A little off-topic here, but that’s never stopped me. Although I didn’t have time to check on the garden, I did have some time for a stroll in the Back Bay yesterday around noon.

The John Hancock was dazzling against a dramatic backdrop:

I have to admit, for many years I took the Hancock tower for granted, and I still think when viewed from the northeast or southwest it’s inelegant. Too squat from those angles. But when viewed from the square, from the northwest, it’s lovely. At times, arresting. It’s simple, is the thing. No gimmicks, like that wretched little jumped-up 111 Huntington Ave., with its pretentious tiara. It looks like a retarded midget in a bike helmet. It’s ruined the stark, sparing skyline of the Back Bay with its unflattering shape and cheap glitz. I like the Prudential, precisely because it lacks pretension. If you ever get a chance to see the 4th of July fireworks reflected off of its face–you’ll appreciate it. Look at pictures of it before the skyline started getting too cluttered, and you can really see what it’s about. It’s really lost its dramatic impact with 111 Huntington butting in, while the latter has not enhanced the area at all, in my opinion.

I’m glad we don’t have a gigantic gherkin in the Back Bay, is all I can say. But maybe not for long. Apparently that’s what Mayor Menino wants for his new skyscraper.

After admiring the Hancock, I strolled around the Old South Church, a lovely example of Northern Italian Gothic built in the 1870s…

…and had a closer look at some of the stonework on the Eastern facade, while teenagers just out of school hanging out on the T structure on the corner of Boylston and Dartmouth there shouted mean things at me for no reason (I don’t think I was walking around in my bicycle helmit, as I sometimes do, so I don’t know what they were laughing about):

The stonework is thick with critters like this. I’d never noticed it before.

5/18/06

Categories: Boston