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During your Boston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Museum of Fine Arts
One of the world's great art museums, the MFA works nonstop to become even more accessible and interesting. You're sure to find something entrancing in these magnificent collections. Every installation reflects a curatorial attitude that makes even those who go in with a feeling of obligation leave with a sense of discovery and wonder. That includes children, who can participate in a scavenger hunt, admire the mummies, or participate in family-friendly programs scheduled year-round (there are extra offerings during school vacations). The MFA is especially famous for its Impressionist paintings (including 43 Monets -- one of the largest collections outside of Paris), Asian and Old Kingdom Egyptian collections, classical art, Buddhist temple, and medieval sculpture and tapestries. There are also magnificent holdings of prints, photographs, furnishings, and decorative arts, including the finest collection of Paul Revere silver in the world. The museum is currently expanding its modern and contemporary art collections and rearranging some galleries in engaging groupings that display paintings and sculpture along with related decorative objects and furniture.The works that you might find most familiar are paintings and sculpture by Americans and Europeans. Some favorites: Renoir's Dance at Bougival, van Gogh's Postman Joseph Roulin, Childe Hassam's Boston Common at Twilight, Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait of George Washington, John Singleton Copley's 1768 portrait of Paul Revere, a bronze casting of Edgar Degas's sculpture Little Dancer, John Singer Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, and Fitz Hugh Lane's Luminist masterpieces.None of this comes cheap: The MFA's adult admission fee (which covers two visits within 30 days) is among the highest in the country. A Boston CityPass is a great deal if you plan to visit enough of the other included attractions.To begin your visit at the museum, pick up a floor plan at the information desk, or take a free guided tour (weekdays except Mon holidays at 10:30am and 1:30pm, with an additional tour on Wed at 6:15pm, and Sat at 10:30am and 1pm). The I. M. Pei-designed West Wing (1981) contains the main entrance, an auditorium, and an atrium with a tree-lined "sidewalk" cafe. There is also a restaurant and a cafeteria. The excellent Museum Shop carries abundant souvenirs and a huge book selection.Special exhibitions during the lifespan of this book include Art Deco 1910-1939 (Aug 22, 2004-Jan 9, 2005); Speed, Style and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection (Mar 6-July 3, 2005); The Quilts of Gee's Bend (June 1-Aug 21, 2005); and Tiffany Jewels (Sept 18-Dec 31, 2005).The museum is currently expanding: construction of the new East Wing, designed by Norman Foster, began in early 2004. While work proceeds, the museum is rearranging some collections and closing some exhibition spaces, so check ahead before visiting if you have your heart set on seeing a particular piece of art.MFA FYI--The Huntington Avenue entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts is usually much less busy than the West Wing lobby. Walk back along Huntington Avenue when you leave the T, enter from the curved driveway, and stop to take in the John Singer Sargent murals.
King's Chapel and Burying Ground
Architect Peter Harrison sent the plans for this Georgian-style building from Newport, Rhode Island, in 1749. Rather than replacing the existing wooden chapel, the granite edifice was constructed around it. Completed in 1754, it was the first Anglican church in Boston. George III sent gifts, as did Queen Anne and William and Mary, who presented the communion table and chancel tablets (still in use today) before the church was even built. The Puritan colonists had little use for the royal religion; after the Revolution, this became the first Unitarian church in the new nation. Today, the church conducts Unitarian Universalist services using the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.The burying ground, on Tremont Street, is the oldest in the city, dating to 1630. Among the scary colonial headstones (winged skulls were a popular decoration) are the graves of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; William Dawes, who rode with Paul Revere; Elizabeth Pain, the model for Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter; and Mary Chilton, the first female colonist to step ashore on Plymouth Rock.To continue on the Freedom Trail: Follow the trail back along Tremont Street and turn left onto School Street.
Old North Church
Officially named Christ Church, this is the oldest church building in Boston (1723). The building is in the style of Sir Christopher Wren. In the original steeple, sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns on the night of April 18, 1775, to signal Paul Revere that British troops were setting out for Lexington and Concord in boats across the Charles River, not on foot ("One if by land, and two if by sea"). The steeple fell in hurricanes in 1804 and 1954; the current version is an exact copy of the original. The 190-foot spire, long a reference point for sailors, appears on navigational charts to this day. And how's this for a coincidence: Newman was a great-grandson of George Burroughs, one of the victims of the Salem witch trials of 1692.Members of the Revere family attended this church (a plaque is on pew 54); famous visitors have included Presidents James Monroe, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Gerald R. Ford, and Queen Elizabeth II. There are markers and plaques throughout; note the bust of George Washington, reputedly the first memorial to the first president. The gardens on the north side of the church (dotted with more plaques) are open to the public. On the south side of the church, volunteers maintain an 18th-century garden. Proceeds from the quirky gift shop and museum go to support the church.Free tours of the church begin every 15 minutes. The 50-minute behind-the-scenes tour ($8 adults, $5 children under 17) includes visits to the steeple and the crypt. Tours are available on weekdays and on weekend afternoons from June to mid-August, and the rest of the year by appointment. Reservations are recommended.To continue on the Freedom Trail: Cross Salem Street onto Hull Street, and walk uphill toward Copp's Hill Burying Ground. On the left you'll pass 44 Hull St., a private residence that's the narrowest (10 ft. wide) house in Boston.
Doubletree' Club Boston-Bayside
Located adjacent to the Bayside EXPO and Executive Conference Center off I-93, the Doubletree Club Hotel Boston-Bayside is just 1 and 1/2 miles from downtown Boston and five miles from Logan International Airport. Boston Logan Airport 6 MI NE, Hotel Shuttle, Taxi, rental car, limo. JFK/U Mass Red Line T 0 MI W, Subway train. Downtown Boston 2 MI N, Financial district TF Green Airport- Providence 53 MI ...
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