Let's Make Boston More Fun

Ferris wheel action?

You know, the Brockton Fair is conveniently accessible by public transit for a week every July if you want 'yer ferris action. Unless you mean the superior aesthetics of the 7 months out of the year a permanent Seaport structure would be unusable due to wind off the angry Atlantic.

This thread is really trawling the shallow end of the shallow end, no?
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Unless you mean the superior aesthetics of the 7 months out of the year a permanent Seaport structure would be unusable due to wind off the angry Atlantic.
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The Centennial Wheel and the London Eye don’t shut down for the winter, right? Why would this be a problem for Boston when it’s not for Chicago and London?
 
Blackbird said:
The Centennial Wheel and the London Eye don’t shut down for the winter, right? Why would this be a problem for Boston when it’s not for Chicago and London?
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There...there's the defense of the completely unnecessary this thread was lacking.


Now let me tell you a story from my youth: about thereabouts 1987 or so my elementary school from Connecticut went on a field trip to NYC. In the second weed of January, during a subzero cold snap. To see a freshly-reopened Statue of Liberty and a mostly off-limits-for-renovation Ellis Island. Sure, that could be considered child cruelty, but it was the 80's so permission slips covered all and besides...we weren't a rich school district. Those indoor exhibits: they cost a pretty penny in-season. But it didn't cost shit to freeze your nuts off walking around Manhattan in an Arctic blast so away we went. The Statue was only a year off its famous renovation, and so it was a crowded days even by the nutsoff freezing temps thanks to all the "poor" school districts who were likewise making their first-dibs field trips to the monument after 4 years of being closed to the public. I remember climbing every goddamn stair in that thing single-file behind the kid who was scared of heights and the sound of the wind to reach the crown, hoping I'd get a good Harbor view on that frigid day...maybe take a moment as an American.

Didn't quite work out that way. When I reached the crown, the windows were all obscured by frozen vomit. THREE coats of frozen vomit: the old coat, completely frozen solid...the medium-old coat that was starting to crystallize to ice...and the "fresh" coat from a half-dozen folks in front of me. I couldn't see for shit, except for the sun playing tricks on the vomit crystals.










The point I'm trying to make is: "Chicago's wheel is open for biz while Lake Michigan is froze-ass solid so why can't we do it stupid too is the medium-old frozen vomit of the field trip." Dig? :censored:
 
Blackbird said:
The Centennial Wheel and the London Eye don’t shut down for the winter, right? Why would this be a problem for Boston when it’s not for Chicago and London?
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Somehow you think standing in line and riding a ferris wheel in mid-winter will make Boston "More Fun"? Really?
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
The point I'm trying to make is: "Chicago's wheel is open for biz while Lake Michigan is froze-ass solid so why can't we do it stupid too is the medium-old frozen vomit of the field trip." Dig? :censored:
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JeffDowntown said:
Somehow you think standing in line and riding a ferris wheel in mid-winter will make Boston "More Fun"? Really?
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Oh no. Of all the ideas and points on this thread, I think “lack of Ferris wheel” is one of the weakest.

I was just surprised at F-Line’s claim that it would be closed 7 months of the year. And as his response highlights, he wasn’t being very serious.

Not every day Nov-May has extreme cold. Waiting in line would be no worse than at the Frog Pond. Seeing the roofs of the city with fresh snow is nice, and a Ferris wheel could be a cheaper alternative to Top of the Hub.

Now personally, I’d like to see glühwein and candied nuts at the winter market before a Ferris wheel, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.
 
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While I'd love more Winter Market type programming, there's pretty much zero German influence in New England to establish a specifically Germany variant of that tradition here. It would feel really manufactured.
 
