Member Events

The Cambridge Public Library is a masterful blend of a 1887 Romanesque treasure and a contemporary glass edifice completed in 2009. The LEED Silver-certified extension, designed by William Rawn Associates with Ann Beha Architects, received the 2010 Harleston Parker Medal for the "Single Most Beautiful Building" built in the last 10 years exhibiting "formal beauty as well as beauty of purpose."

Adjacent to the original Richardsonian Romanesque building designed by Van Brunt & Howe, the Cambridge Public Library buildings present a striking contrast of old and new, each the cutting edge library building of its time.

Join us for a slide presentation of the project and a tour through the library.

On September 9, 1774, Suffolk County adopted a set of measures drafted by Dr. Joseph Warren in response to the Coercive Acts. The Suffolk Resolves called for a further boycott, withholding public funds from the Crown, and the establishment of a provincial congress. Paul Revere delivered this document to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia and became an important milestone leading to the Declaration of Independence.

The meeting to adopt the Suffolk Resolves occurred at the home of Daniel Vose. Moved from its original location, the Suffolk Resolves House is now the headquarters of the Milton Historical Society and the home of two esteemed Boston By Foot docents.

Visit the "Birthplace of American Liberty" on this exclusive event.

In the 1960s, buildings and houses along a 4.6 mile strip between the South End and Jamaica Plain were razed to make way for an 12-lane highway Although the highway was never constructed, the land was reused for commuter rail, the new Orange line, and the 52-acre Southwest Corridor Park.

Considered the new strand of the Emerald Necklace, the award-winning Southwest Corridor Park provides various recreational facilities features gardens, grass plantings, basketball courts, tennis courts and is a haven for walkers, joggers, and bikers.

Architect David Lee will discuss how community and designers worked over two decades to stitch this park together into a lively connector through the South End, Back Bay, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain.

On this evening stroll take a close up look at the extraordinary but often overlooked ornamental ironwork gracing the Victorian architecture of the Back Bay. Nineteenth century architects lavished ornamental details on residences and public buildings as the art of ironwork on fences, gates, window grilles, and doorways flourished.

Along the route of tree-lined streets examine splendid iron fences and their immense variety of patterns and motifs as well as the elaborate entranceways and stonework on the facades of these Victorian treasures. We'll discuss the French influence on these mansions and enjoy peeks into charming pocket gardens in full summer bloom.

Lowell's history began in the early nineteenth century when Boston area industrialists sought a location along the Merrimack River to expand their textile businesses and grew to be the largest industrial complex in the United States.

Today, Lowell is once again on the rise, from an "industrial desert" to a flourishing city. Sparked by a rebound in both economy and culture, Lowell is attracting both companies and families back to its urban center as well as visitors to the Lowell National Historical Park.

On our tour of the Massachusetts Miracle, we will walk past significant buildings that tell the story of America's Industrial Revolution, along the canals that fed the mills, and through the downtown with its fine old structures now repurposed for many contemporary uses.

Plan your stay in Lowell for the afternoon to include a tour on a canal boat, an exploration of a mill exhibit, or visit to a museum.

From 1630 people have been dying in Boston. Walk among the dead through Boston's historic burying grounds and learn of religious views, practices, and traditions of death in Boston.

Amidst the debate over bringing casino gambling into the Commonwealth, this tour examines the four centuries of gaming in Boston. From colonial horse racing to the feats of Seabiscuit, and from the reconstruction of Faneuil Hall to Megabucks, we'll look at gaming history in all of its forms and the generations of Bostonians who have embraced and despised the practice.