 2 hours to explore—plenty of time while the turkey cooks! For more information, visit the Ward Reservation Website.

Points South

The English Village at Plimoth Plantation

There’s probably no better place to celebrate America’s most beloved holiday than at our very own Plimoth Plantation and Mayflower II. It’s like going to the North Pole on Christmas. This is a favorite for Kim Foley MacKinnon, author of Boston Baby, who says that the museum is alive with energy on Thanksgiving. Join visitors from all around the world make the pilgrimage to the site of the first holiday! For more information, visit the Plimoth Plantation website.

For an outdoor excursion that’s still close to the city, look no further than the Blue Hills Reservation. Located only minutes from the bustle of downtown Boston, the DCR Blue Hills Reservation stretches for 7,000 acres across Quincy to Dedham, Milton to Randolph. Rising above the horizon, Great Blue Hill reaches a height of 635 feet, the highest of the 22 hills in the Blue Hills chain. From the rocky summit visitors can see over the entire metropolitan area.  The Blue Hills were named by early European explorers who, while sailing along the coastline, noticed the bluish hue on the slopes. More than ten thousand years before those Europeans arrived, Native Americans made their home in the hills. The Natives referred to themselves as Massachusett, or “people of the great hills”. Eventually the Europeans began settling in this region. The colonists built houses and barns, cleared fields for crops and livestock and logged the hillsides for lumber.

The heritage of the Reservation seems to make this a perfect place for a family traipse on Thanksgiving day—but the trails aren’t so shabby either. There are plenty of options for a variety of abilities in your home. Families with pee-wee hikers will want to stick to the yellow dot trails, which tend to be shorter loops. No matter what, download a copy of the trail map before you go. The Visitor Center will be closed on Thanksgiving, but with a map you should have no problem locating the proper trailhead into your chosen path. For more information, visit the Blue Hills Website.

Points West

Courtesy Old Sturbridge Village

Having Thanksgiving west of Boston? Go back in time at the historic Sturbridge Village, where you and your family can experience the traditions of an early 19th century New England Thanksgiving. Visit village households for the mouth-watering aroma of Thanksgiving feasts in preparation and discover Native American foodways and their own unique Thanksgiving connections. Also, make sure you visit the Indian Doctress, who will be sharing Native Traditions of giving thanks. For  more information, visit the Old Sturbridge Village Website.

Although the nature center will be closed on Thanksgiving day as well as Friday, 11/25, the trails at Wachusett Meadow will remain open. (Located just a short drive from the Wachusett Mountain Resort.) Work up an appetite as you traverse over twelve miles of trails that will take you through vast meadows, woodlands, and wetlands. Brown Hill Summit, South Wachusett Brook, and Glacial Boulder are highlights among many other features. For more information, visit the Wachusett Meadow Sanctuary website.

And… Football!

Of course, if a transcendental experience on Thanksgiving morning is a hard sell for the football and parade loving members of your family–do as Christopher Klein, author of the Die-Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston does: check out some of the most storied Turkey Day matchups. Some of Klein’s favorites include: Boston Latin v. Boston English–a rivalry dating back to November 25, 1887 where the two teams played on Boston Common. Another fierce fight is between Wellesley and Needham, first waged in 1882, making it the oldest public school contest in the nation. For more great high school football rivalries see Chris’s post from Thanksgiving 2010.