Boston offers some locations that are worthy of a visit or three. Thus, for you freshman, the Beacon is providing you with a handy-dandy guide-or, if you’re an upperclassman and don’t know of these places, I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that life exists outside of Piano Row and The Little Building. So tear this section out, put it in your back pocket and use it when you realize that Boston extends beyond Boylston and Tremont.
Music venues:
The Middle East: A restaurant/bar sandwiched between two showrooms: a cozy upstairs lounge and a cellar-style downstairs concert room. Compared to the geographical location of the same name, it serves just as authentic food, better beer, and-even though the concert halls are louder-it’s a little less violent. Just a little.
472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge.
The T for me: Red Line to Central
Avalon: Come here to see that band you really liked before they got big. A posh, fluorescent club that magically transforms into a massive concert hall often filled with patrons who would probably rather be squished into a smaller space. Don’t worry, though, you’ll still be plenty squished here.
15 Lansdowne St.
The T for me: Green Line to Kenmore
T.T. the Bears: In addition to having a name that sounds like a garage band, this impressively intimate venue often hosts the best bands that just moved out
of their parents’ garage.
10 Brookline St.
The T for me: Red Line to Central
Movie theaters:
AMC Loews on the Common: 19 screens, long lines, loud patrons, the newest mainstream movies and popcorn so salty it’ll destroy your mouth. It’s conveniently located right up the street, though, so get used to it.
175 Tremont St., Boston
T stop: It’s right up the street, at the Boylston T stop
Kendall Square Cinema: Film majors and buffs alike, listen up. Like buried treasure, this eight screen mecca of cinema may be difficult to find, but after the first time you get lost-and it’s very likely you’ll get lost, so leave early-you’ll discover that it’s a peerless resource for independent and arthouse cinema.
1 Kendall Square, Cambridge.
T stop: Red Line to Kendall/MIT
Coolidge Corner: A majestic Art-Deco non-profit theater that mainly offers the most well-known arthouse features. The film selection is occasionally limited, but they can surprise with a special sneak preview or a fascinating documentary. It’s top-notch for its event screenings of cult films, dance-a-longs (ex: a decadent 80’s night) and sing-a-longs (such as R. Kelly’s epic Trapped in the Closet).
290 Harvard St., Brookline.
T stop: Green Line (C) to Coolidge Corner
Bookstores:
Trident Booksellers:
With the most impressive magazine rack in the city, Trident Booksellers already has a corner on the periodical niche market. But thankfully, it also offers a broad selection of art and photography books, as well as a focused, if not very extensive, fiction and poetry section. Oh, and the sweet potato fries are little slices of heaven.
338 Newbury Street
T stop: Green Line to Hynes Convention Center
Brattle Book Shop:
You need a Simone de Beauvoir novel for class, but you don’t want to shell out eighteen bucks at the book store. Take heart: there’s probably a used copy in the endless stacks of $3 books at the Brattle Book Shop. Located only a few steps away in Downtown Crossing, the Brattle offers a thorough back catalog in both fiction and non-fiction, and also hosts impressive antiquarian and rare editions.
9 West St., Boston.
T stop: Green/Red Line to Park Street
Brookline Booksmith:
All the way out to Brookline? For a bookstore? Well, strictly speaking, that’s not all the Brookline Booksmith has to offer. This independent shop plays host to some of the most interesting speakers in the city. Chuck Palahniukand Mark Z. Danielewski passed through here not too long ago, and the next two months they’ll have Richard Russo and Nick Hornby. Bring your reading glasses.
279 Harvard Street, Brookline
T stop: Green Line (C) to Coolidge Corner