What's NEW at Old
South? Read our DIAL newsletter and find
out!
The Winter/Spring 2012 DIAL Newsletter is
now available online. Download the full
7-page newsletter
here.
Or, open just the 1-page Calendar
here. (All pages print to 8.5 by 11
paper)
FEBRUARY
Thursday, February 2,
12:15 PM
Sum of its Parts: A
Boston
Neighborhood Overview-Boston
is distinguished by its ever-evolving and
vibrant neighborhoods, where both the new
and the historic are cherished and
celebrated.
Emily Wolf, Architectural Historian and
Assistant Survey Director at Boston
Landmarks Commission, introduces us to
Boston’s distinctive neighborhoods and
orients us to the development of the diverse
city that we now call Boston—from its
founding on a small peninsula, to its
expansion by landfill and annexation of
neighboring towns, to the cultural and
architectural diversity that has developed
across the city. $6; Free for OSMH Members
Wednesday, February 8, 5:30 PM
B
oston
Preservation Alliance
presents "Meet Meg Muckenhoupt,
Author of Boston's
Gardens and Green Spaces"
Join local author Meg
Muckenhoupt as she travels through the
verdant world of her book, Boston's Gardens
and Green Spaces. This captivating lecture
examines the role of public spaces
throughout Boston's historic and
contemporary landscape. Rediscover the city
through its most revered historic parks and
explore the city's ever-expanding network of
public spaces. Listen as the author takes
you on a fascinating journey through green
Boston, past to present-and all nature
lovers, gardening enthusiasts, and history
buffs should be sure to come along for the
ride! Booksigning and sales to follow.
Tickets for each event are $10 each; FREE
for Members of Boston Preservation Alliance
and Old South Meeting House members.
Members and non-members both may register
securely via PayPal at
http://www.bostonpreservation.org/programs/upcoming-events.html
For more information, please contact
Christine Piontek
cpiontek@bostonpreservation.org or
617-367-2458
Thursday, February 9,
12:15 PM
Boston Neighborhood:
Dorchester-Boston’s
largest neighborhood,
Dorchester, began as a small
settlement established by a group of hardy
English families in 1630.
Earl Taylor, President of the Dorchester
Historical Society,
shares the story of a
wonderful neighborhood that has appealed to
immigrants throughout the world as a beacon
of community and has developed into a
compelling neighborhood of distinct
communities.
$6; Free for OSMH Members
Thursday, February 16,
12:15 PM
Boston
Neighborhood: Roslindale-It is said that Roslindale shares its name with no
other place! When the community applied for
a Post Office, they needed a distinct name
and came together to agree on the name
“Roslindale.”
Cathy Slade, President of the Roslindale
Historical Society, will share stories of
the thriving and accepting community that
has developed over the years. $6: Free for
OSMH Members
Friday, February 17, 12:15 PM
Music at the Meeting House: The
New England Conservatory Concert Series--
Artist Diploma student
Hae Ji Chang, soprano
Enjoy
the artistry and extraordinary talent of
some of
Boston’s most gifted
young musicians in this annual concert
series featuring soloists in the Artist
Diploma degree program and spectacular
ensembles representing varied musical
styles. Free and Open to the Public
Monday, February 20, 10 AM to 12 NOON
February School Vacation Week:
Ben Franklin, Scientist-
Benjamin Franklin
experimented with static electricity to
discover the properties of lightning. He
invited a musical instrument in 1761, and a
year later, he discovered the ocean's
Gulf Stream through observation!
Come experiment to see if static electricity
can put your hair on end! See if you can
recreate the eerie sounds of his glass
armonica using water glasses, and create
your own ocean tide. Activities
included in Museum Admission.
Tuesday, February 21, 10
AM to 12 NOON
February
School Vacation Week:
Ben Franklin, Printer-Before
moving to
Philadelphia
and starting his own printing business,
Benjamin Franklin learned the trade in his
brother's shop in
Boston. Learn
the techniques to colonial printing as you
create your own print to bring home and
learn some of
Franklin's most
famous sayings! Activities included in
Museum Admission
Wednesday, February
22, 10 AM to 12 NOON
February School
Vacation Week:
Ben Franklin in Boston-Benjamin
Franklin was a scientist, a printer, an
inventor, and one of the most famous of our
Founding Fathers.
Learn about Benjamin Franklin by
completing our scavenger hunt, then use your
new knowledge to create a Benjamin Franklin
kite filled with your favorite
Franklin
trivia. Activities included in Museum
Admission.
