Hillary Clinton distanced herself from President Obama’s cautionary guide to international relations. But I thought his motto was good advice for most matters. Not that I’ve always avoided doing stupid stuff, and you can probably think of a few times…
Author: Karen Cord Taylor
Downtown View Interesting Passageways are Returning
In 2010 in this column, I urged developers to create permeability at the ground level of big buildings. I especially wanted them to replicate the historic little lanes of downtown Boston—Spring Lane, Pi Alley, Winthrop Lane—or to create Boston versions…
Extreme Books
You have heard people say books are going away, that we’ll all be reading on Kindles, etc. for the foreseeable future. The more extreme prognosticators declare that whole libraries are in demise, and with the cloud, their books are destined…
Downtown View Shade or Shadow?
When I was 19 years old, I went to Wall Street. It was narrow, dark, secretive—worthy of the cash that I imagined rested behind those vault-like façades. It was my first encounter with shadows bestowing a sense of place, in…
Downtown View Engineering Happiness
I recently met a happy man. Why shouldn’t he be happy? He has what most men want: loving parents, a wife, Jana, who was his high school sweetheart, two cute little boys, a house, good friends, family members who…
Charlie’s Problems
Charlie Baker has intrigued some of my Democratic friends. They worked with him in government or insurance and admire his management acumen. But he has problems if he expects Democrats to turn tail or Independents to support him. Many of…
Yes on Question 2
Fenway Park filled to the brim with plastic bottles. That dramatic image conveys the volume of bottle litter we throw away in Massachusetts each year. Most of it gets deposited in landfills. Some litter lingers in our gutters, along the…
Downtown View: Seeing Boston From The Water
If you’re a traveler and an architecture enthusiast, you may have been on the Chicago River architectural boat tour. It is splendid, with good stories about the Windy City’s fine buildings. You may be surprised to learn that Boston also…
A New Trail to Follow
I love it when one person decides to do a good deed for the rest of us just because he or she is interested in a topic. Vincent Licenziato, 64, of Phillips Street on Beacon Hill, decided to celebrate art,…
A New Trail to Follow
I love it when one person decides to do a good deed for the rest of us just because he or she is interested in a topic. Vincent Licenziato, 64, of Phillips Street on Beacon Hill, decided to celebrate art,…