George_Apley said:
While I'd love more Winter Market type programming, there's pretty much zero German influence in New England to establish a specifically Germany variant of that tradition here. It would feel really manufactured.
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Yeah, you’re probably right... :cry:
 
Unfortunately we don't have a lot of "fun" traditions in our regional history to fall back on. Let's face it, the Puritans weren't very fun. New England didn't get "fun" until the Irish and Italians showed up with their Catholic saintly celebrations. We are good at ironically twisting our history into fun though (see Salem Halloweens and Thanksgiving). The reenactments that happen periodically are "fun", though mostly for tourists and history nerds.

That said, I think more winter programming expanding on what they had at Government Center the last couple years would be fantastic. Winter here is just fucking dreadful for anyone not heading to the mountains for skiing.
 
1) go on Eastern Daylight Time and stay there year round (we have already passed a law to do so if the rest of New England agrees)--make 5pm slightly lighter and warmer for outdoor activities.

2) Clear snow from sidewalks and squares rather than dumping street snow in them.

3) mandate more sidewalk roof overhangs sheltering "window shopping" (and good for climate resiliency, generally)

4) More roof (solar) over bus stops and Hubway/Blue Bikes

5) More trees and more lights on them

These are all aimed at activating the streets with more people. Then I will let the free market decide how best to entertain these people.
 
George_Apley said:
Unfortunately we don't have a lot of "fun" traditions in our regional history to fall back on. Let's face it, the Puritans weren't very fun. New England didn't get "fun" until the Irish and Italians showed up with their Catholic saintly celebrations. We are good at ironically twisting our history into fun though (see Salem Halloweens and Thanksgiving). The reenactments that happen periodically are "fun", though mostly for tourists and history nerds.

That said, I think more winter programming expanding on what they had at Government Center the last couple years would be fantastic. Winter here is just fucking dreadful for anyone not heading to the mountains for skiing.
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I think there is a lot of revolutionary (and really pre-revolutionary) times we could draw on. They were mostly drunk at that point anyways, and a few centuries later we should be able to have fun with it.
 
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I want more nerd spectacles!

1) More costumed charity races or a 5000-Smoot run.

2) More boat-made-out-of-_________ river races
  • Wax Paper
  • Cardboard
  • Medical Supplies
3) Period-appropriate invective competitions
On July 4th (and July 18th) and Evacuation & Bunker Hill days, we need people to hurl period-specific insults at each other. The King is a Cumberground! John Adams is a Addle Pated Fussock!

4) BU vs MIT Trebuchet competition from both sides of the Charles. If we can't construct a trebuchet to hurl a pumpkin from the Esplanade (at Blandford) in Boston to the Paul Dudley White path at Fowler St in Cambridge what good are we as a civilization?

In Re: Nerd Fun we already have (BUT IS ENDING THIS YEAR, so you should go if you havent):
MIT Friday After Thanksgiving

And if NYC isn't hosting Maker Faires anymore, we should have one.
 
bakgwailo said:
I think there is a lot of revolutionary (and really pre-revolutionary) times we could draw on. They were mostly drunk at that point anyways, and a few centuries later we should be able to have fun with it.
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How about some tarring and feathering?! That should be how we get rid of House Speakers.
 
Allow public drinking... (only joking) The State / City needs a "Zar" of Let's Make Boston More Fun " A couple of ideas for the Zar...

Attract more national sponsored contests like when Red Bull had diving at the harbor. It was a lot of fun to watch and drew large crowds.

Have a public Tough Mudder at Franklin Park. It would promote physical fitness!

Last May I saw 10 wind surfers in Pleasure Bay, it was incredible watching them. The City could sponsor a wind surfing contest. There could be regional contest btwn Revere Beach and Nantasket.

Sponsor races around the Storrow / Memorial Dr loop or down the Jamaicaway all the way to Hyde Park. Bicycles, motorcycles, mini F-1 or Rally cars. Snow mobiles and dog sleds in the winter.

Address the vendor scandals at City Hall Plaza so carnivals can be larger and more frequent; from farmers markets to a Battle of the Bands. In general, the plazashould be more active.
 
