Title
Archive for the 'Everything Else' Category
Groton Inn Burned in Fire
The Groton Inn has long been one of the signature buildings on the lovely main street through Groton Massachusetts. Sadly, the Groton Inn burned in a large fire on August 2, 2011.
Groton is lined with gorgeous Colonials and parts of the Groton Inn dated to the 1670s. The inn was on the National Register of Historic Places. At least one mural in the inn was thought to be painted by Rufus Porter.
I wrote up an offer on a house for sale in Groton over breakfast at the Groton Inn earlier this year. It’s hard to believe it’s gone.
It’s actually not gone yet. I was surprised several weeks ago to see it still standing, albeit terribly damaged. Turns out that there are many pushing for parts of it to be salvaged. The Historic District Commission and an architectural preservationist from the National Park Service have toured the badly damaged inn and identified a portion that might be salvaged. The town has since issued a demolition order and it seems that the current owner is intent on demolishing the inn in total. A petitition has been started urging that whatever can be saved be preserved.
It’s difficult to think of Groton Center without this beautiful old building. Here are a few photos we took of the Groton Inn several weeks after the fire.
Groton Inn Destroyed by Fire
Remains of the Groton Inn Groton MA
Catastrophic Fire Damage - Groton Inn
Good Stamps
Good Stamps
Representative Stephen Lynch has proposed a bill to tweak the USPS pension payments in an effort to keep the USPS afloat. Good thing since I’ve got a lot of stamps to use.
I love good stamps. I’m that picky customer in front of you making the postal clerk produce every commemorative stamp he’s got in his drawer. But I buy a *lot* of stamps so I figure I’ve earned those few extra minutes at the post office counter.
My latest haul at the post office filled me with joy. Now these are good stamps!
I had stopped by the post office because of a Cambridge-postal stamp connection. Botanist Asa Gray, whose 1810 Cambridge house at 88 Garden Street sold for $3,400,000 earlier this year, is one of the four scientists featured on the American Scientists stamps from the post office.
While I was picking up the Asa Gray stamps I couldn’t help myself. I also bought:
The new Mark Twain stamps. If you’ve never been to Mark Twain’s house in Hartford CT you are in for a treat. It’s magnificent.
The new Pioneers of American Industrial Design stamps. These stamps are so cool. Designers responsible for such signature pieces as the Selectric typewriter, the Brownie camera and Fiestaware are featured. Designers honored on the stamps include Russel Wright, Norman Bel Geddes and Raymond Loewy.
The new Go Green stamps. I love what these stamps depict - actual environmentally friendly, simple practices as opposed to “green” (as in the color of money) marketing efforts. The stamps promote:
- Composting
- Turning off lights when not in use
- Fixing water leaks
- Buying local produce and reusing bags
- Insulating your house
- Adjusting the thermostat
- Using public transportation
- Sharing rides
- Hanging your clothes out to dry
- Choosing to walk, not drive
- Planting trees
- Maintaining tire pressure on your car
All of these stamps, like all the new USPS regular rate stamps, are “forever” stamps. Let’s hope the USPS is around for years to come – I’ve got a lot of stamps!
Skateboard House
PAS House - Skateboard Dream
PAS House, aka the Skateboard House, is a fantasy made real for any teenage skateboarder or former skateboarder.
But you’ve got to grow up and make a lot of money to make your dreams come true if your dream is to have one of the world’s most unusual houses designed for you.
Pierre-Andre Senizergues, formerly a professional skateboarder and now the owner of Etnies, a sportswear company, commissioned architect Francois Perrin to create a house in which every surface is skateable.
PAS House (the name uses the owner-to-be’s initials) is a skatepark of a house. The walls are curved, the kitchen counters can be skated on, even the furniture is designed to be used by skateboarders.
This summer a full-scale prototype of the inside of the house was on display in Paris. The skateboard house will be built in Malibu, California.
The Etnies website has amazing videos of skateboarders and cyclists in the PAS House prototype. A recent New York Times article includes an article with architect Francois Perrin about the skateboard house.
Senizergues’ current house, filled with skateboard art and artifacts, is pretty fabulous as well. In fact, the LA Times called it the “ultimate skateboarder’s place”. It’s almost as though Senizergues thought “I’ll show you the ultimate skateboarder’s place” – and commissioned Francois Perrin to create it.
Move Gone Wrong – Sprinklers Flood Condo Building
Broken sprinkler floods condo building in Boston
Moving is never easy. If you were joining the masses moving into Cambridge and Boston this weekend I hope your move went smoothly.
One move went terribly wrong this week.
The Boston Globe reported that it was a mattress strapped atop a car that broke off a sprinkler head in the garage of the Metropolitan condo building at 1 Nassau Street in Boston. The fire protection system then pushed additional water through the system, eventually causing a sprinkler to burst on the 23rd floor of the high rise. Water flowed through a number of floors, damaging multiple condos. Ouch!
The Metropolitan was built in 2004. Penthouse condos in the building sold for $1M+.
Houses by Julia Baum Photography – Website Wednesday
In Cambridge, our matching houses are often triple deckers
This portfolio, Houses, by photographer Julia Baum documents the wonderfully varied appearances of tract houses in a Santa Clara California development. The houses were initially quite similar when built in the 1950s but now are showcases for their owners’ personal, sometimes quirky, choices. It’s great fun to scroll through Baum’s 13 images.
Scotty Dog Cutout Shutters
Scotty Dog Cutout Shutters
Heart be still – these have to be the best cutout shutters I ever did see! I spotted them this afternoon on a colonial in Melrose.
Cut-out shutters do something to me – they produce that internal “click” that makes any house instantly appealing. Cutout shutters come in all sorts of varieties – diamonds, initials, squirrels, shamrocks, etc.
