Boston the City

After spending the weekend in DC suburbs, I’ve been reminded of how very unusual Boston is. I know my view of Boston is still decidedly romantic, but nonetheless, it’s unlike any city I’ve ever lived in. More than anything it reminds me of London, a younger sister city that escaped the WWII bombings and also the modernization of rebuilding.

To begin with, Boston doesn’t feel like a traditional American city, with industrial complex, downtown, inner city and suburbs. And unlike most places, where dozens of little towns have been gradually engulfed by sprawling city, here the towns have instead spread their influence onto the city so that the entire metro area feels very much like a small town.

What makes it feel that way? It may be that the roads are winding little paths with at most two “lanes” each direction and no painted lines at all. It may be that the perpetually jay-walking pedestrians hold a sovereign right of way so that the drivers keep slow and on the lookout, ready to stop for anyone even thinking of wandering into the street. It may be that the houses are all tall old buildings of wood siding or brick, fronted with creaking porches and towering trees. It may be that there are hardly any of those standard American shopping centers with their wide aisles and vast parking lots. Instead the roads are lined with tiny shops that cluster among residential areas.

Yesterday, for example, I walked two blocks to reach the little Armenian markets along our “main” road. The shopkeeper was shouting in Armenian at the boy putting pomelos and red peppers and quinces into the cardboard boxes that serve as display baskets. There was hardly room to move, between the racks of pita and Turkish delight, the fridges of Greek yogurt and the buffet table with eight varieties of olives. (MIT's Lebanese clubs posted these photos; they'll give you a sense of the shops in the area.) When I was ready to go, the shopkeeper and I conversed in English and then I listened to him practice his Spanish on the El Salvadoran customer behind me. This store captured for me the feeling of Boston: both small town and big city.

I got home with the onions and potatoes I’d gone for. And also with rosehip marmalade, which I ate on scones that made me feel like a Boston Londoner.