Change is the constant that applies even to the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission as the (BHAC) has begun the process of reviewing their regulations on what contractors or homeowners seeking change will be allowed to do to the façades of their buildings.
The Commissioners started the process of looking at all the regulations that were last revised about 15 years ago at their January meeting and will probably continue the review process for the next several months.
One of the biggest changes will happen in buildings attempting to go “green.” Solar panels and satellite dishes that are visible from a public way will not be allowed. The size of the muntins that are required will not change for example from 5/16 of an inch to 7/16 of an inch but the commissioners will probably incorporate in the new rules the use of insulated windows.
Presently, under the rules, there is no allowance for insulated windows but the commissioners have been approving them for the past few years.
The other controversial item at the monthly meeting of the BHAC will be roof decks. The commissioners will seek to put in clarifications on what is permitted. Presently, nothing has been drafted on this matter.
The use of copper will always be favored as well as actual materials like slate will always have to be used on the buildings. The variety of colors of paint may get an additional few shades added.
Overall, the commissioners are looking at making the rules more user friendly that will hopefully give the applicants more finite direction as they seek to continue to make 19th century buildings fit into the 21st century lifestyle.
The different rules will be reviewed at the monthly meetings of the BHAC. Members of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, Ted Furst, Frank McGuire and Charlotte Thibodeau area also active in the review of the regulations.

CREDIT: Courtesy of Tim Mulavey.

CAPTION: An artist’s rendering of the new Boston Center for Adult Education facility on Arlington Street.

This month marks the beginning of a new era for the Boston Center for Adult Education as the self-described “oldest, nonprofit adult education center in New England” relocates to 122 Arlington St.
According to Executive Director Susie Brown, BCAE purchased the two-story building that was once home to a film and television studio, a parking garage and a medical lab circa 1981. A complete overhaul of the building’s interior and the refurbishing of exterior brickwork cost approximately $3 million and took six months to complete. This facility replaces the Gamble Mansion on Commonwealth Avenue, which was home to the 76-year-old school since 1941. At 10,000 square-foot, the new site is actually 4,000 square-feet smaller than its predecessor, but Brown said the new space is much more functional.
“The Gamble Mansion was built as a single-family home, and the classrooms were bedrooms,” Brown said. “The new space was designed with teaching and learning in mind.”
The new facility will boast a state-of-the-art culinary center that was built in partnership with Mansfield-based Yale Appliance & Lighting and includes two kitchens equipped with high-end Gaggenau and Thermador appliances. This space will allow for expanded culinary programming, such as a “celebrity chef series” featuring Andy Husbands of Tremont 647, Grill 23’s Jay Murray and other talent from top Boston restaurants.
The front of the building facing Arlington Street and a wall in the first-floor kitchen will be built of glass, giving passersby a view of the action inside.
“The whole concept of the building is to make it warm, inviting and interactive,” Brown said. “It will be a really vibrant, high energy, contemporary place to be.”
Besides 14 classrooms, a student lounge equipped with Wi-Fi and an expanded compute lab, the building will also house modern music and art studios. The music studio will provide an intimate concert setting for BCAE’s “Live Music Out” programming, while Brown said the art studio would make use of the space’s ample natural light to provide a creative atmosphere.
In addition, a new dance studio will accommodate a hip-hop class, among other unique offerings. “We’re trying to be cutting edge and contemporary with what we’re doing,” Brown said.
BCAE also plans to expand its programming in all areas, including offering daytime cooking classes and other courses in an effort to appeal to neighbors.
“We want to work with neighbors to find the programs that best suit them,” Brown said. “We want to be a part of the community.”
For more information or to register for classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education, visit www.bcae.org or call 617-267-4430.

Representative Martha Walz (D-Boston, 10th from the left, 1st row) poses with her fellow legislators in support of the Go Red for Women campaign. The event was held on February 3rd at the Massachusetts State House. Go Red for Women is the American Heart Association’s campaign to raise awareness among women about heart disease, which kills one woman a minute. In fact, heart disease kills more women than the next four leading causes of death combined—including all forms of cancer. In addition, in 2008 alone, the direct and indirect cost of cardiovascular diseases in the U.S., including stroke, is estimated to be $475.3 billion.
The event featured remarks by Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop), Senator Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville) and Representative Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge), co-chairs of the Caucus of Women Legislators, American Heart Association volunteer and cardiologist , Dr. Nandita Scott, and heart survivor, Lily Burns. “Heart disease is a serious problem,” said Representative Walz. “Through this event, we have shown our solidarity in the fight against the leading cause of death among the women of the Commonwealth.”
The Go Red For Women State House proclamation is part of a series of events to kick off American Heart Month and raise awareness around women and heart disease. For more information about Go Red For Women, please visit americanheart.org or GoRedForWomen.org. The movement is nationally sponsored by Macy’s and Merck & Co., Inc. Go Red TM of AHA, Red Dress TM of DHHS.

Members of the West End Civic Association are not resting on their laurels about having a safe neighborhood. After several muggings that occurred since the first of the year, residents had a community meeting with Captain Bernard O’Rourke of the A-1 District last Wednesday night on what they can do to keep their neighborhood one of the safest in Boston.
“We are concerned by the fact that there have been at least two muggings in the last few weeks ,” O’Rourke said to the 20 residents who were in attendance. “Last year, we had a total of six muggings in your neighborhood,” he said.
O’Rourke urged the residents to be on alert.
“If there is someone that looks out of place or is acting strangely, let us know,” he said. The idea of neighborhood patrols might also be useful in crime prevention the residents were told.
The two most important actions that the residents can do to help the police is first report the crime. It was brought up at the meting that maybe another two muggings that also occurred in the last two months were not reported. Also, do not be afraid to call 911 for any reasonable cause.
O’Rourke also would like to see bushes on Thoreau Park and Columbus Park pruned and cut lower to avoid concealment by a would be mugger. He would also like to see the owners of buildings on Causeway Street to help in the attempt to cut down on crime and the staff of the building apartments to also report crimes. The use of surveillance cameras could help in preventing a crime.
O’Rourke also noted that there are about 6,000 homeless persons in Boston and that 60% of these are mentally ill. He also noted that are more families as well as more people in their 20’s that are calling the streets home.
“The people are our eyes and ears for us.” O’Rourke said, “don’t leave your doors unlocked and always look at your surroundings.”

Old man winter still here

“If you don’t like the weather in New England, then wait until tomorrow.” Mark Twain once remarked.
This past week shows the truth of that adage.
Friday was glorious, Temperatures were near 50 degrees, Storeowners had their doors wide open to the shoppers who crowded Charles Street, Hanover Street and Newbury Street. Joggers were out in force on the Esplanade. Children were out running around on the Common or in the Myrtle Street Playground or the Clarendon Street Playground or Puopolo Field.
On Monday, residents woke up to more than eight inches of new snow. Sidewalks had to be shoveled and cars had to be dug out. Available resident parking spaces went down overnight by a one-third.
Welcome to New England.
Well, the rest of the week looks to remain cold with little melting of the snow.
But the weekend promises to warm up. The only consolation that is out there, is that if the past is any indication, the snow will not remain around long into March.
Let’s hope the past record is as true today as it has been in the previous years.
And while we are hoping on the weather from the past to be the harbinger for the future, let’s hope the recovery of the stock market will be the harbinger for the end of this recession as it has signaled to economic forecasters when a recovery might start.