All about the Back Bay

Meet, Greet, and Sweep

By Nick Davis
BACK BAY- On a recent Saturday morning, brooms, rakes and garbage bags are lined up next to a 7-Eleven store on the corner of St. Botolph’s and West Newton Street. About 100 neighbors of the St. Boltoph District gathered for the annual neighborhood clean up sponsored by Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Boston Shines program.

Lorraine Steele, a resident of St. Botolph for four years and a member volunteer for the St. Botolph Neighborhood Association, said they contact the mayor’s office every year about the clean up in St. Boltoph. "The mayor office’s donates all the equipment and street cleaners. We do the labor,” Steele said.


Boston Shines is a citywide cleanup effort created by Menino in 2003. The measure was aimed at getting residents and local businesses more involved in their communities.

Steele said they planned to clean litter and debris left from winter sands. “It’s such a beautiful area, and we like to keep it that way,” she said.

Chris Coffin, former vice president of the St. Botolph Neighborhood Association, said many of the neighbors who support the cleanup look at this event as an opportunity to meet their neighbors. “With a great diversity of people, from multimillionaires to college students in proximity, this is a really special neighborhood,” said Coffin, as he sweeps sand and debris on to the street.


Claire Dargan, a resident of St. Botolph for the last six years and a member of the St. Botolph Neighborhood Association, said the association’s main goal this year was to increase recycling. “There are these solar-powered trash bins called Big Bellies that we are working to get in our neighborhood right now,” Dargan said.

Dargan said these trash cans will cut the number of public trash pickups a day, because the solar-powered trash cans compress the trash, reducing the number of trips a day from five to two.


Dargan also said the association is looking at a public recycling machine that can be rolled down the block. “Not only will this increase recycling in the neighborhood, but it also will help the city of Boston get money after the recyclables are turned into cash,” Dargan said.

Menino said he plans to make Boston Shines a year-round program.

“Boston Shines is a great example of a public/private partnership that really works,” Menino said. “The more involvement we have from the business community and other public sector partners, the more we can really make Boston shine.”

Businesses can get involved by cleaning the front of their property or by encouraging their workers to volunteer during the Boston Shines. Businesses can also sponsor these events with a financial donation.

Rising Russian Population in Fenway

By Nick Davis
FENWAY— Across from the Holy Trinity Church in the park off Park Drive is one of the places that people call home.

According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority the number of foreign-born Russians living in Fenway/Kenmore is 4 percent, about 1 percent of the neighborhood population.

“Russians always try to stay close to their kids, parents, grand kids, siblings and relatives,” said Peggi Coleman, director of the Russian American Cultural Center of Boston. “They have very strong family values that they cherish above any others, so as a result, they move together as a family or settle down within the same area.”

“I think Russians have been living in this area for sometime,” said 32-year-old Paolina Marshakova, a Russian student living on the backside of Kenmore Square. She said there are several buildings within the Fenway/Kenmore area that are designed for senior citizens or the disabled and have been occupied by Russians for years.

“Because Boston is more conservative and so are Russians. Boston is more conservative like the Russians and it feels more familiar and cozy because it's small, peaceful, has great architecture,” Marshakova said.

Larisa Krasfavitskaya, said she decided to move to Fenway/Kenmore in 1994 to live with her sister. “Because of the nuclear problems in the Ukraine, my sister called me and asked me to live with her,” Krasfavitskaya said.

Marshakova said she understands why the area has become a popular choice for people of Russian decent.

“Many of them enjoy being at the nearby park daily because they have garden plots where they grow things,” Marshakova said.

The other reason why Fenway is it’s proximity to the museums, Symphony Hall, and the Conservatory. “Russians love, enjoy and support arts,” Marshakova said. “They like to go to concerts, performances and exhibits. Being refined culturally gives them advantage over others.” Plus Marshakova also said, they like to stay up to date on what’s happening in Boston and discuss the latest shows or concerts in the area with on another.

Another reason raised as to why the area might be so popular is because of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, off of Park Drive. Marshakova said she was unsure about how much influence the church had on the Russian population in Fenway. “I think church depends more on them rather than they depend on the church,” Marshakova said. “If you go to a mass, there you would notice that most of the attendees are Americans and few of them are Russians.”

Marshakova said many of the Russians in the Fenway are Jewish.

“Russians like to be part of a community, and because there are a few Jewish centers nearby, Russians might have decided to move to Fenway,” Marshakova said.

