Charles Street

Beacon Hill residents gird to fight off Capital One barbarians

adamg — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:18:21 +0000

Ross Levanto explains the growing outrage on Beacon Hill over Capital One's plans to turn the Charles Street Market into Yet Another Bank:

One neighbor noted how the market is the only place on the street she can visit late at night when she feels threatened. Another talked about the over saturation of banks on Charles Street.

Capital One goes before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 28 for permission to financialize the corner market.

Citizen complaint of the day: Sandwich boards on Charles Street spiraling out of control

adamg — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:49:01 +0000

An incensed Beacon Hill resident or visitor complains:

Huge sandwich board sign on Charles Street. There are almost 2 dozen from Charles Circle to Beacon Street. I believe they are against Boston Sign Code. Now as one store owner sets one up, they are proliferating down the street. Please warn owners. Thank you.

Sure sign of impending summer on Beacon Hill

lunchbreakphotodude — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:25:06 +0000

Antique cars back out for the season. Spotted at lunch time today on Charles Street. Two scruffy guys came out of it, so funny.

DeLuca's Beacon Hill fire explained; Back Bay shop reopens

JohnAKeith — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:04:07 +0000

Both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald are reporting that an electrical short circuit spark was the cause of the July 8th basement fire at DeLuca's Market on Beacon Hill.

“It is known that there was an electrical problem earlier that morning that resulted in an electrician being called and then doing work in the basement,” Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said.

It's good when panhandlers have your back

adamg — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:34:44 +0000

Megan Johnson, who admits to stealing toilet papers from public loos in her current unemployment, still tried to help out the panhandler who asked her for change at Boylston and Charles today. She gave him what she had, which was a bunch of pennies - which he then threw at her. But the Boloco people who saw the whole thing gave her a free smoothie - and she reports her regular panhandler, at Beacon and Charles, volunteered to go find the first guy and beat him up after she told him what had happened. Complete with a photo of the lout, should you wish to avoid him.

Liberty Hotel evacuated due to high carbon-monoxide levels

adamg — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:20:27 +0000

Boston Fire Department reports the cause of the carbon monoxide was "a small hole" in a boiler that let the gas escape into the hotel ventilation system. No injuries.

Local 718 tweeted around 10:15 a.m.

Fire crews still on scene at the former Charles Street jail an hour later, when Local 716 tweeted CO meters on multiple floors were showing levels of 20 parts per million (ppm), with peaks as high as 53 ppm. The lower levels are considered a potential problem for young children and people with serious breathing issues; the higher levels are considered "excessive" and anybody exposed to them should be checked by a doctor.

Among the evacuated guests, spotted by Phillip McCarthy:

[A] guy standing at the corner of Pinckney and Charles streets with two diaper-clad monkeys on his shoulders.

Channel 5 reports the monkeys are staying at the hotel while they film "The Zookeeper." No word if they're distraught over the death of their co-star, Tweet the giraffe.

The bejeweled man in the Benz outside the Starbucks at Charles and Beacon

adamg — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:20:10 +0000

Megan Johnson reports that whenever she goes there, there is always this older guy at the corner, sitting in a Mercedes convertible just reading. Hermoves takes his picture.

The stupidity of a one-way Charles Street

adamg — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:32:08 +0000

That recent Globe piece on unruly bike riders featured a photo of a bicyclist going the wrong way on Charles Street. Sean Roche explains why the bicyclists had no choice: There is no legal way for a bicyclist to head north from Beacon between the Storrow entrance and Bowdoin Street, because all the roads are one way towards Beacon.

... The picture of supposed biker carelessness is more damning of a city that doesn't provide any accommodation on a stretch that really needs it. But, it's not just bikers who are shortchanged by the configuration of Charles St.

Quite obviously, allocating all the space between the curbs to either parking or auto travel doesn't serve the needs of those on two wheels. Less obviously, the three lanes of one-way travel ill-serve the neighborhood. Three lanes of one-way traffic serve one principal purpose: moving traffic. Local merchants don't benefit from through traffic. Nor do the folks who live in the area. ...

Ed. oldtimer note/question: I seem to recall Charles used to go the other way, but one night, DPW crews reversed the direction on orders of Kevin White, who wanted to limit the flow of hoi polloi on the street. Do I remember correctly?

Back in the day on Beacon Hill

adamg — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:55:36 +0000

Richard Beaubien transports us to an earlier, more innocent time on Beacon Hill - like two days ago.

Copyright Richard Beaubien.

One of the worst places in Boston to be a pedestrian

adamg — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:27:20 +0000

Shirley explains why it's the stretch from the Liberty Hotel to the Longfellow Bridge, where pedestrians have to battle with drivers coming out of Charles Circle, in particular, motorists coming off Cambridge and Charles streets:

... These people are hitting their gas pedal to accelerate on the on ramp onto any of the Storrow Drive entrances and being already frustrated by the long red lights, they are not letting any measly pedestrians stop them from where they need to be going. It is scary because most of them do not use their signals, or even if they do, a pedestrian cannot really tell which way the vehicle is heading. I urge Boston to please, reconsider pedestrianizing this intersection. ...

Fire and ice

adamg — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:59:26 +0000

Fire at Charles Street causes Red Line disruption. Fire reported around 9 p.m., declared out in about 30 minutes.

Why does the brand-spanking new Charles Street T stop only have an up escalator?

adamg — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:20:46 +0000

It suddenly became more than an academic question for Psipsina yesterday when she had to figure out how to get to work while suffering some intense pain from a weekend hike:

... I could barely manage the stairs in my house. I had to decide between getting off at an elevated T station where I would have to take the stairs down (no down escalator! shame on the MBTA) and walk a half mile, or getting off at an underground T station that has no escalators at all and no elevators, and climbing two flights of stairs before walking a block. Neither appealed; I did the former. ...