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Letter from Boston
On Charles Street
By MASAKO YAMADA
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チャールズ・ストリート
日本から訪ねてきた友達だちと一緒にボストン界わいを観光して回ることにした雅子さん。ボストン大学からほんの少ししか離れていないのに、全く違った雰囲気の街を見つけました…。
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When I was in Japan this summer, my friend Rie told me she would come to
Boston for a week in the fall. So we decided to do some sightseeing together. I thought it could be nice
to have an easy-going companion to explore the Boston area with.
One of the first things Rie and I planned to do was to go on a "Sunset Cruise"
around Boston Harbor. Unfortunately, I literally "missed
the boat," and Rie left without me. If it had
been a date and the guy had left me
behind, I would have been very
insulted, but we both intuitively knew
that Rie made the right choice. I simply
went to a nearby cafe for some espresso and tiramisu, and I wandered back to the pier when the boat pulled in. Afterward, we went to Chinatown
and Harvard Square.
On another day, Rie suggested we go to Charles Street. I was a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't
know where Charles Street was. Rie's guide book said it was a luxury residential area in Beacon Hill, along the Charles River, with
beautiful old apartment buildings and lots of little cafes and shops. I knew
where Beacon Hill was, but Charles Street caught me totally by surprise.
These days, when people think of "luxury apartment houses," they usually
imagine looming, glassy, concrete and steel
structures that have 24-hour bodyguards, health clubs and indoor atriums. The apartments around Charles Street
couldn't be more different. They are very expensive, to be sure, but they are mostly not-too-large
town houses made of solid red brick. Many of them don't
even have backyards, but the streets are lined with trees, and there are
many windowboxes filled with flowers. The
street lamps are made of wrought iron, as
they were when they were still gas-lit.
We decided to explore some of the side streets and found out that, as the area's name suggests,
they are very hilly. We made some random turns and came upon a tiny
alley between two apartments that was
paved with brick and had grass growing
through the crevices. An old American flag was waving in one of the doorways, and there were fresh flowers
growing there. We were so delighted by the scene that we decided to take
pictures of each other there, including the picture above.
This tiny area of Boston, surprisingly, hasn't
been invaded by large commercial
stores. I could tell that the area was being protected by some kind of public zoning law prohibiting crass buildings. Although there was a 7-Eleven
right on Charles Street, it didn't have the
standard glass and steel with the green and red neon sign. Instead, the
building was made of red brick, and its sign was
traced in subtle gold lettering. In other words, it was designed to blend into the atmosphere of the neighborhood.
Other chains had similarly camouflaged
exteriors to hide the fact that they were national franchises.
There were also a lot of unique shops as well. Many sold expensive antiques
that were obviously not just remnants from a garage sale. Rie and I walked into one store
that sold various paper products such as picture
frames and cards. I wanted to buy a sheet of handmade paper to make
something, but I realized I didn't have enough money. Most of the shops on
Charles Street are not too expensive, but I really couldn't do much with only two dollars.
After we got to the end of Charles Street (it's not a very long street), we
turned back and walked toward the main section of Boston. It's amazing how
different the rest of the city felt after that little jaunt along Charles Street. That night,
we got dressed up and went to a dance club
near BU. It's
hard to imagine that such different places are separated by only a 15-minute "T" ride, but that kind of variety is something
that a historic, dynamic city like Boston can easily offer.
Shukan ST: Oct. 11, 1996
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