New Apple Store on Boylston Street

By Nick Davis
BACK BAY – Across from the soon to be Mandarin Hotel on Boylston Street is a three story box blanketed by plastic that according to sources is supposed to be unwrapped for the public in the middle of May.

Apple Inc. is opening its first retail store in the heart of Boston at 815 Boylston Street. Along with an architecturally pleasing design that will make it another landmark in Boston, it will become a must
stop destination for many nearby college students.

“I think the store is in such a great location because Boston is known for being a walking city,” said Alex Cooper, director of membership and marketing for the Back Bay Association. “It is going to become a habit for people walk into the Apple store as they make their way down Boylston Street once it opens.”

While Apple hopes to attract people of all ages, the company plans to prod customers into coming back with in-store product demonstrations, a savvy group to answer questions or problems about Mac products, and free wireless Internet.

Northeastern University junior Cyndi Plust said she is excited for the new store because she will not have to travel far when she is trying to get help with her Mac Powerbook Pro. “I use to have to travel 45 minutes each way to the Cambridge-side Galleria when I needed assistance,” Plust said.

Other than the nearby location Simmons University junior Whitney Gaglio said she is more excited about the seeing the actual architecture when it is finished. “I think what’s going to be really cool about the new Apple retail store is that it’s going to be the first contemporary modern like building in Boston,” Gaglio said.

The front of the building will be made up of glass panels that measure seven to eight feet in length, allowing viewers to look into the building as they pass by. A glass staircase is also supposed to be installed. The flagship store’s eco-friendly roof will be covered with hardy vegetation in order to insulate the building in the winter and keep it cool in the summer.



“It will be nice to see the solar powered screens once the construction is finished, said Jackie Yessian, Chairman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.

The flagship Apple store was reviewed and approved by the Back Bay Architectural Commission and the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay in August 2006, Yessian said.

San Francisco based architect company Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed the 22,116 square foot structure.

Student Population Increasing along Beacon and Newbury Street

By Nick Davis
BACK BAY – Across from Deluca’s market on the third floor of a cozy apartment building overlooking Newbury Street, Boston University junior Andrew Wang begins to crush pine nuts for a pesto sauce as the beats of Interpol’s “Heinrich Maneuver” fill the small space. Despite having only room for the bare essentials (bed, plain wood desk, bureau, kitchen), Wang says there is no place else he would rather live.

Newbury Street, along with other pricey blocks in the Back Bay area, is becoming the more of a hotspot for college students to reside. Wang decided to move to Newbury Street because he wanted to get away from Boston University properties, which he considers lackluster. “By living in the Back Bay, I’m more centrally located to other areas of Boston than most students,” Wang said. “The BU area is generally very stale and doesn’t offer exciting places to go.”

Most students renting apartments here attend schools in the Back Bay, said Edythe Dyer, a real estate agent for Boston Realty Works. “Many of these same students are now living in the Back Bay or the South End, where it’s a five minute T ride to class, so it’s almost like living on campus,” Dyer said. Students say convenience outweighs the high cost and small size of their apartments.

The September 2008 to September 2009 rent prices for a studio apartment range from $1000 - $1300, according to the Boston Realty Works website. “As expensive as rent is on these highly-priced streets in Back Bay, rent prices around Northeastern are the same,” Dyer said.

Northeastern senior Ryan Nadelson said he decided to move to Newbury Street last September, because a realty agency, Cabot and Company, gave him an amazing offer. After being let down by places he saw near Northeastern, Nadelson said they showed him a one-bedroom apartment on Newbury Street for the price that a studio would have cost in the Fenway.


“It was a steal, and I took it,” Nadelson said. When asked if he noticed an increase in student population on Newbury Street, Nadelson said that he sees many students living in the area. However, Nadelson says that students may have difficulty finding places since there are many buildings in the area that do not allow undergraduates.

Fashion Merchandising A Runway Success at Small Private School

By Nick Davis
BACK BAY— On Beacon Street amid a row of brownstones there is a blue flag with a white crest. It's the flag of Fisher College, one of the city's smallest colleges.

Since 1903, Fisher has evolved from an all-women’s school that focused on traditional vocational preparation; It became an accredited two-year college in the mid-1950’s, and in 1988 became a private four-year co-ed college offering a bachelor of
science degree in five concentrations relating to business management.

In the last few years, Fisher's student population has surged because of its four-year Management programs.

