PHOTO CAPTION: The withdrawing room at the Otis House Museum, one of the attractions on Historic New England’s ‘Magnificent & Modest: Beacon Hill Walking Tour’.

“Magnificent & Modest: Beacon Hill Walking Tour” offers the opportunity to view some notable landmarks and a chance to learn the history of one of Boston’s most storied neighborhoods as it evolved from pastureland to a developed city district.
The two-hour tour, sponsored by the country’s oldest regional heritage group, Historic New England, runs every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. from May through October. It begins with a tour of the Otis House Museum at 141 Cambridge St., the earliest intact mansion in the neighborhood that was built in 1796 and was briefly the home of Harrison Gray Otis and his wife, Sally. (Harrison Gray Otis was one of the first developers of Beacon Hill in the late 18th and early 19th centuries).
From there, tour-goers walk to the North Slope of Beacon Hill, which Historic New England Regional Site Manager Leah Walczak said was traditionally home to the working class. One noteworthy site on the North Slope is the African Meeting House, the first free black church that was built in 1806 and is now part of the Museum of African American History.
Sightseers then proceed to Mount Vernon Street, where they pass the Otis’ second home at 85 Mount Vernon St. that is a private residence today, before visiting Acorn Street. “Acorn Street is a little, narrow cobblestone street that gives the feeling of the early 19th century,” Walczak said.
The next attraction is Chestnut Street and includes a stop by the residence and urban garden at 29A Chestnut St. After passing the Otis’ third residence at 45 Beacon St., the tour ends on the Boston Common.
“The Boston Common is the heart of Boston and a great place to send people on their way,” Walczak said.
For more information on “Magnificent & Modest: Beacon Hill Walking Tour,” call Historic New England at 617-227-3957, Ext. 256 or visit www.HistoricNewEngland.org. Admission is $6 for Historic New England members and $12 for non-members. Reservations are recommended because space is limited.

The Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) voted unanimously earlier this month to write a letter to the city, requesting that it not disband the Boston Police Mounted Unit.
“We notice a decrease in shoplifting and other small crime when the mounted police are around,” BHCA Executive Director Suzanne Besser said. “They’ve been around for more than 100 years, and their very presence on the Hill is a deterrent. It’s really unfortunate that the city would stop this historic tradition.”
In March, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis announced departmental cutbacks, including the elimination of the Mounted Patrol Unit effective July 1. Under the current plan, 10 officers and the sole supervisor from the Mounted Unit will be reassigned to other Boston Police Department (BPD) units and nine civilian personnel will be laid off.
“Any time we have to make personnel changes along these lines, especially when it involves letting people go, is difficult,” said Captain Bernard O’Rourke of BPD Area A-1. “I’d love to see them stay…but due to the economy, tough decisions need to be made. As far as police coverage on the Hill is concerned, we’ll find a way [to compensate for this loss].”
Paula O’Keeffe, chairperson of the BHCA Safety Committee, said the Mounted Unit would be missed throughout the neighborhood.
“The mounted police are a lot more visible. Children love them, and they seem to cut down on larcenies from stores,” O’Keeffe said. “Everybody feels safer having them go up and down Charles Street.”
Meanwhile, City Council President Mike Ross said he and his fellow councilors were working to keep the Mounted Unit as they face a dwindling city budget.
Ross said, “My colleagues and I on the council continue to work through the entire budget process. There is a strong motivation on the council to ensure that the Boston Police Department’s Mounted Unit is not disbanded, and nearly all of the calls and e-mails to my office have supported the Mounted Police. If the State House cuts Boston’s state aid by another projected $46 million, as is currently proposed, it will be all the more difficult to retain this and other vital services.”

Alexandra (Adams) Norton had a zest for life, a kindness that radiated to friends and family, and a love of sailing and music that she shared with her beloved husband, Richard, during their 59 years of marriage.
Mrs. Norton, who lived in Beacon Hill for 53 years, died unexpectedly of a heart attack on May 6, 2009. She was 86.
The loving daughter of the late Alexander and Gladys (Leonard) Adams, Mrs. Norton was born in Los Angeles, California. She spent her childhood in California and attended Stanford University, one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges. During her time at Stanford, Mrs. Norton didn’t know that Richard Norton, a brilliant and eloquent student who would earn an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and a graduate degree in electrical engineering from Stanford, was also studying there.
It was in their years after Stanford that Alexandra Adams and Richard Norton would meet and form a bond of love that would continue for the next six decades. “We were introduced through the friendships of our mothers, who each attended the symphony [in California],” said Mr. Norton. “Music apparently was a part of our life together from the beginning.”
Richard and Alexandra Norton moved to Boston in 1956 and lived on Beacon Hill, where they became a part of the daily life in one of Boston’s most historic neighborhoods. Mr. Norton displayed expertise and a superior knowledge of science in his position as an engineer at Stone and Webster for 35 years, retiring in 1988.
Mrs. Norton was a devoted wife and homemaker, and she and her husband raised two loving children, Richard C. Norton Jr., and Alexandra Adams, who preceded Mrs. Norton in death. They also have two grandchildren, Zachary and Emily Adams.
Mrs. Norton was a member of the Beacon Hill Garden Club and developed warm and close-knit friendships with other residents on the Hill. Friends appreciated her generous spirit and the dignified manner in which she conducted her life and the caring way in which she treated others.
“My wife lived for a long time in Beacon Hill and she enjoyed her friends and came to appreciate the city of Boston and all it had to offer its residents,” said Mr. Norton. She was also a member of the Chilton Club, a ladies’ club in Boston.
Mrs. Norton and her husband enjoyed sailing and would often cruise on their boat to the North Shore, sometimes extending their nautical journey to Nova Scotia.
“We very much enjoyed the environment of being on a boat out on the water,” said Mr. Norton, who docked their boat at their second home in Annisquam, a picturesque section of Gloucester.
The Nortons had a lifelong appreciation of music and a reverence for musicians. Mrs. Norton and her husband regularly attended a rehearsal program of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, enjoying a seat close to the stage where they could easily see the musicians’ skill and admire the conductor while he led the orchestra. They also attended numerous performances of the symphony.
Friends and family paid tribute to Mrs. Norton’s life at a memorial service on May 22 at the Church of the Advent in Boston.
“We had a wonderful life together,” Mr. Norton said. “We had the most peaceful, wonderful times together.”

