Photograph by Michael Warren
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Bob Vila’s Boston
By Bob Vila as told to Erik Sherman, January-February 2004
Think you know beans about Boston? To see it like Bob Vila does, abandon your Bunker Hill mentality
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Bob Vila, creator of the classic PBS series This Old House, cut his home
improvement teeth in the Boston area. "My first house was in Newton, near
Boston College," he says. "It was the house that we used in the pilot
episode of This Old House." We asked Bob to fix us up with his favorite
off-the-beaten-track spots in Greater Boston—and he came back with this
personal to-do list.
> I Get Around Boston is a nightmare for driving and parking on
those narrow, crowded streets. So I think the best way to see Boston—and
Cambridge, just across the Charles River—is on foot. For an early morning
walk or run, there's nothing like the path around the Fresh Pond Reservoir
in Cambridge. Every Saturday at 10 a.m., you can enter a 2.5- or five-mile race
around the reservoir. It is free, and there are no prizes, but the top runners
see their names printed in the next day's Boston Globe. I've always
enjoyed walking my dogs around the reservoir, and also exploring the big,
beautiful Audubon wildlife preserve at the Habitat Education Center in
Belmont.
> Bean Town Breakfast The Hi-Rise Bakery in Cambridge, at the
corner of Huron and Concord Avenues, has the best café au lait. Its
baked goods are fabulous—especially the breads and scones—and the
store serves incredible hot oatmeal with nuts and berries.
> Square Deals Walking around Harvard Square is a wonderful way to
spend a few hours. One of the neatest things to go see is the old Harvard
Lampoon building down on Bow Street. It's a wonderful little building known
for its unusual wedge shape, copper roof with a weathervane in the form of an
ibis, and bright purple-and-yellow door. And around the corner, at the
intersection of Mount Auburn and Plympton Streets, there's a one-of-a-kind
ethnic art and artifacts store called the Hurst Gallery. It specializes in
Asian, pre-Columbian, African, American Indian, and Oceanic art. Right next
door to the gallery is the best florist in the area, Bow Street Flowers. Last
Mother's Day, I got kudos from both my mother and my mother-in-law about
the flowers. So the store is doing something right.
> Midday Munchies Lunch at the Museum of Fine Arts is one of the
great things to do in Boston. The museum recently closed the lovely cafe in the
Garden Court, but it has a brand-new restaurant called Bravo that features
dishes made with locally grown ingredients.
> Two If By Sea A sail on the Charles River is the perfect way to start
the afternoon. Depending on the time of year, you can take a sailing lesson.
From the water you get jaw-dropping views of the Boston skyline.
> Where Art Thou? The Mary Baker Eddy Library has reopened the
Mapparium, a world globe you can walk through. Another of my favorite spots is
the Boston Public Library courtyard.
Boston's Fenway area is mostly known for the Red Sox ballpark, but
it's also the home of the terrific Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It has
a wonderful collection, including works by John Singer Sargent. Best of all,
the museum is designed around a central, flower-filled courtyard.
> Shipping Views If you're into naval history, head a little
north to Salem, home to the Peabody Essex Museum. There's a section
dedicated to U.S. naval history, the story of Chinese trade, and the long
tradition of North Shore maritime history—with all sorts of nautical
items, including scrimshaw and figureheads. Just added is a new building,
designed by Moshe Safdie, that beautifully evokes sails and ship forms. I lived
in Massachusetts for 30 years, so I've become a bit of a naval history
buff. I've even been encouraged to develop a TV program about restoring
boats, but I haven't found the time. I don't even get enough time to
spend on my own boat!
>These Old Houses There are great homes and estates all around
Greater Boston. The Lyman Estate in Waltham is one of my favorites. It has
great greenhouses, and it's one of many spots around Boston where not only
has a historic house been well maintained, but also the property around it.
There's the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury, a royal colonial
governor's mansion maintained and restored by a preservation group.
Shirley-Eustis is on top of a hill surrounded by small homes neatly tended by a
community of immigrants from the Cape Verde islands.
If you happen to be restoring an old house in the area, for building
supplies I'd send you to the National Lumber Company, which has three
stores in and around Boston. It's an old established lumber yard that has
good service, and it's nice to know that it hasn't been gobbled up by
one of the giants.
> Fishing Expedition Time for dinner! Legal Sea Foods is a classic
Boston restaurant chain. One of my favorite locations is the one at Park
Square. Back in Harvard Square there's the Harvest restaurant, down a
walkway from the Crate & Barrel store. It has a nice risotto. The Charles
Hotel, in Harvard Square, also has a terrific restaurant called Rialto. It was
started by a friend of mine, Michela Larson. And The Café at the
Ritz-Carlton Boston has the best corned beef hash in town!
Erik Sherman is a freelance writer based in Massachusetts.
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