Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eyes in the Skies
For a smashing view of the airport, the harbor, and the South Boston water-
front, stroll along the harbor or Atlantic Avenue to Northern Avenue. On either
side of this intersection are buildings with free observation areas. Be ready to
show an ID to gain entrance. The first, on the 14th floor of Independence
Wharf, 470 Atlantic Ave., is open daily from 11am to 5pm. The other, Foster's
Rotunda, is on the ninth floor of 30 Rowes Wharf, in the Boston Harbor Hotel
complex. It's open Monday to Friday from 11am to 4pm.
Moments
700 Boylston St., Copley Sq. & 617/536-5400. www.bpl.org. Free admission. Year-round Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm,
Fri-Sat 9am-5pm; Oct-May Sun 1-5pm. Closed Sun June-Sept and legal holidays. T: Green Line to Copley.
Mary Baker Eddy Library/Mapparium The Mary Baker Eddy Library, a
research center with two floors of interactive exhibits, aims to explore ideas such as lib-
erty and spirituality through history, with a central role for Mary Baker Eddy, the
founder of Christian Science. The most intriguing artifact is the Mapparium , a
unique hollow globe 30 feet across. A work of both art and history, it consists of a
bronze framework that connects 608 stained-glass panels. Because sound bounces off
the nonporous surfaces, the acoustics are as unusual as the aesthetics. As you cross the
glass bridge just south of the equator, you'll see the political divisions of the world
from 1932 to 1935, when the three-story globe was constructed.
World Headquarters of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, 200 Massachusetts Ave. & 888/222-3711 or 617/450-
7000. www.mbelibrary.org. Admission $6 adults; $4 seniors, students, and children 6-17. Tues-Sun 10am-4pm.
Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec 25. MBTA: Green Line E to Symphony; Green Line B, C, or D to Hynes Conven-
tion Center; or Orange Line to Mass. Ave. Parking $5.
Kids
Museum of African American History In Revolutionary War-obsessed
New England, the history of the black community that thrived in Boston from early
colonial times gets short shrift, with some notable exceptions. The final stop on the
Black Heritage Trail (p. 162), this museum is one of those exceptions, presenting a
comprehensive look at the history and contributions of blacks in Boston and Massa-
chusetts. It occupies the Abiel Smith School (1834), the first American public gram-
mar school for African-American children, and the African Meeting House, 8 Smith
Court. Changing and permanent exhibits use art, artifacts, documents, historic pho-
tographs, and other objects—including many family heirlooms—to explore an impor-
tant era in the country's history. The oldest standing black church in the United States,
the meeting house opened in 1806. William Lloyd Garrison founded the New Eng-
land Anti-Slavery Society in this building, where Frederick Douglass made some of his
great abolitionist speeches. Once known as the “Black Faneuil Hall,” it also schedules
lectures, concerts, and church meetings. The museum (formerly the Museum of Afro-
American History) will mount the temporary exhibit Black Entrepreneurs of the
18th and 19th Centuries beginning in the fall of 2008.
46 Joy St. & 617/725-0022. www.afroammuseum.org. Free admission; suggested donation $5. Mon-Sat 10am-
4pm. Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec 25. MBTA: Red or Green Line to Park Street, or Red Line to Charles/MGH.
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