A Visit to Boston – Day Three – Phillips Brooks Statue

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This statue of Phillips Brooks is installed outside the Trinity Church. The memorial is credited to sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frances Grimes, and architects Stanford White and Charles Follen McKim. It was commissioned in 1893 by the church congregation for $80,000 and completed from 1907–1910.

The bronze statues of Brooks and Jesus stand in a domed marble niche that measures approximately 17 ft. x 14 ft. 1 in. x 38 in. The figures rest on a granite base that measures approximately 5 x 11 x 9 ft.

An inscription on the front of the base reads in bronze lettering: “PHILLIPS BROOKS / PREACHER OF THE WORD OF GOD / LOVER OF MANKIND / BORN IN BOSTON AD MDCCCXXXV / DIED IN BOSTON AD MDCCCXCIII / THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY / HIS FELLOW CITIZENS AD MCMX”.

Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835 – January 23, 1893) was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston’s Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. He wrote the lyrics of the Christmas hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. He is honored on the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar on January 23.

Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS

A Visit to Boston – Day Three – Horses (and more) on Copley Place

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As I walked down to Copley Square, not far from Back Bay Station, I came across these two horses in a shopping area called “Copley Place“. According to the Next Phase Blog:

Like many other cities, Boston has statues of horses and, like other cities, they mostly serve as mounts for famous men, like George Washington and Paul Revere. But two horses called Paint and Henry graze in a garden outside the Copley Place mall, minus rider or tack. and Henry and they have a history that’s more retail than martial.

Like many other cities, Boston has statues of horses and, like other cities, they mostly serve as mounts for famous men, like George Washington and Paul Revere. But two horses graze in a garden outside the Copley Place mall, minus rider or tack. They are called Paint and Henry and they have a history more retail than martial.

Sculpted by Deborah Butterfield, these two “semi-abstract” sculptures are a visual allegory for the establishment of the Neiman Marcus store behind them. They are made of cast bronze from an armature of bronze and copper using the “lost wax” process. Unlike their more heroic counterparts elsewhere in the city, they are not realistic representations of horses or even solid. (Boston’s Horses: Paint and Henry, which contains additional information)

. I’m afraid I don’t know which is Paint and which is Henry.

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And of course, there was the inevitable cow. I told you earlier that there would be more of them.

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Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS

A Visit to Boston – Day Three – Back Bay Station

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Whenever I’m going somewhere I tend to get to the airport/station very early. As long as I can find somewhere to sit comfortably, read a book and maybe have a beer, I’m happy. When I left New York, the spanking new Monynihan Train Hall (See:In New York City – The Moynihan Train Hall) was a great experience: I had purchased a first-class round trip so I was escorted to the first-class lounge, where I had breakfast (I could have had drinks too, but it was far too early). Contented, I sat there reading my book until it was time to leave when I was escorted down to the train. I guess I expected something similar in Boston and so went early again.

I was wrong! Back Bay Station is a bit of a dump. Something like an old-style bus station: cramped; a bit seedy; nowhere comfortable to sit; virtually no refreshments. I couldn’t see sitting there for a couple of hours, so I checked my maps app to see where I was and realized that I was a short walk from Copley Square. We’d passed it on our bus tour, but we went through so quickly that I wasn’t able to take it in. It was time to go and take a closer look.

Incidentally the statue (about the only thing of interest in Back Bay Station) is of A. Philip Randolph. The New England Historical Society describes him as follows:

Randolph was both a great labor leader and a great civil rights leader, not coincidental when you consider racial justice means nothing without economic justice. At least that’s what Randolph – and his protégé Martin Luther King, Jr., thought. The 1963 March on Washington was, after all, the March for Jobs and Freedom.

Leaders of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A. Philip Randolph is seated in the center; John Lewis is second from right. Photo courtesy National Archives.
King called Randolph the “truly the dean of the Negro leaders.”

Randolph is credited with pushing President Franklin Roosevelt to ban discrimination in the defense industry and President Harry Truman to integrate the military. Considered the most important black leader in the 1930s and 1940s, he helped bring thousands of railroad sleeping car porters into the middle class.

Though Randolph grew up in Jacksonville, lived in New York City and made his mark on Washington, he also had an impact in Boston’s African-American community. Even today, his nine-foot sculpture in the train station may inspire commuters who take the time to read his words at the base: “Freedom is never granted; It is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted.” New England Historical Society Article: A. Philip Randolph heads the 1963 March on Washington, which contains much more information, including a video.

To be fair to Back Bay Station, I was told that there was a lounge, but that it was in the Terminal at South Station. I checked out South Station and discovered that it’s much more interesting, with more facilities than Back Bay. More like the Moynihan Station in New York, in fact. In my ignorance I had chosen the wrong station to leave from. I’ll know better next time. My apologies to Back Bay.

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Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS

A Visit to Boston – Day Two – Cows

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In the background of the preceding post, you’ll see a blue cow statue. Here are a couple of closer views.

Apparently, this is only one of many. They’re part of CowParade New England 2023.

CowParade New England presented by Herb Chambers will bring 75 life-size cows, designed by a range of artists throughout New England, to high trafficked landmarks throughout Greater Boston to celebrate 75 years of progress and impact made possible by the Jimmy Fund community. All proceeds directly benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s efforts to defy cancer.

Stay tuned for our pasture map outlining where to visit the cows this summer and for more information on our virtual auction which will launch in August!

This in turn, is part of a larger effort called simply Cow Parade, which describes itself as follows:

The World’s Largest Public Art Event

CowParade is the largest and most successful public art event in the world. CowParade events have been staged in 80+ worldwide since 1999 including Chicago (1999), New York City (2000), London (2002), Tokyo (2003), and Brussels (2003). Dublin (2003), Prague (2004), and Stockholm (2004), Mexico City (2005), Sao Paulo (2005), Buenos Aires (2006), Boston (2006) Paris (2006), Milan (2007, Istanbul (2007), Taipei (2009), Rio (2011), North Carolina (2013), Hong Kong (2013) and more…

Fun Facts

Over 250 million people around the world have seen one our famous cows.
Over $30 million have been raised through worldwide charitable organizations through the auction of the cows, which take place at the conclusion of each event.
Over 10,000 artists worldwide have participated in CowParade – professional and amateur, famous and emerging, young and old.
Over 5,000 cows have been created!

The cows are all over Boston. You’ll see a couple more in upcoming posts.

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Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS

A Visit to Boston – Day Two – Bus Tour Continued – on the bus

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And off we went on the bus tour. It was quite difficult to take pictures from the moving bus. Add to that that the driver/guide seemed more interested in telling jokes than telling us much about the things we were seeing and I didn’t take many pictures. I only vaguely remember what he was saying so at the moment I don’t have much to say about the pictures. If I get a chance, I’ll look them up and add some captions/descriptions.

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Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS.