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Parks with WiFi?
By Jay Levitt on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 8:45am
I work from home. Now that it's getting warmer out, I'd love to get my work done in the fresh air. But I can't think of any place that:
* Has reasonably comfortable benches
* Has shady spots (can't see the laptop in the sun)
* Is near a public WiFi access point
* Isn't next to noisy traffic
* Is reasonably close (15-20 minutes) to Central Square
Anyone have any ideas? I need a Starbucks-in-the-Park...
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Comments
Christopher Columbus Park
on the North End waterfront has signs advertising free city-sponsored Wi-Fi. I've never used it, so I can't tell you how well it works.
oif!
I need a Starbucks-in-the-Park...
Don't give 'em any more ideas!
Library Courtyard
This may not fit your requirements but since others out there might find it useful, I'll recommend the courtyard at the Copley Square branch of the Boston Public Library.
I wrote about it a couple of times last summer.
http://www.bostonzest.com/2008/09/meet-me-at-the.html
You do need a Boston Library card with pin number to use the WIFI.
I'll check the other Boston Parks and see if you can pick up free WIFI anywhere other than Christopher Columbus.
Does the wifi from Andala reach Cronin Park?
Andala Cafe has outdoor seating and free wifi just off Central square and is awfully nice. There are two tiny parks near there too but I don't think they'd meet your other criteria. Cronin Park has no shade or official seating, and the pocket park next to the old police station has benches but not much else to recommend it.
Go wireless (as oppsoed to WI-Fi)
Get your self an air card from Verizon, AT&T, etc.... or a tetherable blackberry. Then any bench in any park (for the most part) is your spot. This depends on your type of work (do the speeds work for you?) and budget (can you afford/justify the extra $50 a month?)
Better man than I
You can actually get something done working outside? Too many distractions for me, but great if you can pull it off.
This reminds me of the school days (way long ago...) when a teacher would decide to have a class outside on a beautiful day. Absolutely nothing got done, but we got to enjoy the day... ;-)
Keeping a list
I've made sure the places in this thread are tagged on Povo:
Parks with Wifi in Boston
Hopefully the list will grow.
Oh, if you're doing parks in general
Doesn't help the original poster (sorry!), but Adams Park in Roslindale Square has free WiFi, although it's kind of clunky (you have to register to use it, and they kick you off after, I think, 30 minutes, although if you're in the right spot in the park, you can connect to the access point at the library across Washington Street).
The benches are in direct sunlight at lunchtime, so they're out for laptop use, but there are a number of trees that are pretty comfortable to sit against, as long as you don't mind sitting on grass and/or dirt (some of us have lower standards or don't have to return to an office).
Also, speaking of the BPL and WiFi, the West Roxbury branch has a very nice, quiet little courtyard out back (although I prefer the comfy chairs upstairs, but then, I'm not an outdoorsy type).
Consider wireless-free
I used to do a lot of work on my laptop from parks. I couldn't check email or Web, but I could do coding and writing.
If you have a phone that can check email, that might be sufficient. You can always move to a cafe if you need to check email or do Web.
Really, you usually don't want to be sitting against a tree or on a park bench, squinting at a dim display, for more than an hour or two at a time, anyway.
Also, protect your laptop. Working under trees can mist your laptop with tree sap. And little bugs will eventually crawl into your laptop.
colleges maybe?
Brookline Wireless reaches some of the parks on Beacon st and let's anyone have a free hour or two. I'd also recommend college campuses - they always have green space, benches and a guest user section of their wifi. Maybe NEU?
Cambridge Public Internet at Newtowne Court
There is public internet, brought to you by the City of Cambridge, at the Newtowne Court Housing development at Windsor and Main Streets. It was put in as part of a pilot project to bridge the digital divide for residents of Newtowne Court. Decommissioned City computers were refurbished by students at CRLS, and then given to 35 families, with a bit of training. The project manager was Cambridge Community Television (http://cctvcambridge.org) and collaborators included the City, Tutoring Plus and the Cambridge Housing Authority, as well as other organizations and individuals.
I am not sure about the seating in the courtyard of the development, but you should get a good signal for CPI - Cambridge Public Internet.
Public housing not a great choice for laptopping
I figured the Newtowne Court grounds were for residents only.
Also, Newtowne Court is very nice (nicer than any apartment I've had here, in fact), but I think you will see more crime near public housing developments in general, even when they're leagues better than what we typically think of as "public housing." And street robbery of laptop from person on park bench is not unheard-of in Cambridge (Wicked Local reports an attempt on the 16th).
That said, the only crime I recall witnessing firsthand from Newtowne Court was when I was walking past on a holiday, and some man from across the street threw a hard liquor bottle that barely missed my head and then shattered nearby. People standing next to him tackled him and started yelling at him, and I was going to meet a friend, so I didn't report the incident.