Register for the annual Boston By Foot Spring Lecture & Guide Training Series! This annual program is a requirement for new docents, and is open both to Boston By Foot members and the general public. Many of our senior guides return every year to renew their knowledge and experience the course again.
Led by distinguished professionals, the lectures trace Boston's topography and architecture from 1630 to the present. As a guide-in-training, you will receive the background, materials, and mentorship to lead informed, insightful, and interesting guided walks of Boston.
While there are no course requirements for auditors, each auditor is invited to participate fully in all program activities. Alternatively, you may also enroll for a single session, and attend the lecture and demo tour for that day.
Guides-in-training must attend all program activities including the informative lectures, engaging discussion groups, and the demonstration tours that bring the material to life. Graduation requirements include four written assignments, a final exam, and a practice tour.
All Boston By Foot guides lead a minimum of six tours each year, but many of our guides lead many more. They are also involved through research, designing new tours, and planning events.
| Saturday April 10, 2010 |
10:00 am | Colonial Boston |
| Frederic C. Detwiller, AIA Preservation Planner, New England Landmarks | ||
1630-1776: The settling of the Shawmut Peninsula by the Puritans and their development of a successful mercantile economy produced a densely populated town of Colonial and Georgian homes, buildings and churches. Field Trip: Historic Downtown Area | ||
| Lecture meets at the Boston Architectural College, 320 Newbury Street, Boston. [map] | ||
| Saturday April 17, 2010 |
10:00 am | Federal Boston |
| John V. Goff President, Salem Preservation, Inc. | ||
1785-1820: Charles Bulfinch emerges as the architectural leader of the Federal style with important contributions such as the Massachusetts State House, the Tontine Crescent and the Colonnade. Beacon Hill develops as a neighborhood for the affluent featuring many of Bulfinch's works and that of his followers. Field Trip: Beacon Hill | ||
| Saturday April 24, 2010 |
10:00 am | Victorian Boston |
| Edward W. Gordon President, New England Chapter of the Victorian Society in America | ||
1850-1900: With great influence from Paris, the Back Bay land-making project enables wealthy persons moving up from the South End to build large mansions as well as providing great structures for art, learning and worship. The Victorian period ushers in a variety of architectural styles featuring the works of H.H. Richardson, C.F. McKim, and Cummings & Sears. Field Trip: Copley Square and Back Bay | ||
| Saturday May 1, 2010 |
10:00 am | Contemporary Boston |
| David Fixler, FAIA, LEED AP Principal, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering | ||
1900-present: Follow the progression of 20th and 21st century architecture through the modern and post-modern office buildings, government buildings, condos, skyscrapers, convention centers and hotels of Boston. Field Trip: Government Center & the financial district | ||
| Lecture meets at the Boston Architectural College, 320 Newbury Street, Boston. [map] | ||
| Saturday May 8, 2010 |
10:00 am | Subterranean Boston |
| James Lambrechts, PE Assistant Professor, Wentworth Institute of Technology | ||
Under the city is a dense network of pipes, conduits, sewers and tunnels that serve the utility and transportation needs of a growing city. In 1987, Boston began the largest public works project in U.S. history to submerge an aging elevated highway amidst existing roads, structures, subways, railroads, utilities, businesses and homes, and in the process transformed the downtown landscape into a shining example of 21st century urban renewal. Field Trip: the Big Dig, Kennedy Greenway and downtown infrastructure | ||
| Lecture meets at the Boston Architectural College, 320 Newbury Street, Boston. [map] | ||
| Saturday May 15, 2010 |
10:00 am | Final Footwork |
| For guides-in-training. Written exam followed by a demonstration tour. | ||
| Lecture meets at the Boston Architectural College, 320 Newbury Street, Boston. [map] | ||