Top Boston Post of 2020

December 31, 2020 by cryan.com

This year was a challenging year for the Boston Blog content. I haven't been to Boston much since early March. Most of the content was things that I had in the backlog to post someday.

I'll be discontinuing blogging about Boston places for a while. I hope that I can get some new content by the Summer of 2021.

Top 10 Blog Post

Samuel Adams Gravestone-- Interesting facts about Samuel Adams Gravestone at the Granary Burying Grounds.

Spanish/American War Cannons-- Located on the State House Lawn. This was a hard piece to put together since I haven't been able to get an up-close look at the cannons.

Paul Revere Statue-- Interesting Facts about Boston's Paul Revere Statue in the North End.

Emancipation Group-- Facts about the Boston Statue people suggest to take down. The statue was taken down on December 29, 2020.

Sacco and Vanzetti Plaster Sculptor Mold-- The Plaster Sculptor Mold at the Boston Public Library remembering the events around Sacco and Vanzetti trial and execution in Boston.

Queen Elizabeth II Plaque-- Queen Elizabeth II visited Boston in 1976. There is a plaque at the old North Church remembering her visit.

Edward Cohen Plaque-- Special Plaque in the Statehouse that took nearly 100 years to be placed. Commemorates the work of a person that was killed at the State House because of mistaken identity.

Zakim Bridge-- A landmark bridge in Boston skyline located near the Boston Gardens

Ted William Red Chair-- Fun Facts about the most famous seat in Fenway Park.

Elephant Memorial at Fenway Park-- Largest Crowd at Fenway Park happened when people want to see the elephants that the children of Boston adopted.

Boston Graphic Updates

December 24, 2020 by cryan.com

Happy Christmas Eve!

A couple of quick graphic updates from posts done in 2013:

Huntington Avenue Grounds - Fixed the header graphic to show the homeplace and the statue at the former Red Sox stadium - before Fenway Park.

Common Mistakes new Commuter Rail riders make everyday - just fixed the graphic for desktop and mobile users.

Enjoy the day with your family!

Boston Blog Update

December 17, 2020 by cryan.com

Today I updated some classic Boston Blog postings. These two are located near where I worked at the Prudential Center in Boston.

Duck Pond on Botolph Street

• Updated the graphic for desktop and mobile users
• Fixed Spelling

Mystery Rails on Ring Road

Updated some information on the Mystery Rails on Ring Road that I wrote back in 2013. This is one of my all time favorite blog titles.

• Updated the graphic for desktop and mobile users
• Fixed Spelling and formating

More updates coming next week, and then on the 31st, a look back at the best Boston Blog postings of 2020.

Boston Blog Fixes

December 10, 2020 by cryan.com

Continuing the task of fixing some old blog posts....

Mass General Laws - Posted January 21, 2013

Made some minor changes to the Mass General Laws blog post

• Fixed the post styling
• Added a new graphic for desktop and mobile
• The law still applies today. You can be fined just for carrying a cigarette.

JP Morgan Corporate Challenge - April 5, 2013

This is a post that I made in 2013 after I signed up for my first 5k race for the 2013 JP Morgan Corporate Challenge.

Post Updated with:

• Better graphic for mobile and desktop. (Best header for the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge!)
• Added a Teaser which shows up when the post is referenced on Facebook and Twitter.
• Link to the Running Category that I created from future 5k notes.

Cleaning up Old Boston Posts

December 3, 2020 by cryan.com

Since March 13th, I have only been to Boston once -> October 12. So it's been challenging to post content without actually visiting sites.

Usually when I post something, I try to visit the site and get some information about it.

Since I am working from home, I haven't been able to get any new pictures.

Updating Content

Throughout December I'll be updating many old Boston blog posts. Some of these were using old image formats and had some pretty bad spelling mistakes.

I am not sure what will happen in January. I may take a pause on the Boston post for a while, just until I can get more relevant content.

Until then every Thursday, I'll randomly pick a couple of Boston Blog posts that I think should be updated.

Bad Seats At Fenway

Section 5 in Fenway Park - I updated the main graphic so it loads for desktop and mobile. I also did some spelling/grammar check. I had a hard time trying to find the picture that I used for that post.

The picture was taken at a company outing.

Strange Trees Over Street

Harcourt Street - I fixed the image and the spelling/grammar. (using Grammarly)

The picture was really hard to find. This post was from 2013 and I take way more pictures now than I did in 2013. Luckily I was able to find it in Google Photos. I just searched for "St Botolph St 2013" and found it in a few minutes.

I think the picture helps describe what's unique about the location.

Boston View from Duck Boats

November 26, 2020 by cryan.com

One of the popular Boston tourist attraction is the Boston Duck Tours. You get in a bus line vehicle and get a tour of the city. Towards the end, the vehicle goes in the water for some spectacular views of Boston.