Thursday,
February 23, 12:15 PM
Boston
Neighborhood: South End-Created on landfill, the South End was designed by
famed architect Charles Bulfinch who brought
his eye for balance to this neighborhood in
1801. But by the 1970s neglect, arson, and
demolition had destroyed more than a quarter
of the area’s original buildings.
Hope Shannon, Director of the South End Historical Society,
tells how citizens came together to save the
historical treasures of their community, and
in 1972 placed The South End on the National
Register of Historic Places as the largest
Victorian brick rowhouse district extant in
the United States. $6; Free for OSMH Members
Friday, February 24, 12:15 PM
Music at the Meeting House: The
New England Conservatory Concert Series--Artist
Diploma student
Lukas Vondracek, pianist
Enjoy
the artistry and extraordinary talent of
some of
Boston’s most gifted
young musicians in this annual concert
series featuring soloists in the Artist
Diploma degree program and spectacular
ensembles representing varied musical
styles. Free and Open to the Public
MARCH
Thursday, March 1, 12:15
PM
Boston
Neighborhood:
South Boston-Come
hear the fascinating past of the storied
neighborhood of “Southie.”
Robert Allison,
Chair of History at
Suffolk University, explains how
South
Boston grew rapidly with the
railroad, becoming a hub of industry filled
with iron foundries, machine shops,
shipyards, and refineries, and how its
population exploded with Irish immigrants
fleeing famine and seeking employment. $6;
Free for OSMH Members.
Fridays, March 2, 12:15 PM
Music at the Meeting House: The
New England Conservatory Concert Series--NEC
Honors Piano Trio- violin, cello, piano
Enjoy
the artistry and extraordinary talent of
some of
Boston’s most gifted
young musicians in this annual concert
series featuring soloists in the Artist
Diploma degree program and spectacular
ensembles representing varied musical
styles. Free and Open to the
Public
Sunday, March 4, 4:30 PM
The Boston Jewish Music Festival presents
The Yiddish Art Songs of Lazar Weiner
The Western canon of art song-so identiied
with Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms-has a
legitimate secular Jewish counterpart in
both Yiddish and Hebrew art songs of the
20th century. Lazar Weiner is justifiably
considered the supreme exemplar and advocate
of this genre. Having composed over one
hundred art songs, he elevated that medium
to unprecedented artistic sophistication.
With a group of singers assembled by his
son, the Pulitzer Prize winning composer,
Yehudi Wyner, this will be an important and
unforgettable afternoon of eloquent and
beautiful Yiddish music in a unique historic
setting. Featured vocalists include Ilana
Davidson, Lynn Torgove, Cantor Joshua
Breitzer, and David Kravitz. The concert
will also feature a cameo appearance of
Cantor Robert Abelson. Abelson was for many
years a close collaborator with Weiner in
performance and interpretation of Weiner's
songs.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the
door on the night of the program. To
purchase tickets, please visit https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/218258.
For more information, please contact the
Boston Jewish Music Festival at (781)
883-2091.
Thursday, March 8,
12:15 PM
Boston
Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain-From farmland to “streetcar suburb,” Jamaica Plain
has evolved into one of
Boston’s greenest and
most dynamic neighborhoods.
Michael Reiskind
of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society
joins long-time resident
Mary Smoyer
to discuss the history of
Jamaica Plain and why “JP” is one of
Boston’s most
distinctive and beloved neighborhoods today.
$6; Free for OSMH Members.
Fridays, March 9, 12:15 PM
Music at the Meeting House: The
New England Conservatory Concert Series--NEC
Jazz Duo- Piano and Violin
Enjoy
the artistry and extraordinary talent of
some of
Boston’s most gifted
young musicians in this annual concert
series featuring soloists in the Artist
Diploma degree program and spectacular
ensembles representing varied musical
styles. Free and Open to the
Public
Wednesday, March 14 at 11
am
Brighton-Allston
Heritage
Museum-Operated
by the Brighton-Allston Historical Society,
the Brighton-Allston
Heritage
Museum opened in 2007 to
mark the neighborhood bicentennial. Join us
as to tour the
permanent exhibition which highlights
the historical themes that have shaped to
the varied and rich history of Brighton and Allston, a community that represents a
microcosm of our national experience. In the
Winship Gallery, with its rotating exhibits
highlighting different aspects of
Brighton
– Allston history and culture. Both
exhibition galleries demonstrate how the
events and personalities of Brighton and
Allston's past helped shape the diverse
present-day residential and commercial
powerhouse of 70,000 people, home to major
universities, institutions, and
corporations. $5 each for OSMH members and
one guest.
Space is limited and fills quickly. Advance
registration and payment is required. To
reserve, please call (617) 482-6439 ext. 10.
