1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die by Patricia Schultz Page A
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Authors: Patricia Schultz
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Oceania, and Africa, including the finest collection of Japanese art outside Japan.
The MFA is home to so many pieces—more than 450,000 objects—that the sheer variety can be a bit overwhelming. Happily, the museum helps visitors find their way, scheduling tours (included in the admission price), distributing maps, and offering pointers on their website. There’s a lot to be said for simply wandering around, trusting in serendipity to lead you to anything from a diorama of the Acropolis to a 12th-century musical instrument.
The museum’s design tells its own story. Murals by John Singer Sargent decorate the 1909 rotunda at the Huntington Avenueentrance. The granite West Wing, an I.M. Pei design, opened in 1981. A massive expansion project includes a new American Wing and a glass-enclosed courtyard designed by Lord Norman Foster of Foster and Partners, London, who designed the Great Court at the British Museum and the Sackler Galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts. The new space is scheduled to open in 2010.
W HERE: 465 Huntington Ave. Tel 617-267-9300; www.mfa.org. B EST TIMES: Wed, voluntary contribution after 4 P.M. ; 1st Fri of each month from 5:30 to 9:30 P.M . for cocktails and live music.
A Taste of the Old Country in a Colonial Setting
B OSTON’S N ORTH E ND
Boston, Massachusetts
One of the oldest parts of Boston, the North End is the city’s best-known Italian neighborhood and one of the nation’s most famous Italian American communities. After visiting the Paul Revere House and the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail (see p. 42), wander along the narrow streets, many of them lined with redbrick tenement buildings. For over a century, beginning in the mid-1800s during the Irish famines, this area teemed with recently arrived immigrants. One of the most famous North End natives was Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, a granddaughter of Irish immigrants, daughter of Boston’s Mayor John F. Fitzgerald, and mother of President John F. Kennedy. Her baptism (in 1890) and funeral (in 1995) both took place at St. Stephen’s Church on Hanover Street. Across the street from St. Stephen’s is Cyrus Dallin’s equestrian statue of Paul Revere; every April on Patriots Day, a reenactor dressed as Revere mounts a horse in front of the statue and begins his ride to Lexington and Concord (see p. 57).
Following the Irish to the North End were immigrants from Eastern Europe, Portugal, and finally, around the turn of the century, Italy. This is where you’ll find some of Boston’s best Italian restaurants, including the epitome of a neighborhood pizza place, Pizzeria Regina. Founded in 1926, this classic serves thin-crust pizza baked in a brick oven and, ideally, topped with house-made Italian sausage. Or just stop for a respite—an espresso or cappuccino and an Italian pastry or a scoop of gelato. Caffè Vittoria, the oldest Italian caffè in Boston, is another favorite with the locals, a bustling spot that attracts a lively mix of regulars and tourists.
You can also make the North End an evening of more formal dining without compromising its authenticity. An uncontested favorite is Mamma Maria, whose specialties are northern Italian cuisine (notably pasta creations) and romance. The elegant town house is a popular place for marriage proposals, and the osso buco is worth its weight in diamond solitaires. If you prefer your jewelry plastic and your dough deep-fried, visit the North End in the summer. It’s the season for feasts, otherwise known as street fairs; many of the generations-old social clubs that sponsor them bear the names of saints, and so do the festivals. The Fisherman’s Feast, which dates to 1911, kicks off with the blessing of the fishing waters and usually features a big-name entertainer (Frankie Avalon appeared in 2005) of Italian American heritage. Just don’t overindulge in the sausage and peppers andsugar-dusted zeppoles—when the band strikes up traditional Italian tunes, you may find yourelf
The MFA is home to so many pieces—more than 450,000 objects—that the sheer variety can be a bit overwhelming. Happily, the museum helps visitors find their way, scheduling tours (included in the admission price), distributing maps, and offering pointers on their website. There’s a lot to be said for simply wandering around, trusting in serendipity to lead you to anything from a diorama of the Acropolis to a 12th-century musical instrument.
The museum’s design tells its own story. Murals by John Singer Sargent decorate the 1909 rotunda at the Huntington Avenueentrance. The granite West Wing, an I.M. Pei design, opened in 1981. A massive expansion project includes a new American Wing and a glass-enclosed courtyard designed by Lord Norman Foster of Foster and Partners, London, who designed the Great Court at the British Museum and the Sackler Galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts. The new space is scheduled to open in 2010.
W HERE: 465 Huntington Ave. Tel 617-267-9300; www.mfa.org. B EST TIMES: Wed, voluntary contribution after 4 P.M. ; 1st Fri of each month from 5:30 to 9:30 P.M . for cocktails and live music.
A Taste of the Old Country in a Colonial Setting
B OSTON’S N ORTH E ND
Boston, Massachusetts
One of the oldest parts of Boston, the North End is the city’s best-known Italian neighborhood and one of the nation’s most famous Italian American communities. After visiting the Paul Revere House and the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail (see p. 42), wander along the narrow streets, many of them lined with redbrick tenement buildings. For over a century, beginning in the mid-1800s during the Irish famines, this area teemed with recently arrived immigrants. One of the most famous North End natives was Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, a granddaughter of Irish immigrants, daughter of Boston’s Mayor John F. Fitzgerald, and mother of President John F. Kennedy. Her baptism (in 1890) and funeral (in 1995) both took place at St. Stephen’s Church on Hanover Street. Across the street from St. Stephen’s is Cyrus Dallin’s equestrian statue of Paul Revere; every April on Patriots Day, a reenactor dressed as Revere mounts a horse in front of the statue and begins his ride to Lexington and Concord (see p. 57).
Following the Irish to the North End were immigrants from Eastern Europe, Portugal, and finally, around the turn of the century, Italy. This is where you’ll find some of Boston’s best Italian restaurants, including the epitome of a neighborhood pizza place, Pizzeria Regina. Founded in 1926, this classic serves thin-crust pizza baked in a brick oven and, ideally, topped with house-made Italian sausage. Or just stop for a respite—an espresso or cappuccino and an Italian pastry or a scoop of gelato. Caffè Vittoria, the oldest Italian caffè in Boston, is another favorite with the locals, a bustling spot that attracts a lively mix of regulars and tourists.
You can also make the North End an evening of more formal dining without compromising its authenticity. An uncontested favorite is Mamma Maria, whose specialties are northern Italian cuisine (notably pasta creations) and romance. The elegant town house is a popular place for marriage proposals, and the osso buco is worth its weight in diamond solitaires. If you prefer your jewelry plastic and your dough deep-fried, visit the North End in the summer. It’s the season for feasts, otherwise known as street fairs; many of the generations-old social clubs that sponsor them bear the names of saints, and so do the festivals. The Fisherman’s Feast, which dates to 1911, kicks off with the blessing of the fishing waters and usually features a big-name entertainer (Frankie Avalon appeared in 2005) of Italian American heritage. Just don’t overindulge in the sausage and peppers andsugar-dusted zeppoles—when the band strikes up traditional Italian tunes, you may find yourelf
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