Episode 3: Boston

Grey: 00:04
People like to go to music shows, you know, and I had a big basement, so that was a easy and relatively free way to get people together and make friends.

Sam: 00:12
So you started a little music venue in a way in the basement in your place in Brighton?

Grey: 00:20
Yes. Um and I think this is a fairly common trope for the neighborhood.

Sam: 00:33
This is City Share, a show about how we move through cities and how cities move us. I’m Sam Herr. Today, Boston. Or more specifically, the neighborhood of Allston- Brighton. Boston is one of the oldest cities in the U.S., which means it was built way before cars. Roads are windy and compact, and you don’t have to travel very far to have a grand adventure. Today, we’re going on one with our guide Grey.

Sam: 01:05
Hey, I was just texting you.

Grey: 01:08
Okay. Yes.

Sam: 01:09
How’s it going? I’m Sam.

Sam: 01:10
We’re starting in Allston Village. It’s an area bordered by at least four major colleges and universities, so a ton of students live here. Because of this, it’s a place that operates by its own calendar. Allston Christmas happens in September when all the students move and put their stuff out on the sidewalk for the taking. The neighborhood goes quiet in July, and in February, people are outside partying until two in the morning in the snow.

Grey: 01:39
I figure if there was anywhere I could talk a lot about like why this neighborhood is great, Allston Village is kind of the centerpiece.

Sam: 01:45
We’re in the heart of Alston Village on Harvard Ave. The street is narrow and packed with cars and commercial trucks and people walking every which way. Grey and I walked together a few blocks, and on the way, we passed one of Grey’s favorite spots in Allston Village.

Grey: 02:06
The weekend cafe has a craffles, and I’m really into croissants and I’m really into waffles, those are two of my favorite like bread products, and they combined them for savory and sweet desserts here. So this is one of my favorite spots to like meet up with people.

Sam: 02:21
Grey tells me that Alston Brighton is bursting at the seams with creativity. The underground scene in particular, it’s very DIY. Like paint on whatever you have, DIY.

Grey: 02:33
You’re painting and drawing and doodling on anything you have access to. Or throw your own shows in the basement, DIY.

Sam: 02:41
It’s like how many shows did you organize?

Grey: 02:43
It’s gotta be at least 40.

Sam: 02:45
And paste your flyer up on the light pole, DIY.

Grey: 02:48
Actually, here’s a flyer for it.

Sam: 02:50
It’s a flyer from an event Gray hosted last night. He spots it on a crowd of light pole as we walk by.

Grey: 02:56
This feels very endemic of the neighborhood. Every not every, but a lot of streetlights just being filled with flyers and posters of events and community gatherings, info. Um, yeah. I regularly stop by and take a pick of, hmm, is that something I want to go to this week?

Sam: 03:22
We grab blue bikes, that’s what bike share is called here in Boston, and head to Chestnut Hill Reservoir. From there, we’ll go to Oak Square and end the ride at one of Grey’s favorite ice cream shops. As we ride down Harvard Ave, I can see what Grey is talking about. In this neighborhood, you can find the cool stuff you want to know about just by biking by paper flyers hanging on light poles. I don’t feel like I need my phone, and that’s just really hard to come by these days.

Sam: 03:51
Can we actually pull over so I can take a photo of that?

Sam: 03:59
There’s a big bike lane running down Commonwealth Avenue, one of the main streets in the neighborhood, but we decide to take the more scenic route down Brainerd Road instead. We’re riding side by side and chatting when I see this very big hill right in front of us.

Grey: 04:17
We are gonna have a little climb here. It shouldn’t be too bad.

Sam: 04:21
Okay. Looks worse than it is?

Grey: 04:24
Uh no.

Sam: 04:28
I ask Gray if the hill looks worse than it is, and he says, no, it’s actually as bad as it looks. This is Corey Hill, one of the steepest hills in Boston. It’s a trudge, but worth it.

Sam: 04:46
I’m gonna stop for some water.

Grey: 04:54
An incredible view of the city that you can get a glimpse of. Amazing, look at that. Summit Ave.

Sam: 04:59
This is a nice view.

Grey: 05:00
It’s a great date spot.

Sam: 05:02
We stop to take in the rare view of the Boston skyline and then continue on our way. As we weave through the neighborhood, rolling over hills and passing brick houses, I feel like I’m riding through multiple time periods all at once. I’m imagining when the hills were covered in grass and cows. This area was a hub of cattle trade before becoming one of the U.S.’s first streetcar suburbs in the 1800s. The imprints of each of these times feels etched in the layers of these small, windy roads.

Sam: 05:42
Alright, so what area are we in right now?

Grey: 05:44
So this is the border of Allston, soon to be Brighton, and Brookline.

Sam: 05:51
We turn on to Chestnut Hill Ave. for a final coast to the reservoir and park our bikes. There are big trees towering over us in a thick canopy of shade, which we are very glad to have on this hot summer day in Boston. We came here for a particular spot that Grey wants to show me.

Grey: 06:11
I want to show you the cliff.

Sam: 06:15
We head up a little dirt footpath through the urban woods.

Sam: 06:19
Is this the cliff right here?

Sam: 06:21
Maybe cliff is a little generous. There’s a rock edge jutting out from the path. All in all, it’s not that high up. Maybe as high as a one-story house, but the effect is really big. Grey and I both sit right down at the edge and look out over the reservoir.

Grey: 06:39
I wish I could tell you how many gallons were in it, but it’s enormous.

Sam: 06:42
A soft breeze is coming off the water and hitting our faces, and we look out at the man-made lake with the Boston College campus off in the distance.