But scotty dogs? Never did see these before. Scotty dog cutout shutters are a twofer for me. This house isn’t for sale but if it were I’d be in line.
I’m a cat person but years ago on ebay I discovered the enormous popularity of scotty dogs and scotty dog ephemera. Though I’ll never have a real live scotty dog my house now has its share of scotty dog collectibles – I’ve got drinking glasses, vintage cards, framed mottos, books and more adorned with these endearing little black dogs.
Here’s more info about cutout shutters in an earlier House Parts post I wrote. Sadly, the squirrel shutters pictured on the Cambridge house have since been removed.
And here’s the charming Melrose colonial adorned with scotty dog cutout shutters.
Melrose house with scotty dog shutters
Camps, Meetups and More Around Boston
WordCamp Boston 2011
I’ve been spending a lot of time at camp lately.
No – not summer camp, or Girl Scout camp, or pitch-a-tent-in-the-woods camping. As appealing as all of that sounds, these camps have all been held indoors.
I’m not really sure why techies, bloggers and online enthusiasts of all stripes coined the term “camp” to describe these seminars, get-togethers, and conferences (or “unconferences” as these are often called) – but “camp” it is. Lately I’ve been to RainCamp, REBarCamp, and just this weekend to WordCamp at BU where more than 500 Wordpress bloggers and developers gathered for two days of sessions.
Boston is a hotbed of these annual get togethers. Don’t want to wait that long for your fix? There’s also a variety of groups that meet regularly to learn and share about all sorts of web-related topics and endeavors.
Internet Marketing, Web and Blogging Groups Around Boston
If you’re a blogger, an online marketer, have a website or plan to create one, there are amazing opportunities around Boston to learn from and meet with many who are making a splash online. Most of these groups are free. When there’s a cost for a program it’s typically very low relative to the value of the get-together.
Here are some of the meetings and groups in and around Boston – some I’ve been to, some I haven’t. Be sure to check out Meetup.com for plenty of other groups that may more closely match your interests – from the creative to the super-tech.
The Cambridge SEO Meetup This long running group meets monthly (usually the first Monday evening of the month) at the Arlington Public Library. Speakers and discussion about search engine optimization (SEO), affiliate marketing and and social media. Not to be missed.
SEMPO Boston Local branch of the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO). If you’re responsible for your own SEO efforts or your company’s these meetings and presentations will be valuable in your efforts.
Boston Internet Marketing Meetup Meets in Boston and Cambridge. Meetups include presentations, Q & A, and networking on topics that include websites, social media, SEO, video and more.
Boston Wordpress Meetup Meets on the last Monday evening of the month, usually at Microsoft, overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge. If you’re a Wordpress blogger or developer this popular meetup is a must.
Boston Media Makers Meets the first Sunday of each month at Doyle’s in J.P. With a focus on audio and video on the web, the group’s members include videobloggers, filmmakers, writers, social media enthusiasts and more.
Camps Coming to Boston
Podcamp Boston is scheduled for September 24-25, 2011 at the Microsoft N.E.R.D Center in Cambridge on Memorial Drive. Podcamp Boston will have sessions on podcasting, blogging, video blogging, social media and more.
Tech Day Camp will be held in Quincy on October 22, 2011. Tech topics of all sorts will be explored: Facebook, the Ipad, video, computer basics, self-publishing, Twitter, and lots more. No matter your skill level you’ll find something of interest here.
If you know of other upcoming or ongoing opportunities near Boston be sure to leave the info in a comment.
Cambridge Pod Patrol
Join the Cambridge Pod Patrol - Pick Pods!
Black swallow-wort is flourishing in Cambridge and nearby cities and towns so the Cambridge Pod Patrol will be hitting the streets and city green spaces.
The Cambridge Pod Patrol is a volunteer endeavor organized to spread the word about this highly invasive vine-like plant and to enlist residents’ help in stemming its spread throughout the city.
Black swallow-wort is a danger for birds and butterflies and its aggressive growth forces out native vegetation or garden plants.
Once you know what it looks like you’ll likely spot black swallow-wort all over the city. It covers chain link fences, it grows in gardens and winds its way around other plants, it’s likely to sprout up anywhere there’s a bit of dirt. It’s most distinctive features are green, shiny leaves in opposing pairs and, at this time of year, smooth greed pods that look like a cross between a milk weed pod and a peapod.
What can you do about black swallowwort when you see it?
Pick pods! Carry a bag with you when you’re out on a walk and pick all the pods you can find. Tightly wrap the bag and dispose of it in the trash – not in a compost bin or with yard waste.
And let your neighbors know about black swallow-wort in the neighborhood. Here’s the Cambridge Pod Patrol flyer with more info and pictures of Black Swallow-wort.
Estimates suggest that a thick stand of black swallow-wort will produce 2,000 seeds per square yard. Pods left on a dead vine will still open and send out seeds.
Unfortunately, black swallow-wort has made inroads at Fresh Pond Reservation. This Sunday, July 10th, the Cambridge Pod Patrol will hold it’s debut event at Fresh Pond Reservation. Come join the battle against Black Swallow-wort and help pick pods. There’ll be information and refreshments for pod pickers.
The Cambridge Pod Patrol kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, July 10, 2011 from 1 to 4 pm at Fresh Pond Reservation. Volunteers can meet in the Water Department parking lot and will head out around Fresh Pond to pick pods.
Black Swallow-wort – Help Spread the Word – Not the Seed!
Copyright © 2008 - 2011 Centers And Squares Agent Login Design by Real Estate Tomato Powered by Tomato Real Estate Blogs
