Boston Bits ~ Insiders’ Tips -- our monthly journal of things Bostonian, to give Boston Your Way site visitors a sense of our city.

Just because it is November does not mean that it is all over for Boston 'til next spring. There is more to Boston than the Red Sox and foliage. Like most cities, Boston takes on a special quality in the “off season.” High school football teams play their chief rivals. Colleges offer some of the city’s best theatre, art and music. Seasonal lights are beginning to appear on trees in city gardens and soon along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. The city tingles with the early run-up to the holidays at the same time it enjoys the smattering of Indian Summer days.

Insider’s Tip
Best arts/cultural listings can be found in Improper Bostonian and Stuff @Night, both free papers distributed in news boxes around town. The Thursday Calendar section in the Boston Globe is good, too.

November Sky
I love Boston’s sky most in November, especially to the West in the afternoon. It is often thinly covered with the most interesting sweep of high clouds, and the sky itself is a wistful gray-blue. Although it can be sad to see the leaves drop away, at least the bare trees open up the sky.

From a private tour guide’s point of view, bare trees make sightseeing easier. In the summer, too many landmarks are obscured by walls of green.

In winter, I can stand near the Park Street Station on the Boston Common and point out to my guests the State House, the Somerset Club, the Frog Pond, Park Street Church, as well as the streets of the so-called Ladder District, which was home to significant earlier Bostonians, including Samuel Adams, Thomas Perkins and the Peabody sisters. But in the summer, about the only place I can easily point out from the same spot is Park Street Station and the Church.

Insider’s Tip
An easy place to see the November western sky is from the Longfellow Bridge over the Charles between Beacon Hill and Cambridge. Get off at the Charles Street Station on the Red Line and walk up on to the bridge or just walk over to the river bank. You will be treated to the beautiful panorama of the Charles River, the Esplanade, Back Bay and even the Citgo Sign.

Red, Blue, Orange, Green and…Silver?
Boston’s subway system, the oldest in the country, has five car lines, each named for a color symbolizing an aspect of its route. The Blue Line is so named because it goes under the harbor to East Boston. The Red Line between Boston and Cambridge is named for its former terminal at crimson Harvard. The Orange Line is named after Orange Street, the colonial name for Washington Street, along which the line once traveled. The Green Line goes to the (leafy) suburbs. And, finally, the brand new Silver Line? Because the color symbolizes speed and technology, according to the MBTA’s website. Never mind that it is really a bus line, and one that constantly gets caught in downtown traffic.

Acorn Street: The Photo on the Home Page
Recently someone wanted to know what the photograph was on my home page. It is of delightful Acorn Street, the most photographed lane in Boston. It is located on Beacon Hill, just off West Cedar Street and next to Chestnut Street. Although on the more upscale South Side of the hill, Acorn Street was built for coachmen who served the Brahmin neighbors, which explains the modest design and scale of its homes.

Acorn Street is paved with cobblestones, which apparently provided good footing for horses in the 1900s but are miserable to walk on today. Cobblestones were ubiquitous in because they were used as ballast in sailing ships returning to Boston. As you know, Boston was a significant seaport until the early 1800’s. In 1991, when Acorn Street was torn up for underground work, its residents required the utility company doing the project to label and store the stones and then return them to their original places.

Insider’s Tip
Acorn Street is a stone’s throw from Charles Street. It is the neighborhood shopping district for Beacon Hills and one of the best destinations in Boston. Only about six blocks long, it has a wonderful selection of everyday stores, antique shops, boutiques, b and b’s, art galleries, and restaurants. My favorite places to eat are the Paramount, a friendly luncheonette that serves authentic cheap eats, such as grilled cheese and BLT’s; and Beacon Hill Bistro for a more upscale yet relaxed meal.

Big Dig
This month the city is paving Surface Road, a main thoroughfare in the “Big Dig” zone, generating a lot of disruption and complaints. But also this month, the city planted the first tree on the up-and-coming Rose Kennedy Greenway, also in the zone. The Greenway is the 27 acres of open space planned for where the elevated Central Artery used to be.

Insider’s Tip
Although the elevated Central Artery is gone and the Interstate 93 N/S underground highway has been opened for a year, unofficially The Big Dig is not over. The sudden detours and road closures continue to wreck havoc. Avoid the surface roads around the construction, which extend more or less from North Station to South Station between the North End and Quincy Market. Hang in there. It will end, and it will be wonderful.

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