Grey: 06:52
Yeah, this is definitely a hidden beautiful spot in the neighborhood. There are lots of parks where I can lay out a blanket and enjoy some grass and shade, but being on the cliff face is unique.

Sam: 07:06
We’re enclosed by bushes all around us and it doesn’t really feel like we’re in a city anymore.

Grey: 07:11
There aren’t a lot of places where I’m in the city where I can have like a big sky experience. It’s not very big or high up, but it gets you a nice little view where you can do some great people watching while being a little hidden.

Sam: 07:28
Below us is a flat dirt trail that encircles the entire reservoir. People are running, walking, biking, and just sitting.

Grey: 07:36
People cry here all the time.

Sam: 07:38
Have you cried here?

Grey: 07:41
Just once.

Sam: 07:52
We’re headed to sweet and comfy in Oak Square.

Sam: 07:56
Yeah, this is really beautiful.

Sam: 08:00
We take the dirt trail around the reservoir, which is absolutely delightful.

Sam: 08:04
Oh my gosh, there was a white butterfly that was just like hanging out with me for a little bit there.

Sam: 08:10
And eventually make our way heading west on Washington Ave, taking a bike lane that dumps us right out into Oak Square. We see a bike share station and park our bikes.

Grey: 08:22
So now we’re in Oak Square. There’s a nice kind of historical placard there.

Sam: 08:27
Oh. The largest oak tree in Oak Square is named for the largest oak tree in Massachusetts that once stood at the center of it. It’s not there anymore. It was cut down in 1854. But you do see a bike lane here now, marked in green paint and white bollards. This was definitely not here hundreds of years ago or even 20. Over the past 20 years, Boston has come a really long way in becoming a bike-friendly city. In the early 2000s, Boston was ranked several times as one of the worst places to bike, so the city decided to change that. They put in lots of bike lanes, improved off-street paths, and they made a bike share system.

Grey: 09:15
I am seeing more people bike. I mean bike traffic sometimes, where I’m at a light and I’m like, ooh, maybe I would go at the crosswalk, but there’s a person in front of me and they’re not, and I’m not trying to be a jerk to them.

Sam: 09:29
Oaks Square is less gritty and more residential than the other areas of Allston-Brighton that we’ve been in today.

Grey: 09:35
We’re a little before after hours, so it’s a little quiet right now. People are just starting to get home.

Sam: 09:43
And we spot Sweet and Comfy on the other side of the square by its lit up pink and blue sign.

Sam: 09:48
And there it is.

Sam: 09:49
It’s a colorful beacon calling us over.

Grey: 09:52
Hey, what’s up? What’s up?

Bizzy: 09:55
Hi

Grey: 09:55
Sam: 09:56
Hey, is this okay?

Sam: 09:56
Grey is friends with the owner busy who greets us from behind the counter. I ask him what sweet and comfy is.

Bizzy: 10:02
Uh sweet and comfy, it’s a feeling.

Sam: 10:06
Inside, it’s even more colorful.

Grey: 10:08
The walls are like sprinkle laden, you know, they’ve got either boxes of cereal or caricatures of boxes of cereal with like Kendrick Lamar cartoons and cereal or wicked smahts, you know, uh a take on like Boston Celtics and Lucky Charms, I think.

Sam: 10:25
How did you come up with the idea for your decor in here, particularly your cereal wall?

Bizzy: 10:31
We also wanted to make it feel like a museum. As soon as you walk in, you feel like, oh, drawn to the wall to where you’re seeing something that feeds your mind and just um just entertains you as you’re also being fed with the sweet and comfy food.

Sam: 10:45
I can honestly say I’ve never been to any place like this.

Grey: 10:50
It’s like a sandwich of cereal and ice cream. And then you put a little milk on it. It’s delicious.

Sam: 10:57
Well, yeah, should I mean should we get some?

Grey: 11:00
I’m down if you are.

Grey: 11:01
This neighborhood exudes creativity in a way that is really nice to get to experience as someone who didn’t have access to or exposure to that before moving to Boston.

Grey: 11:01
Sam: 12:13
This route is about 5 miles, or about 8 kilometers, but we ended only about two miles from where we started, making a big U shape. Most of our route was on slow neighborhood streets, or on on-street bike lanes, and I’d recommend comfort with biking near cars to do it. If that’s not you, the Chestnut Hill Reservoir path is a good option for a scenic ride without cars.

Big thanks to Grey for showing me around the neighborhood he loves so much and making me love it too. And also thanks to Bizzy at Sweet and Comfy for being so welcoming and open to chat and the great ice cream. Unfortunately, Sweet and Comfy is now closed, but Oak Square is still a nice place to end a ride and grab some food at one of the many restaurants around the square. Next week, we’re parking our bikes and picking up some scooters to ride through Washington, D.C. with Jonathan.

Sam: 12:44
Jonathan! Riding up on a scooter.

Jonathan: 12:48
How are you?

Sam: 12:50
I’m feeling really excited to do this with you. Thank you for doing this.

Sam: 12:54
City Share is brought to you by the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association. And it’s supported by the Better Bike Share Partnership. Huge thanks to them. They do amazing work. Another big thanks to Sun Tiki Studios in Portland, Maine, who donated the studio time and space for us to record this podcast. They are awesome. City Share is reported and produced by me, Sam Herr. I’m also the executive producer for the show. Our other producer and fact checker is Ariel Knoebel. Our editor is Peter Lang-Stanton. He also mixed the entire show. Our show art is by Ariel Knoebel. Music is by Blue Dot Sessions. Sound effects are from Freesound.org. Additional sound effects are by mboscolo. And once again, I’m your host, Sam Herr. Thanks for listening.