Massachusetts – RDZ Photography

Boston – December 2022 – Wandering The City

A day in Boston included wandering various neighborhoods checking out the architecture.

177 Huntington Avenue is a 355′ high skyscraper built in the brutalist style. It is on campus of the Christian Science Center, but is no longer owned by the church.

The Prudential Center (left) was completed in 1964 as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City. It is still the 2nd tallest building in Boston. The tower on the right is officially known as 111 Huntington Avenue, but is better known as the R2-D2 building, with it’s rooftop dome, which is not visible from the street level.

The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences.

A quick subway ride over to the North End for some cannoli’s from one of the most renown bakeries in the city – the Modern Pastry Shop. Well worth the stop!

A new development known as Bulfinch Crossing, including the 528′ apartment building The Sudbury on the left. The right tower is obviously to be the home of State Street Corporation.

The venerable 1820s Quincy Market.

The former Board of Trade Building.

The Former Custom House building, now a Marriott Hotel.

John Adams Courthouse.

A Beacon Hill street.

The former Suffolk County Jail – now the Liberty Hotel.

The hotel’s impressive lobby had a collection of decorated Christmas Trees – hanging upside down!

The Boston Public Library.

Just outside the library is this spectacular subway station entrance for the Green Line’s Copley Station.

The Granary Burying Ground. It is very unusual to see a cemetery in the center of a large American city, but Boston has a number of them. This is the 3rd oldest in the city, having been founded in 1660.

Boston – December 2022 – National Braille Press

Uncategorized

There are few times in life that I have visited a place that impacted me the way that a tour of the National Braille Press did. There are over a million people in the country who are legally blind, with millions more who have impaired vision.

The National Braille Press is located in a predominately residential area of Boston near Northeastern University in a classic old building since 1927, with a mission to help those people have a better life.

Nearly 70% of the people who are blind are not working. Of those who are working, virtually all are able to read braille. Our personal tour was lead by Joe, who is the Vice President of Development and Major Gifts. Joe has not let his disability stop him from being an advocate for those with sight challenges.

Our personal tour started out in a conference room where Joe, and his associate Chris, explained the history of braille, their company and their efforts.

The National Braille Press is a leader in the printing of braille products. They are a non profit whose main goal is to help those who need it get as close to an equal opportunity for education and entertainment as those who are sighted.

They gave us an overview of how braille works, including a card showing the alphabet.

It is an expensive effort to print in braille, but at National Braille Press they make sure that people have the same chance as sighted people to get the books they need or want. It costs $80 to print a Harry Potter book in braille, but they still sell it for the same $20 a regular Harry Potter book would sell for. They recover some of this cost by making a profit on other items, such as fliers for corporate meetings and other commercial endeavors.

This cost includes the effort to transcribe the book into braille before being sent to the printer.

As Joe was explaining braille we could feel the entire building rumble at times. Once we headed to the basement we found out why – a collection of Heidelberg printers.

Khith is the person who has been operating these printers for decades. He examines the plates before setting them into the printer.

Once he starts up the printer you feel it as much as you hear it – the rumbling is fantastic.

Amazingly they can print 2 sided at what seems like a fast pace.

The next stop was stitching where we met George. All the machinery in the shop has been in use for years, but continue to operate to deliver the much needed books.

Our final stop was at a station known as the PED – Plate Embossing Device. Here they do smaller, more specialized productions like a United States map. These particular plates are essentially one of a kind, developed by two elderly ladies in New Jersey who have since passed away.

A big thanks to Brian, who showed us the thermoform printer for the above plates, Joe, and all the staff for their time and knowledge. I strongly encourage all to help support the National Braille Press, or others who do similar work for a portion of our population who deserve this valuable service in their lives.

And if you are ever in Boston reach out to the good people at National Braille Press, the tour is so enlightening.

Lincoln, Massachusetts – December 2022 – de Cordova Sculpture Park

Art

The deCordova Sculpture Park is located in suburban Boston, and features one of the largest rotating collections in New England. Situated on the former estate of Julian de Cordova, it covers more than 30 acres.

Nathan Mabry – Heavy Handed.

Isaac Witkin – Jacob’s Dream.

Dennis Kowal – Migration Series Number 7

Jaume Plensa – Humming.

Bianca Beck – Untitled, but meant to represent the human body.

Jim Dine – Two Big Black Hearts.

Melvin Edwards – Brighter Days

Melvin Edwards – Brighter Days

Melvin Edwards – Song of the Broken Chains.

Ioanna Pantazopoulou – Jungle Prosthetics Enchanted Forest

Ursula Von Rydingsdvard – Elegantka.

Virtual Travel – Massachusetts

Architecture, History, Museum, Nature, Sciences, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established in 1628, with the initial towns being located in Salem and Boston. This colony was established 8 years after the Plymouth Colony, but the name they chose stuck.

The state has numerous locations of historical importance, but it does not live in the past. With colleges like MIT it is at the forefront of technology.

But you have to travel to get around the state so we start with:

1971 – 1999 – 2012 Transportation in Massachusetts

According to some statistics Massachusetts drivers are statistically the worst drivers in the country. But if you leave the hotel at 5 AM on a Saturday you get a tunnel that looks like this…

Instead of this….

Boston does have an extensive subway system.

