boston's beacon hill on lunch break

Yesterday's weather was absolutely gorgeous!  It was a balmy 65 degrees and sunny, and a welcome break from the horrendous rain and wind storms we suffered last weekend, and everyone in Boston seemed to make their way out-of-doors for a nice spring-time lunch break, including me.  My office is located in Back Bay, and I feel very blessed to be close to some of the nicer things Boston has to offer.  Along with a colleague, we headed towards Beacon Hill to enjoy the weather, and take some pictures of the fantastic architecture that graces this "hidden treasure" of Boston.  I say "hidden treasure" because Beacon Hill is a great place to escape during your lunch hour.  Many of the summer-time tourists don't make their way there (they're busy flocking towards Cheers or going on a Duck Tour), and it's calming and peaceful.  It's right in the middle of the city, but you'd never know it.  I've gone there many a time, and during the lunch hours, you mostly see just a smattering of  handymen, dog walkers, and the occasional delivery person.  Bear with me, as there were beautiful photo opportunities all around, so I just had to take a TON of pictures.  *Warning-this post may be extremely long-go grab a coffee now*  Here we go:

De Luca's Market, located on Charles Street, at the base of Beacon Hill.  This market is one of my favorites in Boston.  They always have the freshest produce and flowers in stands outside, and I envision this is where the wealthy folks of Beacon Hill go to pick up their sundries.  It's probably a good thing I didn't bring my wallet along, as there was a fine assortment of pussy-willow branches that would have most definitely made their way home with me on the commuter rail.  Doesn't this look a bit like Europe?

The doorways of Beacon Hill.  An entire post could be done on just the doorways alone.  There are doors of every color, shape and size on the Hill.  I think the doorways are fascinating because they differentiate each home or building.  So many of the Beacon Hill residences all look exactly alike-brick rowhouses, so the doorways lend a certain personality or uniqueness to the uniform look that describes Beacon Hill.  The red door pictured above made me smile-it was extremely tiny.  The door was sunk down into the sidewalk.  I also love how the bricks of the sidewalk are reflected in the brass kick-plate of the black door above.

Mansions on Beacon Hill.  I don't even WANT to know how much these homes cost.  I think it's so fascinating that they are so tall and narrow.  In big cities, the best way to accomodate more space was to build up.  I'm assuming that's why they were/are designed in this manner.

I think the alleyways of Beacon Hill are just as beautiful, if not more so, than the main streets.  The picture on the left is the back doorway to one of the mega-mansions, and I think it is absolutely charming.  Also in this picture is a windowbox.  It's a tad too early for flowers, and this home still had its winter decor in the box, but Beacon Hill has some of the most beautiful landscaping and gardens anywhere.  In fact, in the early summer months, they have a Beacon-Hill garden tour, open to the public (for a small fee) where some of the homes participate in garden tours.  I intend to go on this tour this year.  I'll be sure to take pictures.  :)  The picture on the right shows a cobble-stone driveway.  I fell in love with cobblestones when I spent my summers on Nantucket.  While they aren't the most convenient thing to walk or drive on, they are so historic.  Cobblestones were often used as ballasts on whaling ships to counteract the weight of the whale that was captured alongside the boat.  They used the cobbles to pave paths after the whaling industry ended.

If you're still reading, these are the last few photos I took while walking back to work.  Boston Public Garden is the most direct path to take to get to Beacon Hill from my office, and again, deserves a post all by itself.  In the garden, are the bronze duck statues of the book, Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey.  Usually, there are so many little children sitting on the ducks that you cannot get a good picture of them.  Yesterday, however, I was in luck!

This weekend is supposed to be beautiful.  If you live in New England, get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine!  According to the Farmer's Almanac, New England is supposed to have a warmer spring than normal, which means, we will actually have a spring!

Have a great weekend
-G-