June 4, 2022
After spending a couple of days checking out one of Boston’s newest districts, we made our way over to Back Bay, a much more traditional neighborhood.
First stop was the Saturday market that surrounds Copley Square.
Sitting at the edge of the square is Trinity Church. Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and built in the 1870s, it is the building that established Richardson’s reputation and is the birthplace and archetype of the Richardson Romanesque style.
Overlooking the church is another iconic Boston building. At 62 stories, The John Hancock Tower is the tallest building in New England. It was designed by Henry B. Cobb of the firm I.M. Pei & Partners and was completed in 1976.
The square is named for John Singleton Copley (1738-1815) who is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential painters in colonial America.
From Copley Square it was just a short walk to Newbury Street, which in our view is one of the world’s great shopping streets. It is named for the victory of the Puritans in the 1643 Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War. Not sure that the Puritans would approve of the high end retail stores, restaurants and bars that now line the street. It is lined with beautiful brownstone buildings that were originally homes before being converted into retail spaces.
Here is the crew midway through their day’s shopping spree.
Mal and Lauren 