I know I'm in a very small minority here, but I actually enjoyed the Boston Winter Market on CHP. I know it was a joke compared to European markets, but I thought maybe, after a few years of trial and error, it could have turned into something decent.

But for now it seems dead (at least, I haven't heard any news of a revival this year - though I wonder what they did with all the sheds.)
 
As a younger person, and someone who is naturally a bit of a night owl, closing time in Boston is a fairly substantial issue to me. In other places I've lived I typically wouldn't even go to a bar until midnight or so. That doesn't work out too well in Boston. I don't demand that bars shouldn't open until 11PM because that's what time I want to start visiting one, but mandating an early closing time is frustrating to me and generally hinders nightlife in the city.

I obviously don't believe every bar in every neighborhood should be open 24/7, but there's certainly plenty of places in the city that could have a far later closing time and don't even have residential neighbors to potentially annoy. The state-enforced time should be pushed later and decisions beyond that should rest with local government.

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The liquor licensing issues (not enough licenses, exorbitant prices for licenses) in Boston are also something that continues to exacerbate equity problems, and seems to go under appreciated. To my knowledge, Mattapan still does not have a single establishment with a liquor license.

The varied neighborhoods and squares are a big part of Boston, and that many of the poorer sections of the city basically don't have any local nightlife options (and neighborhood/middle class options are hollowing out as well) isn't a problem that should be laughed off/treated as a minor concern in terms of quality of life.

If the license costs $450k and is good anywhere, you have to use it to serve $25 cocktails in Back Bay, not letting neighborhood residents drink a $2 beer and eat some wings while watching the game with their neighbors.
 
I think before we try to get later bar closing times we need the T to extend their hours and I don't mean the mess they created before with the night owls. When I was younger everyone would go to the bars between 11pm and midnight. When I was living in Malden I can't tell you how hard it was to hangout with some of my friends in Boston. If you were lucky enough to find an available cab after the bars closed you still had to pay an arm and a leg to head home.
 
I think it's established that we have a lot of agreement here with regard to:
  • Freeing up more liquor licenses. Maybe with geo-tag going along with them.
  • Extending hours for bars/clubs in certain neighborhoods/districts.
  • Legalizing deals on alcoholic bevs.
  • Extending the T's hours to accommodate later business hours.
Supporting all of that, I still think that the "fun=alcohol" mindset is both narrow and revealing.
 
millerm277 said:
As a younger person, and someone who is naturally a bit of a night owl, closing time in Boston is a fairly substantial issue to me. In other places I've lived I typically wouldn't even go to a bar until midnight or so. That doesn't work out too well in Boston. I don't demand that bars shouldn't open until 11PM because that's what time I want to start visiting one, but mandating an early closing time is frustrating to me and generally hinders nightlife in the city.

I obviously don't believe every bar in every neighborhood should be open 24/7, but there's certainly plenty of places in the city that could have a far later closing time and don't even have residential neighbors to potentially annoy. The state-enforced time should be pushed later and decisions beyond that should rest with local government.

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The liquor licensing issues (not enough licenses, exorbitant prices for licenses) in Boston are also something that continues to exacerbate equity problems, and seems to go under appreciated. To my knowledge, Mattapan still does not have a single establishment with a liquor license.

The varied neighborhoods and squares are a big part of Boston, and that many of the poorer sections of the city basically don't have any local nightlife options (and neighborhood/middle class options are hollowing out as well) isn't a problem that should be laughed off/treated as a minor concern in terms of quality of life.

If the license costs $450k and is good anywhere, you have to use it to serve $25 cocktails in Back Bay, not letting neighborhood residents drink a $2 beer and eat some wings while watching the game with their neighbors.
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Preface this that I am for extending bar hours, but, I will also point out that Boston's current hours are more in line with most of the rest of the country than cities with hours past ~2am.

Fully agree on licensing, although I would say it extends way past nightlight options and that it stifles and seriously hurts Boston's restaurant scene, too.
 
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