Common Boston activities in Dorchester

Some really fun activities going on in Dorchester this weekend! Common Boston, a volunteer program of the Boston Society of Architects, is the city's only free festival of architecture, design and neighborhoods. Designers and the public can interact, create dialogue that inspires a more sustainable, equitable, and creative urban environment.
Saturday June 8th & Sunday June 9th -

Common Boston (CB) Challenge: One-Day Amazing Race Exploring Dorchester Ave & Boston Harbor

Saturday, June 8, 9:30am - Tour Viet AID's Developments in Fields Corner

June 8, 11:45am - Peeling Back the Layers: a tour of Fields Corner

June 8, 1:00pm - Picnic Lunch in the Park

June 8, 2:00pm -Building on the Past: Shaping 21st Century Dorchester

June 8, 4:15pm -The Carruth Building

June 8, 5:30pm -Saturday Afternoon Bike Ride

Participate! and tell us how you liked it...

even plants get recycled

If you see folks digging up some trees or plants in Peabody Square, they are saving them in advance of a major overhaul. We hear gardeners in the neighborhoods around the Square are pitching in to recycle worthy perennials and shrubs.

ADORE-chester! my 1st

[with apologies to Madeline Kahn...]

A is for the Avenue - Dot Ave. of course, four miles of historic toll road from the historic Lower Mills (America's first chocolate mill!) to the Polish Triangle and Southie's border. Biking it is a challenge but once you're used to it, any other Boston roadway seems a bit tame.

These people also ADORE-chester:

The Dottie Hottie
The Dot Matrix
Dot Boston
The Dorchester Think Tank
Lower Dot
Local Spice
Candelaria Silva
Social Butterfly Experiment

photos of lost Dorchester - Fields Corner building

Here is another gasp-worthy photo. This is from the famous Earl Taylor's images of the day. He sent this one out to tweak interest in Field's Corner Main Street's gathering on Weds. The guest speaker is Alex Krieger who wrote Mapping Boston and is originally from Dorchester apparently. Historic Boston has been doing some research on similar hidden historical gems in Fields Corner. They are looking for people to bring in old photos. I definitely plan to go - June 18, Dorchester House, 1353 Dorchester Avenue, 6 p.m.

Oh, and this is an early photo of the Robinson Building at the northern side of Fields Corner intersection with a later photo showing how the building was expanded. Today the building exists, but without its third floor. amazing.
I added a link to my online calendars, just to see if it works...

good things for dorchester ave

One of the more gratifying tasks I have been involved with of late is the Dot Ave project. Mayor Menino empowered a task force* of citizens and city agencies in 2005, with $5 mil pledged for traffic calming, pedestrian and bike safety amenities and streetscape beautification. By the time the action plan was unveiled in March of this year, an additional $7 mil. was added.
The Avenue, originally built as a toll road or turnpike, is Dorchester's straightest boulevard, and the entire length, about 6 miles, runs from Dorchester's southern boundary in Lower Mills into downtown Boston through Southie's Andrew Square.
Those of us that bike Dot Ave regularly are cautiously optimistic that conditions will improve.

*and we had fun working together!

dot2dot cafe! hooray!

its open! its lovely! bring your bike by Tuesday morning @ 7 AM and get some yummies free in honor of Bike Week. check DotBike for info.