“When students look to go on to other schools after our two year program, some of the classes taken will not necessarily receive credit at other four, year institutions,” said Seth Woods, an assistant director of admissions at Fisher College. “Because many of our four-year degree programs mirror our two-year degree programs students have been more inclined to stay.”

The most popular study concentrations for students in the four-year management program are hospitality, tourism, and fashion-merchandising, Woods said.

When the fashion-merchandising program was first offered in the 2005-2006 school year, 20 students enrolled. The class had 17 returning students from the two-year associate degree program and three new students. During the 2006-2007 school year, the number of fashion-merchandising students enrolled climbed to 45 students, with 33 Fisher returning students and 12 new students.

“Ever since the program began there has been a great deal of interest within the fashion program,” said Martha Palaza, an assistant professor at Fisher College, who teaches fashion design and fashion merchandising at Fisher. “I think fashion shows like Project Runway and shows that are on MTV have made young people more aware that they can pursue a career in fashion.”

The school hosts its own annual fashion show on Saturday, April 12, in Alumni Hall located at 116 Beacon Street. Along with 13 student designers, many of the looks walking the runway will include clothes and accessories from prominent fashion designers such as Cache, Max Rave, and David’s Bridal, Palaza said. For more ticket and event information, please visit www.fisher.edu.

Kenmore Modernization Project to be Finished by December 2008

By Nick Davis
KENMORE— As cars and busses make their way down Yawkee Way, Beacon Street, and Commonwealth Avenue, they intersect near Kenmore Square Station, an island in the middle of the road. Commuters waiting for the bus wait beside a temporary fence, and a steel canopy wrapped in plastic.

Under construction since 2005, the Kenmore Modernization Project was initiated to improve traffic flow above and below ground, but also to be an architecturally pleasing structure. However, the finished product has seen delays and residents are curious as to why the project is taking so long to complete.


“The delays are due in large part to the complexities involved in keeping an underground station open to customers while completely rebuilding it at the same time,” wrote Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Association, in an email. The B, C, and D train on the Green Line run through Kenmore Station every 15 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and every half-hour on weekends, according to the MBTA.

“I haven’t really noticed a difference taking the T because the station just re-routed where people stand,” said Boston University sophomore Dana Mulvaney, 20, who rides the subway multiple times a day. “The construction that is being worked on is happening behind the stairwell when we walk down so there are really no delays.”

Pilar Ibañez, a senior who rides the number 57 bus from Kenmore to her apartment in Allston, said the construction has not affected her daily commute. “As long as the bus can take me to and from school, I do not really care when the construction will be complete,” Ibañez said.

Public busses have been running through the construction area for a little more than three months now, and the remaining construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2008, Pesaturo said.

In the next two weeks, construction workers are going to start installing the glass in the canopy structure and utility work in the station. Crews will also complete remaining accessibility improvements, such as installing elevators and escalators, Pesaturo said.


MBTA officials are asking its board of directors this spring to approve a request to upgrade the street surface treatments to brick in various areas of Kenmore Square.

Joe Connor, the project manager for the MBTA said the MBTA general manager and assistant general manager were first approached in 1999 and 2000 by a coalition of representatives from Boston University, Richard Towle and Mike Hathaway, the Hotel Commonwealth developers, Frank Keefe and Terry Guiney and the Kenmore Merchants Association, Pam Beale, with a proposal for surface improvements in Kenmore Square.

The proposal called for brick sidewalks and concrete paver intersections at Raleigh Street/Beacon Street, Deerfield Street/ Commonwealth Avenue, Beacon Street/Brookline Avenue/Commonwealth Avenue and Kenmore Street/Commonwealth Avenue. In addition, concrete paver crosswalks with granite feature strips and tree planting were proposed along Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street.

Boston University, Hotel Commonwealth, and Kenmore Merchants secured street surface improvements through petitioning the state Legislature for funding from the 1998 and 2000 Transportation Bond Bills. Additional funding was also secured by the coalition from the 2004 state Supplemental Budget for the roadway improvements and for the glass and steel bus canopy and elevator tower on the Kenmore Station surface bus way.

Connor said the MBTA general manager and the assistant general manager agreed to combine the surface improvements and the Kenmore Station Light Rail Accessibility Program into a single construction contract, which was advertised in 2004 and awarded to Barletta Heavy Division in January 2005.

Architect and urban designer Dimella Shaffer designed the remodeled project.