Thursday, March 15,
12:15 PM
Boston
Neighborhood:
Chinatown-Did you know that
Boston
is home to the third largest Chinatown in
the continental United States? Professor
Wing-Kai To, Vice President of the
Chinese Historical Society of New England
will discuss the history and growth of this
historic and active community. Discover how
this neighborhood was settled by Chinese
workers in the 1870s and shaped by years of
laws excluding and limiting Chinese
immigrants, urban renewal and community
organizing. More than its famous
restaurants, Chinatown today is home to
Boston’s largest Chinese community, in a vital
and unique mix of residences and businesses.
$6; Free for OSMH Members
Thursday, March 22,
12:15 PM
Boston
Neighborhood: Roxbury-Originally founded as an independent community,
after massive landfill and annexation to
Boston, today Roxbury
is at the city’s geographical center. Its
buildings and landmarks tell the story of
three centuries, from its rural beginnings
to suburbanization to industry.
Thomas Plant,
President of the Roxbury Highlands
Historical Society, will discuss the history
of the neighborhood, which includes the
Shirley Eustis House, the only remaining
country house in
America
built by a British Royal Colonial Governor.
$6; Free for OSMH Members
Wednesday, March 28, 5:30 PM
Boston
Preservation Alliance presents "Meet
Christopher Klein, Author of Discovering
the Boston Harbor Islands"
The blockbuster movie
"Shutter Island" was set on a fictitious
island in Boston Harbor, but the true
stories of the 34 Boston Harbor Islands are
even stranger than fiction. Join Christopher
Klein, author of Discovering the Boston
Harbor Islands, as he takes you on a
virtual tour through the colorful history
and natural beauty of one of our best-kept
local secrets. Hear tales of ghosts,
shipwrecks, prisoners of war, and
Revolutionary War battles that took place on
"the real Shutter Islands" and get inspired
to leave port and visit this urban oasis.
Booksigning and sales to follow
Tickets for each event
are $10 each; FREE for Members of Boston
Preservation Alliance and Old South Meeting
House members.
Members and non-members both may register
securely via PayPal at
http://www.bostonpreservation.org/programs/upcoming-events.html
For more information, please contact
Christine Piontek
cpiontek@bostonpreservation.org or
617-367-2458
Thursday,
March 29, 12:15 PM
Boston Neighborhood:
Charlestown-Rebuilt after it was burned by the British
following the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775,
and annexed to Boston in 1874, today
Charlestown is home to extraordinary
historical architecture; major national
landmarks and a new generation of immigrants
and young professionals that have joined its
traditionally Irish-American population.
Carl Zellner,
Historian of the Charlestown Historical
Society, explores the city’s oldest
neighborhood, which today is a thriving 21st
Century community. $6; Free for OSMH Members
APRIL
Wednesday, April 4 at 7 pm
The
Fife
is Right: The Seventh Annual Old South
History Challenge--“Boston
Underground”--This year, our
wildly popular historical quiz show
The Fife is Right returns to unearth the mysteries of Boston
Underground. Our two teams of experts face
tough questions on the terrifying tunnels,
creepy crypts, scandalous speakeasies,
subversive societies, subterranean stations,
grisly gunmen, and much more that lie
beneath the surface of Beantown! This year,
you may enjoy light snacks as quizmaster
Susan Wilson and the Old South Meeting House
staff bring to light fascinating facts from
the underground history of even our own
famed National Historic Landmark! You won’t
want to miss this night of history, trivia,
and lots of laughs…now with new program
features!
Tickets are $10 each and include a light snack and soft drink. If you are
NOT a museum member, please purchase your
tickets
here.
Complimentary tickets are exclusively
available for current members of Old South
Meeting House and donors at the friend level
and up.
If you are a CURRENT MUSEUM MEMBER, please order your tickets
through our Membership Department by calling
(617) 482-6439. Current Museum
Members SHOULD NOT order through the Brown
Paper Tickets website.
Wednesday,
April
25, 6:30 pm
The
Boston
Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts-The capture of James “Whitey” Bulger closed an
infamous chapter in
Boston
history. Yet the city’s criminal underworld
has a long and bloody rap sheet that
stretches back to the beginning of the
Twentieth Century.
Boston
journalists
Beverly Ford
and
Stephanie Schorow
reveal
the real story of the underbelly of
Boston
through profiles of ruthless gangsters and
the backrooms and seedy hangouts where
deadly hits and lucrative heists were
hatched. This program is funded in part
by the Lowell Institute.
Book
sales and signing to follow. Free and open
to the public