Several members of the West End community asked the tough questions, and Mayor Thomas Menino didn’t duck those questions, but gave the answers.
At a community meeting sponsored by the West End Civic Association last Wednesday night, Menino spoke for less than five minutes and then opened up the floor to questions in a forum that lasted more than an hour. “We as an administration try to work and listen to you,” Menino said to the more than 100 residents who attended the open meeting.
Residents’ questions ranged from the stalled Filene’s project to other developments in the immediate neighborhood, such as Charles River Park and the Government Center Garage.
“Let me assure you that we are not going to take your cabanas or pool,” Menino told the residents in his opening remarks. This statement referred to the recent meeting at the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), where the owners of the Charles River Park are seeking to add more housing units in the complex. The location and the height of the proposed new buildings were definitely on residents’ minds. One resident was concerned about the height of a proposed building that might be constructed at the Garden Garage that currently houses the Basketball City on the top floor. He urged the mayor to limit the proposed building’s height to that of the current height of the garage.
Another resident was concerned about the lack of affordable housing in the city. Menino pointed out that 5,000 of the 18,000 new housing units built in Boston in the last few years have been classified as affordable. He also noted that in the most recent census, the population of Boston has increased by almost 30,000 and that one-third of the city’s population is between the ages of 20 and 34. “If the neighborhoods are doing well, then the city is doing well,” Menino said.
Menino received high marks for his senior transportation service, and he vowed that one –way taxi coupons aren’t affected by this year’s budget deficit. “I have had cancer and know the problem is not getting to the hospital for treatment, but getting home is the problem,” he said.
Residents also sought a complete master plan for Massachusetts General Hospital and also a master plan for the West End and its boundaries so that a master plan for future developments for that neighborhood could be drawn up. The issue of the approved tower by Delaware North was cited as a case to clarify the boundaries, since it is unclear whether that proposed project falls within the West End.
The BRA also came under fire from residents. One resident pointed out that residents of Emerson Place had to hire their own lawyer to have a say on the project that was eventually constructed near their building.
Menino noted there is nothing before the BRA about a school being built at the proposed Government Center Garage project, but he pledged to work with the community groups of West End, North End, Beacon Hill and Back Bay to determine where to build a school if it is needed. He noted that for the first time in many years, there aren’t enough K-1 classrooms in many neighborhood schools, such as the Eliot School in the North End.

Mark your calendar because they will be back

Next Tuesday, May 26, the Boston Landmarks Commission will be taking testimony on the possible landmark designation of the Esplanade. We urge all concerned residents to attend this meeting. Let’s pack the room as the commission seeks to hear input from citizens on their views of whether to approve the site to landmark status.
Many residents may not remember or possibly couldn’t believe that the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) was considering only 18 months ago cutting down hundreds of trees and paving over huge parts of the Esplanade for automobile traffic as the permanent repairs for the Storrow Drive Tunnel were made in three years.
A small group of residents banded together and sought to have the Esplanade put on the docket for landmark status. This move stopped the DCR planned conversion of the Esplanade into a highway and made the DCR proceed with temporary repairs of the tunnel that have an expected life of not more than 10 years.
This means that as sure as the sun rises in the morning, the permanent repairs will have to be made in the future. This also means that without landmark status, the Esplanade will probably be torn up and opened to traffic because the permanent repairs to the tunnel will have to be done in about five years.
The DCR hasn’t learned that the Esplanade is more than trees and open space. The agency doesn’t have all the answers and has continued in some instances to not seek broad community input. While the repairs to the tunnel have been exemplary, the issue of constructing the fence around Ebersol Field has shown the DCR sometimes just doesn’t get it.
Written comments may be sent by May 29 to the Boston Landmarks Commission, Boston City Hall, Room 805, Boston MA 02201, or you may want to attend the May 26 hearing at 7p.m. in Room 900 of City Hall.
We need your support, whether written to the Boston Landmarks Commission or in person, to help preserve the Esplanade for future generations of children and adults. Let us preserve the Esplanade so that a similar mistake committed almost 60 years ago when the Esplanade was disconnected from the neighborhoods of Back Bay and Beacon Hill with a single vote in the State House of Representatives – it approved paving the parkland and the construction of Storrow Drive - can never be repeated again.