Hanover Street

Stanley Cup flash mob in the North End

adamg — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:14:08 +0000

NorthEndWaterfront.com was there with a camera today.

Covering eyesores until they can be permanently fixed

lex.galloway — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:32:32 +0000

Imagine City Hall or the Hynes covered in vines.

If Nate Swain has his way, it could happen. For the past couple of years, he's been covering eyesores in the North End with vinyl canvases covered with high-resolution photos. See if you can spot his work in the photo above.

His first project was in a building facing Salem and Prince streets in 2009. He photographed and then printed scenes such as a cat on a windowsill with flowers in pots; a goldfish swimming in a bowl, printed them onto a mesh vinyl back, then installed them over the windows. The idea is to create a sort of an "idyllic" concept, as he calls it.

LaMattina: Nobody's going to make Hanover Street one way

adamg — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:26:03 +0000

Matt Conti reports the councilor for the North End threw water on a North End Chamber of Commerce idea to stuff more tourists into the neighborhood by turning Hanover into another Charles or Newbury. LaMattina also discussed vexing Hanover issues, from double-parked trucks to selfish valets and taxis that just circle the block, at a recent residents association meeting.

What if Hanover Street were one way?

adamg — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:40:54 +0000

The Globe reports some North End business types have begun talking up the idea because they could cram in more tourists in a neighborhood that's been bustling like nobody's business since the Central Artery came down. Some residents, though, say the last thing the neighborhood needs is more tourists.

Thongs a lot

adamg — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:59:23 +0000

Kate reports she's had enough of drunks on Hanover Street in the North End - such as whoever left two thongs on the handlebars of her bike there sometime late Sunday or early Monday:

Were two girls walking by and decided to take their undies off and hang them on my bike? Did someone find them on the ground and hang them? How did they get on the ground? Ugh.

At least she doesn't live in South Boston.

Trying to settle the Hanover Street cannoli war once and for all

adamg — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:09:48 +0000

Shelly and Andreas get a cannoli apiece from Mike's and the Modern and then put them to the test. Hint: They determine the tourists might actually be on the right side in this.

Sal LaMattina doesn't just get hit by Segways

adamg — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 14:37:56 +0000

In an article about the mess that is Cross Street (that plaza between the Greenway and the North End at Hanover that can't decide if it's a road or an outdoor seating area), the Globe reports the city councilor has been hit by a car twice there.

Meanwhile, Matt Conti says he was misquoted in the article and explains the issues along Cross Street and what he'd do about them.

Motorcyclists declare war on Hanover Street restaurants, Councilor LaMattina

adamg — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:16:38 +0000

The Wild Bunch set, still fuming over a LaMattina-backed ordinance that dares to tell them how loud their bikes can be, is trying to come up with ways to express their disgruntlement.

A pair of California bikers propose taking all the parking spaces on Hanover Street at 5 p.m. on a Friday to show the restaurants what's what:

... To boycott all of Boston is a very broad target. It appears some Hanover Street restaurants contacted LaMattina to target bikers, so you and your friends should target them back. There are ways to do this, such as showing up in large numbers at 5pm on a Friday night and taking up all parking spaces while you go and visit the Paul Revere House. ...

Of course, the joke's on them because the Paul Revere House closes at 5:15 p.m. Still, can you imagine if they teamed up with the Commercial Avenue Segway guy? Chaos in the streets!

Via Matt Conti.

City council to consider banning Segways from busy sidewalks

adamg — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:48:58 +0000

City Councilor Sal LaMattina (East Boston, North End, Charlestown) says he knows firsthand what it's like to get run into by a Segway - and wants to keep it from happening to people on busy commercial streets in Boston.

LaMattina told the council today that when he worked for the city transportation department, when Segways were new, he and transportation Commissioner Tom Tinlin went to Segway headquarters in New Hampshire to check them out. Company officials told them a pedestrian couldn't get hurt if hit by one - but he wanted hard proof, so he told Tinlin to get on a Segway and ram him.

"Let me tell you, it hurt," he said.

He predicted fortune teller would violate her permit

adamg — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:48:02 +0000

Matt Conti reports Hanover Street's new fortune teller has already violated three of her license requirements, most notably a prohibition on garish neon signs.

Conti says when he heard about the proposed shop, he just knew this would happen.

Hanover Street could get first psychic

adamg — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:58:35 +0000

Matt Conti is amazed the North End/Waterfront Residents Association voted to approve a permit request from a woman who wants to open a fortune-telling studio at 215 Hanover St.:

At the NEWRA meeting, an abutter spoke in support of the permit. The abutter owns an international real estate firm, also in the building. She believes that more traffic would be beneficial in the building. The abutter also believes the applicant has psychic ability.

Grief, applause on Hanover Street in farewell to Kennedy

adamg — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:25:40 +0000

Shortly after 4 p.m., the news copters started circling over the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Boston police and state troopers on motorcycles began roaring by, and people who'd been waiting for an hour or more stood up, knowing the funeral procession was approaching.

Some people had tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to their senator. Others applauded or waved as his hearse passed. Inside the limos and one bus of the procession, members of the Kennedy family returned the waves. And then, quickly, it was over. A Duck Boat turned onto Hanover. The driver managed to refrain from asking his passengers to quack.

How does turkey marsala sound?

adamg — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:59:56 +0000

Wild turkey crossing Hanover Street. Yes, that Hanover Street.

The art of buying pastry on Christmas Eve in the North End

adamg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:30:07 +0000

Ross Levanto makes his annual Christmas-Eve trek to Mike's Pastry and shares a hard-won tip:

... You need to feel the crowd and the lines, and look for a "soft spot" where the attendant-to-customer ratio is the highest. ...

Hard at work

adamg — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:34:53 +0000

Merlinmurph observes somebody ensconced on Hanover Street in the North End.