Place Report: Somerville Bike Trail Sculpture Garden With District Hall closed for the holidays, and a second Covid surge descending like a cloud on indoor places all over, I decided to take my placemaking research outside. I started with a sculpture garden that had sprouted up alongside a nearby bike trail in Davis Square, Somerville.
Tikkaway - Indian Cuisine Deconstructed It takes a few visits to do Tikkaway justice. To get the full effect, you should dive in and start mixing and matching their Indian selections a few different ways. The fun of Tikkaway is assembling the basic components of Indian cuisine yourself, in a sparkling clean, white, ceramic-tiled establishment. Tikkaway is Indian cuisine re-imagined as a fast casual offering.
The Pulse of South Station This sign in Boston's South Station, still posted on the back glass wall of the newsstand, is all that remains from my first attempt to add virtual content to the real world. Amazing that it's still there, more than ten years later.
The Kendall Square Rooftop Garden No sense in overselling this, but it is a quick change of scenery in Kendall Square: a humble, six-story lift into a big bubble of fresh air over one of MIT's main drags. One thing this garden always had going for it: surprise. It was hard to find, and unexpected. Now that it's better known, is it still special?
This is NOT a Long Line at Zo This lunchtime line, outside the Zo's in the Boston's Financial District, looks forbiddingly long. If you come upon it, you may decide to keep moving. Don't. Just queue up. The men and women inside are surprisingly quick. And the food is excellent.
A Secret Electro-Pastel-Colored Barcade: A4cade Love the contrast between what you see from the outside, and what leaps at you when you enter A4cade. From bland, unmarked steel doors to an explosion of garish hues from another era. And now it's one of two retro "barcades" in Greater Boston. The other one, Versus, is in downtown Boston.
The Central Square Art Stores Two complementary art stores location right across the street from each other: Blick and Artist & Craftsman Supply. Blick feels bigger, but Artist & Craftsman has a more subterranean vibe -- perhaps because it, literally, dwells underground.
District Hall District Hall is the gateway to Boston's Seaport District. Because once you get over the bridge from downtown Boston, and you get this far, you can check into District Hall, relax, and recalibrate. And it takes some re-orientation because the entire area is under construction. District Hall is also the site of a Mixed Reality Challenge.
Fab@CIC Boston It's not where you would expect a hackspace: in the heart of Boston's Financial District. The shaggy maker funk appeal of this neighborhood -- approaching 0%. It only makes sense when you know what else is in the building: the Boston branch of CIC (for Cambridge Innovation Center). It has multiple floors, including some dramatic event spaces on the top floor.
A Boston Harbor Bargain: How to Get on the Water and Beat the Man You're in Boston -- at some point you have to shove off land and get on some water. But there's a way to beat the man and do it on the cheap: take a Boston Harbor Island ferry by the not-for-profit Boston Harbor Islands group.
Boston Detours
