The Purple Mango Pandemonium

Musings of an unapologetic, natural, smart, left-handed woman navigating this thing called life.

Boston you’re my home!

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Boston Chinatown – the only historic Chinatown in New England. It’s probably third behind San Francisco and New York in terms of Chinatowns in the US. Lots of good food here!

The Roman Catholic Mission Church in the Mission Hill area of Boston. You can’t miss it! It’s real name is The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.


The NEIDL (National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories) in front of the Boston skyline at night.

Watching people taking a ride on the Swan Boats in Boston Public Garden (the first botanical garden in the United States). It’s a legacy dating back to the 1970s. I haven’t had the pleasure yet.

The Episcopalian Trinity Church in Copley Square was completed in 1877. It looks “interesting” from the outside. I was told it’s known for its stained glass but on the day I went to visit the guide could not convince me to part with $6 to look inside. I wonder if the Church knows that they have such un-enthusiastic employees/volunteers (I don’t know which). My internet search revealed that it is one of the “Ten Most Significant Buildings in the United States” as determined by the American Institute of Architects. It’s also a “National Historic Landmark”.

The tall glass skyscraper nearby is the John Hancock Tower or “The Hancock”. It’s the tallest sksycraper in New England and was completed in the mid 1970s.

Below is a picture I took while riding the (yellow) duck tour as we passed by The Hancock. I love how the Trinity Church is reflected in the glass.

Also in Copley Square/Back Bay is the Boston Public Library (est. 1848), the first public library in the United States. It’s huge! Nearby is the Old South Church another Historic Landmark. It’s a Congregational church that boasts former members such as Benjamin Franklin, Phylis Wheatley, and Samuel Adams.

Interestingly, the Back Bay area of Boston is landfill!

An underground mural at the Park Street T station. It’s one of the oldest subway stations in the United States.

The Old State House is one of the historic landmarks on the Freedom Trail. It’s the oldest surviving public building in Boston (built 1713) and the seat of the first elected legislature in the New World. At around 1pm on 7/18/1776 Colonel Crafts proclaimed the Declaration of Independence from this balcony.

I may have been standing at (or within feets)of the site of the Boston Massacre of 1770 when I took this picture.
Below, the burial ground for the victims of the Boston Massacre.

There are lot of interesting cemetaries in Boston if that is your thing.

Park Street Church (near the Park Street T station) is an Evangelical church that is celebrating its bicentennial this year. It’s also a historic landmark. “America” (the “my country tis of thee song”) was first sung here in 1831. In addition, William Lloyd Garrison, a famous abolitionist, gave his first anti-slavery speech here in 1829.


The Boston Common is the oldest public park in the United States (1634). This monument is from the Park Street & Tremont corner of the park.

Kilroy was here! I wonder if the DUKW I was on when I took the Duck Tour was an original World War II vehicle. I want to say it was.

The Museum of Science as seen from the Charles River. It’s a wonderful museum but what I like the most about its history is that after World War II the Society of the museum negotiated a 99-year lease of the land that spans the Charles River (now known as Science Park). Result? The museum currently pays ONE DOLLAR annually for the use of the land. What a deal! They better be saving up their monies for when the lease is up!

One question. Who lives here (along Charles River)?!

Boston skyline as seen from the Charles River. I have to say that the best part of the DUCK tour is the ~30 minutes that we spend in the water versus the land part (too much Boston traffic). The Charles River is my dividing line between Boston and Cambridge. It exits into the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to the Museum of Science, and the ?condos above, other buildings along the shore of the river are MIT, BU, Brandeis, and Harvard.

Another view from the river. This is the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge aka Zakim bridge or Bunker Hill bridge! Completed in 2003, it is the world’s widest cable-stayed bridge. I don’t take it often, but when I do I want to stop and marvel for a bit, especially if I take it at night. At night it’s lit up so beautifully, which only makes one wonder how much electricity is being wasted.
Finally, the current State House. Built in 1788, this “new State House” sits atop Beacon Hill on land once owned by John Hancock (first governor of Massachusetts and known for his rather large signature on the United States Declaration of Independence.
The dome is covered with 23 karat gold to prevent leaks. That’s funny I say. Only gold on roofs can prevent leaks? I understand that the original roof was a leaky wooden one, but really gold? Well it got its first gold plating in 1874, then in 1947 after the World War II. Apparently during WWII, this beacon of Boston was plated gray so that enemy ships in the Boston harbor couldn’t see it to use it as a target. The gold re-plating is supposed to be done every thirty years or so and I beleive the last time was in 1997.

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THE PURPLE MANGO PANDEMONIUM

A lover of mangoes. A woman - smart, without pretense, lefthanded, Afropolitan - navigating this thing called life. An unapologetic believer in social justice and karma. Choosing to radiate positive energy and be true to myself. Here, my musings.

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