Take A Walk With Us: A Return To Grandeur

Our Boston Hotel

So, here I am, a week later and I'm still sharing pictures of my overnight in Boston (post 1, post 2, post 3).  We packed a lot into a little more than a day.

Our hotel, the Marriott Courtyard on Tremont Street was in the midst of some renovations, that I think will be well worth while.

This historic 1925 hotel has lived 9 lives and then some since it was built, and Marriott was smart to recognize that restoring this beautiful building to its former grandeur would speak volumes. I mean, who can argue with the architectural detail of the era? Amazing.

The lobby was blocked off for the most part as they are working on the very beautiful ceiling fretwork.

Giving it a fresh coat of white is making all the difference. In areas where you could see the previous beige color, it was obvious that the brighter white was the way to go.

The floor of the hotel that holds common spaces and where breakfast is served, was nearly complete.  When you step out of the elevator you are greeted by the most charming showgirl, a picture that takes up a good part of the wall. I just love her.

The new rug is both subtle with a gray plaid design, and bold with a bright purple swirl design in the center, which draws your attention to a foyer table where funky sculptures mimic the swirls in the rug and highlight the purples in the showgirl picture.

Beautiful chandeliers, the bright new rug, and lamps and furniture that added a pop of color accented the most gorgeous arched hallway.

 

The charcoal color walls added to the drama.

The best thing about the hotel renovation was the mix of old and new.   This bank of phone booths was kept intact, so that people talking on their cell phones could step in for privacy.  A pretty good idea if you ask me. Why do people think just because they can talk on their cell phones in public places, that they should?

In side they had pictures of the hotel during its former lives and newspaper clippings of entertainers who had performed there in days past, including Tony Bennett (who I adore).

More glory of days gone by, this amazing letterbox, from when mailing a letter was an event.

I can't wait to see the hotel when it's done because the renovation looks great so far.  I'm so glad that things like the telephone booths, the arches, the mail-chute and the ceiling fretwork have survived.  You don't always see that level of detail today and I think it's something to be remembered and appreciated.


Had a great weekend with a little youtube singing and dancing with the neighborhoodlum guys on Friday night, the girls had other plans so I was flying solo with the men.  Saturday we were over to neighbors' for dinner.  Tourtierre, Canadian meat pie, was on the menu and I highly suggest you try making it (the pictures in the previous post are awful, but the toutierre recipe is divine).  We followed that up with a game of Pictionary which we hadn't played in about 20 years. The guys won. Bummer. We all won on the laughter front though. I laughed so hard at one point I had mascara running down my face.  Painful. We will be playing again, for sure.  Yesterday we stayed close to home. No Sunday drives as G is fighting a bit of a cold. So I worked at my desk, got new initial designs and branding boards complete for one of my clients who emailed me last night and made my day with this:

"I got them. You are so wonderful! Love the second one!" (which happened to be my favorite too).  It's the second logo design project I'm working on with this client from Raleigh, North Carolina, who has one business and is the midst of launching another.  Helping people brand their businesses for success can be an awful lot of fun!  

More of the  same is what is on my plate today. What's happening in your world? Did you do anything out of the ordinary this weekend or did you just keep it low-key?

Ciao for now,

Take A Walk With Us: Beantown

In The City

Boy did we luck out in Boston last weekend. The weather on Saturday was downright spring-like. People were out walking every where. It was so nice we saved the Gardner Museum for Sunday and hit the ground running..........ok, walking.

First we walked from North Station (because we took the train in), to our hotel and then we did the same in reverse, and then the reverse of that again.  Crazy walking fools.

We strolled by the common, which was filled with people.  There was much less snow in Boston than there is here, so it was pretty easy for people to get around.  The Statehouse overlooks Boston Common and it's dome looked gorgeous against the day's blue sky.

We winded our way back over toward Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace.


One of the things I love about a city is the intricacy of architecture of buildings with seemingly mundane purposes...................

 ..................as well as the elegance of adornments, like this door to one of Boston's post offices.

 Something as simple as a window gate becomes a work of art in the city, like these on a government building.

 

There are small snippets of times past, jammed into what now is. The juxtaposition of old and new, coexisting happily together.

We took our time, stopped to enjoy some unique buskers, and finally landed in front of the hall.

Cradle of liberty.  Where poets and paupers, businessmen and rebels met to plan and strategize how to fight the British while giving birth to a new nation.

People like Sam Adams who stands guard over Faneuil Hall.

 

You can see the Custom House Tower from Faneuil Hall, which actually did house Customs offices in the city for many years. 

After we strolled through Quincy Marketplace for a while, we watched some street entertainers doing acrobatics of sorts, as Boston's trees started to light up as light began to dwindle.

We headed back in the general direction of our hotel and ran smack dab into the Old South Meeting House, which was the largest building in colonial  Boston. The meeting hall has seen much history, including Samuel Sewell publicly apologizing for the Salem Witch Trials, Benjamin Franklin's baptism, as well as eventually serving as a place for official votes to take place, leading to the American Revolution.

 And then, the juxtaposition between new and old could be seen again in the theater district.  First the Paramount................

....and then the Opera House.

There is something about the energy of a city, that makes the old and the new coexist. It wouldn't be quite right if there was one without the other.

Cold again. I know, big newsflash.  Fire is going, dog is yelling that he'd like to come back in and sit next to it, and I'm tackling logo designs and revisions.

What's happening in your world?

Ciao for now,