There are two major train stations in the city, including South Station

Logan Airport is just 3 miles from downtown Boston, but it is across the harbor.

The MTA also has a fleet of ferry boats, however most are very small.

2009 History in Massachusetts

As previously noted, Massachusetts has a lot of history. Below is a actor playing the part of Paul Revere

Salem – House with 7 Gables

Salem Harbor

Lowell – Historic Cotton Mills

2001 & 2007 – Boston

Boston is a city where the latest is next door to the historic.

Historic Waterworks

North End

Fenway Park – the legend

MIT

Boston Main Library

2003 – 2011 Cape Cod & The South Shore

The Massachusetts coast has numerous small towns with harbors.

Plymouth Rock – pure fiction, but pure American.

Lobstah

Cape Cod National Seashore

Shack where the first transatlantic cable terminated. At one time this was high tech.

Cambridge, Massachusetts – August 2019 – Insider Tour of MIT

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Sciences

I am fortunate enough to know someone who has spent considerable time at MIT, and she was kind enough to show us around to sights on campus that most visitors don’t realize is there to be seen.

We started out with some familiar sites; the Kresge Auditorium. Designed and completed in the mid 1950s by Eero Saarinen, it is an excellent example of mid-century modern.

Next door is a chapel, also designed by Saarinen.

The Rogers Building serves as the center of MIT. It’s atrium is beautiful.

The windows facing Mass Avenue are equally impressive.

The Frances Russell Hart Nautical Museum is tucked away on an upper floor of the main building. It contains a number of intricately designed model ships.

As you wander the halls you come across all sort of great sights.

While this might look like any other hallway at MIT, it is very special. It is known as the Infinite Hall, running the length of the main building and leading to a second building.

You have heard of Stonehenge, perhaps Manhattanhenge (a posting is available), and even Carhenge.

This otherwise nondescript hallway twice a year is the location of MITHenge – the sun shines straight through the entire distance, lighting up the floor. I need to come back in November!

The outdoor space is enhanced with sculptures. MIT is a very cool place, and thanks to an insider we saw some cool sights (all completely open to anyone, you just need to know where to look).

Waltham, Massachusetts – August 2019 – Simple Elegance of Early Mechanical Devices

Art, History

The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts has a collection of machines and artifacts from the industrial revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries.

It is located in the former Boston Manufacturing Company textile mill, which predates those in Lowell.

The visit to the museum provided a great opportunity to show the simple elegance of the early manufacturing.

Much, but not all, of the collection is dedicated to the former Waltham Watch Company.

Boston – August 2019 – Diverse Architecture for a Historic City

Architecture, Art, History

As one of the oldest major American cities, Boston’s architecture represents a diverse collection of styles. You can find Gothic architecture framed by a post modern glass and steel skyscraper.

A quiet Sunday morning is the perfect time to explore a city for the architecture as the streets are empty, and parking is plentiful.

Once we arrived in the financial district the contrasts between old and new became even more apparent.

Our primary objective however was to find Art Deco buildings, and Boston did not disappoint.

Brookline, Massachusetts – August 2019 – Larz Anderson Auto Museum

Art, History, Transportation

The Larz Anderson Auto Museum in the Boston suburb of Brookline is advertised as America’s oldest automotive museum. Larz and his wife were very early auto enthusiasts, buying their first ‘horseless carriage’ in 1899.

By the 1920s they had collected enough cars they stored them in the carriage house, and opened up their museum.

I had very high hopes for this museum, as it regularly makes the ‘top automotive museum’ lists. When we arrived we were greeted, somewhat, by a lady at the counter who barely had time to interrupt her conversation with her cousin about something to take our money and waive us towards the cars.

This obviously set a tone of disappointment, that fortunately was neutralized by a nice, small collection of some very impressive autos in a display called the Golden Age.

Further back there was a second room with a few more cars, also well displayed.

Another small room had a collection of pedal cars, and other items.

There is some nice automotive art throughout. The lower level had a few more very vintage autos in various states, as well as a bicycle collection.

The Larz Anderson Auto Museum is a nice place – however having seen numerous auto museums across the world I don’t think it rates as one of the premier ones. Perhaps had we attended on one of their numerous special events days where people bring their own classic cars.

Lowell, Massachusetts – August 2019 – The Early Textile Industry in America

Uncategorized

Lowell, Massachusetts was an early center of the textile industry in America. It was one of the first real industrial centers, with large cotton mills being built along the waterways.

By diverting the river into numerous canals they could power the machinery for the mills. The canals remain to this day, in various states.

One of the former mills houses a museum that shows the power plant that used the water to generate the power to run the machines.

Because of the flammability of the dust, they used wooden gears that didn’t create sparks.

It is when you go into the main production floor exhibit that you get a true feel for the sheer size of the operation.

While we were there they ran 2 of the looms, which was incredibly loud. One could only imagine what these young ladies went through with 200 of them running at the same time, while working their 12-14 hour, 6 day a week job.

The National Park Service runs a replica trolley around town to shuttle visitors between the sites. A visit to Lowell is educational, and worth the visit if you are in Massachusetts.

Boston – May 2018 – The Waterworks

Architecture, History

The Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Boston has been providing water to the city for 130 years. For about 100 years the impressive Waterworks pumping station was the engine behind the supply.