View of the Boston from a Duck Boat ride.

View of the Boston from a Duck Boat ride.

This is a great opportunity to get pictures of Boston.

It will be impossible to do group photos as the driver and guide ask people to stay seated when the vehicle is on the water.

The vehicle heads towards the Massachusetts Ave bridge and returns back towards the Museum of Science. You should have plenty of time to take pictures of the Boston skyline.

The Duck tours do sell out during the summer peak season. Reservations are highly recommended.

Where to get the Duck Boats

You can catch the Duck Boasts at the Prudential Mall. Tickets are available across from Barnes and Noble inside the mall.

The Point Boston Sign

November 19, 2020 by cryan.com

One of the oldest streets in Boston is Marshall Street, near Fanuel Hall and Haymarket. At one time it featured many small businesses trying to make it in Massachusetts. Today there are popular restaurants and night clubs.

One of the popular night clubs is The Point. They feature popular New England dishes such as New England Clam Chowder, Classic Cheese Point Pub Pizza, Bullfinch Basic Burger, Fish and Chips and so much more.

Great Photo Spot!

Next to their entrance is a painted Boston sign that's perfect for selfies or group photos. The sign is big, so unless you have a super long selfie stick, you should ask someone to take your picture.

While this isn't a Boston Historic Landmark, it's one of the few places where you can show that you're in Boston with the words Boston in it.

Don't worry about the lighting at night. The street lights will help make sure you get a great picture!

Finding the Sign

The official address to the Point is: 147 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02108

Take the Green or Orange line to Haymarket. Walk out of the station towards Quincy Market, you'll see signs pointing to Quincy Market. You'll see the Union Oyster House, look for a small side street next to the restaurant. Walk down that street, and the brick sign will be on your left.

Boston Brownstone

November 12, 2020 by cryan.com

Boston is well known for the historic brownstones. They are beautiful to look at when you see them together.

Some people will walk around Beacon Street and Commonwealth Ave area looking for the best houses. However, there's a better location that offers better picturesque opportunities.

Streets of South Boston

One of the best set of streets that has a lot of brownstones with stairs is Pembroke, West Brookline and Newton St, which are located next to each other in South Boston.

Usually, local residences will put flowers and seasonal decoration which can help make the pictures that much better..

These streets are located between Tremont and Columbus Ave.

The streets are not really accessible via public transportation. The best way to get there from the Prudential Mall is to walk down W. Newton Street to Harriet Tubman Square. Then walk around the streets to find the perfect view.

Just remember these homes are privately owned. Please respect the property and privacy.

The Barking Crab

November 5, 2020 by cryan.com

Every Thursday in November, I'll be featuring unique photo spots around the City of Boston. These are great for background photos and perfect for those Instagram Stories.

Wall of Wooden Buoys

Near the Children's Museum is the Barking Crab. They have been in business for 26-years serving some of Boston's best seafood. They have a clam shack type of restaurant serving many popular dishes including lobster and clam chowder.

If you go to the backside of the restaurant, towards Fan Pier, you'll encounter a wall of Wooden Buoys! What a great picture spot!

One of the best times to be here is in the morning before the restaurant is open. The morning sun will provide the perfect lighting for your photos!

Bring a portable tripod if your taking group shots. You won't find anything to hold your camera.

Finding the Barking Crab

They are located at 88 Sleeper Street Boston, MA 02210. Right off of Seaport Blvd.

The best way via public transportation is to take the Silver Line to the Court House. Once you get up at Street level, walk along Seaport Boulevard towards the high rise buildings.

Bartholomew Gedney

October 29, 2020 by cryan.com

At the King's Chapel graveyard is the place of where many early colonials are buried. You may find former Governors, Revolutionary War heroes, and more.

One grave that stands out as you walk into the graveyard is Bartholomew Gedney.

Interesting Facts about Bartholomew Gedney

Bartholomew Gedney was born on March 22, 1698, and died on July 16, 1762.

He was a merchant of Boston.

His gravestone has an armorial tablet with three eagles. This is the family Coat of Arms of the Gedney family. There is no significant value to the armor engraving on the gravestone.

Gravestone location: Sec D, Row 16, Grave 387

If you look at the top of the gravestone to the left of Bartholomew you can see a letter "M".

To the right of the words Gedney you can see some numbers: No. 9 (There are more numbers but it's hard to make out.) Maybe it was a different grave number? I guess it would be better to see in person?

Some people may confuse this person with Bartholomew Gedney of Salem, Massachusetts. He was a magistrate to the Salem witchcraft trials and is not the person buried at the King Chapel Graveyard. The magistrate is buried in Salem, Massachusetts.