Becky's photoblog

It’s been a little tricky to get to work these days so I’ve been trying different routes. This morning’s route took me through Copley Square, so in between getting squished on a bus and getting squished on a train, I got to breath some fresh air and snap a few photos of some of my favorite snow-covered Boston landmarks before work. It’s refreshing to look up from massive filthy snow banks to see gorgeous buildings like Old South Church, trimmed in lacy snow.

I took a nice long walk around Boston, starting and ending at Symphony Hall. I walked through the Christian Science Plaza, passed the reflecting pool, passed the Prudential Center, down Huntington Ave, and left on Ring Road at Copley Plaza to Boylston Street. Left on Boylston, right on Fairfield, straight down Fairfied Ave to the foot bridge over Storrow Drive and down to the Charles River Esplanade. At that point, I realized that there was some kind of walk for something going on because there were TONS of people walking along the river in blue t-shirts. I took a closer look, and realized there were tons of little kids walking. Their t-shirts said it all: Boston Children’s Hospital: Raise funds, Save lives, Repeat.

As I crossed the little bridge to my favorite part of the esplanade, the little island that gives you a great view of Back Bay, I was so moved to see so many families walking together on such a gorgeous day and raising money for sick kids. There were even a bunch of what looked like high school cheerleaders cheering everyone on. From where I was, I could see two long streams of families in blue-tshirts, some coming towards me along the island, and some crossing back over to the Storrow Drive side and walking in the same direction as me.

Later, I looked it up and learned that the event was NStar’s Walk for Boston Children’s Hospital, and that there was a 2-mile route and a 7-mile route, both starting and ending at the Hatch Shell. I was right at the turn-around point for the 2-mile route which I why I was seeing walkers in both directions.

I continued along, and crossed back over Storrow Drive near Clarendon Street, then walked down Clarendon towards Back Bay Station. As I passed through Copley Plaza, I was pleasantly surprised to see rainbow flags and an American flag flying from facade of Boston Public Library (it’s usually several American flags). Not sure if there’s some occasion I’m not aware of, but I don’t care – it looked absolutely amazing! I stopped to watch some street performers, then continued on down Clarendon.

Across from Back Bay Station, I took a right into the Southwest Corridor Park, and walked through the gorgeous tree-lined park that runs through the beautiful residential neighborhood of the South End. That brought me back to the Prudential Center, and then again through the Christian Science Plaza and back to Symphony Hall!

I have visited just about all of the gorgeous churches in Back Bay, taken a lot of pictures, and added them to my ongoing project, Architectural Landmarks of Boston’s Back Bay. When my cousin recently mentioned his upcoming visit to Arlington Street Church for a friend’s ordination, it reminded me that I haven’t been to see ASC’s gorgeous Tiffany windows in a very long time. And the last time I was there, I didn’t have my camera!

Most churches are open during the day for prayers and tourists, so it’s easy to wander in off the street, drop your jaw over the gorgeous architecture and windows, snap a few great photos to savor the details, and enjoy a peaceful moment of reflection. ASC seems to operate on a weird schedule, and I have the door to be locked the last few times I tried. Not this time.

Arlington Street Church is a Unitarian Universalist Church at the corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets, at the edge of Boston’s Back Bay, right across from the Public Gardens. It was opened in 1861, and it was the first public building in Back Bay. Its spire is 190 feet tall, complete with a bell, weathervane and clocks. The church has an incredibly gorgeous collection of Tiffany stained glass windows, and their collection is among the largest and finest collections of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s work.

I took a personal day for an appointment and spent the morning in Copley Square. The sun was shining, it was the Red Sox home opener (always a sign that Spring is finally here), and the Boston Marathon is in a few weeks. New Balance had great ads all up and down Boylston Street, right near the finish line. It was a gorgeous day, and it warmed my heart to see Copley Square gearing up for the marathon.