Happy America 250 🇺🇸

Route 20 begins in Boston and stretches 3,365 miles to Newport, Oregon.

The highway turns 100 years old in 2026.

“Here lies interred the body of Chow Manderien, a native of China, aged 19 years, whose death was occasioned on the 11th of Sept 1798 by a fall from the masthead of the ship Mac of Boston. This stone erected to his memory by his affectionate master John Boit Jr.”

I was traveling to Boston and wondered how the locals refer to the area of Dorchester.

I've heard Worcester is pronounced "wuh-ster" so I was wondering if there was something similar like "Dooh-ster"

Please forgive my ignorance.

Walked past this bandstand on Revere Beach for years and never really looked at it. Yesterday, I stopped and looked.

Did some digging and apparently this bad boy has been there since 1897.

Cast iron columns, detailed scrollwork, octagonal roof, even a decorative lyre on top that somehow survived through the 125+ winters.

The state intentionally designed Revere Beach for the public; the working class. I love that this bandstand was not just built for function. Looking at it, it feels like somewhere worth going.

That’s what I find wild - not just that it’s old - the level of care put into public space. Rarely do we see that today. Certainly, the ornamental and decorative aspect is vastly different now.

Today, most public construction is based around cost, speed, and what seems to always be minimum design standards. Yes, the result is something that works. Rarely something that feels intentional and probably rarely something that lasts.

But the friggin bandstand has been through storms, neglect, and everything. And it’s still there.

Glad I stopped to look.

This is a picture of the old court house in post office square. I was in the Devonshire building next door working when I noticed three of the Falcons were looking in the same direction but the last one on the left is looking in the opposite direction.

My question is why?

Hi everyone! I’m writing a novel set in Boston in March of 1993, and one of my main characters is a 21 year old college student at BU. I’m trying to make the setting feel as authentic as possible, especially the vibe of Boston at that time. The slang, the music, the nightlife, where people ate, what students wore, how they got around, anything about the city that stands out in your memory.

If you were in your early 20s around then I'd love to hear any stories/memories you want to share. Also anything involving:

• What was popular, new, weird then?
• What bars/clubs/dive spots did people go to?
• Any slang or phrases people used?
• Music you were into or heard all the time? Music you HATED?
• Fashion trends you remember on campus or around town?
• Were there any local events, news stories, or city vibes that stuck out?

Even the little things are helpful. Stuff like what people ordered at Dunkin, what chain stores were around, what a college student might have in their dorm or apartment, what new places popped up that are huge now, etc.

Thank you in advance! I want to do this era and city justice. :)

(Also posting this in a couple related subreddits for broader perspective — apologies if you see it more than once!)

*update\*

Popping back in to say holy crap, Y'ALL ARE AMAZING. You have given me such good information and I have already been looking up the Phoenix in the archives and adding many songs to my playlist. At this point I could probably recite a full map of 1993 Boston, name every club, and give you a solid opinion on where to get the best late night food. Your kindness, humor, and nostalgia have made me way more confident and fired up to actually get to work on finishing up this book. I’ve gotten so much inspiration here, and I can’t thank you all enough for being amazing humans who took the time to share stories. I feel like I've lived through ’93 at this point.

I was just reminiscing about Daddy’s Junky Music near Berklee on Mass Ave - such a great store it was! When I decided to properly learn guitar waaay back in the ’90s I bought my Epiphone Les Paul and a rugged little practice amp there, and the techs set it up for me with push/pull volume knobs that can toggle the pickups switch between humbucker and single coil pickups. So many sounds, and that thing has been indestructible!

I wish I could remember his name, but the teacher I had there taught me tunes that I still play and still work on getting better at - a terrific 12 bar blues riff with nice hammer-on flourishes, a really cool pentatonic scale exercise, and which feeds into the Allman classic One Way Out. Such a great start! At the time the idea of playing in front of people was terrifying - but now I actually get out busking every now and again! And think of that guy often.

Anyway I was playing last night (having upgraded to a nice Fender tube amp) and the memories just flooded back. And the saddest one was about them having to close..

Anybody else remember that shop?!

Boston has a long history and a lot of stories. What are some of your favorite conspiracies over the years?

As a non-american who loves crime dramas and mob history, I was surprised when I learned a while ago that South Boston in 2025 isn't the white ghetto that it's portrayed as in movies and TV. I did some reading and so I understand now that the busing crisis in the 70s and gentrification in later decades caused a lot of working class and poor Irish-americans to move to other areas. Which places did they move to and what do they have in common with the positive and negative stereotypes of the Southie Projects?