Doug Cornelius .com

With all my decades living in Boston, I had never been to the Skywalk at the top of Boston’s Prudential Center. I had been to the top of the Hancock Tower next door. But that was ten year’s ago. Before they shut it down their observatory level for “security concerns.”

The Boy and I had some time to kill waiting for our next train home after the LEGO KidsFest at the Hynes. So I dragged up 50 floors to take in the stunning 360º view of Greater Boston. It is a stunning. Stunning enough to get included in the 1,000 Great Place in Massachusetts.

Mount Auburn Cemetery is America’s first landscaped cemetery. Apparently that distinction entitled it to two entries on the list of 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts. Most of the cemetery is located in Watertown, though the entrance lies in Cambridge. That must be why only Cambridge claimed it.

Aside from the list-makers’ failures, Mount Auburn Cemetery is a magnificent place to visit. The cemetery is credited as the beginning of the American public parks and gardens movement. It was the first large-scale designed landscape open to the public in the United States.

I’m not sure I understand why they allow cars to drive on the cemetery’s road, but prohibit bicycles and motorcycles.

Given its stature, there are many prominent residents:

• Charles Bulfinch (1763–1844), architect
• Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), religious leader
• Fannie Farmer (1857–1915), cookbook author
• Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965), United States Supreme Court Justice
• Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), architect
• Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924), art collector, museum founder
• Curt Gowdy (1919–2006), sportscaster
• B.F. Skinner (1904–1990), psychologist

I had never visited before and did so just to put another checkmark on my list. Even The Boy said the place was “pretty cool.” He wants go back there again and see more.

Franklin’s town common was established in 1787 as a place for the townspeople to let their cows graze. It was the local Congregational Church that first owned the land. They sold it to the town in 1868.

The common and its surroundings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The historic district includes the common itself and over 74 other buildings, objects, and structures.

The brick bandstand on the Town Common was dedicated in 1917 and contributed by the Hayward family.

It’s historic enough, green enough, and good enough to make it onto the list of 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

I’m not sure what to say about this entry on the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

The sole entry for Holliston is the “Arch Bridge.” Is this really the greatest place in Holliston? It’s an unused bridge in a swamp.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good-looking bridge. At least is was. According to the Town of Holliston, the Arch Bridge is one of only three 8-arch bridges in the Commonwealth. It was constructed in 1847 from local granite.

If you happen to be in Holliston, take a turn down Woodland Street and admire the Arch Bridge as it spans the Boggastow Brook.

Head east from Harvard Square down Mass. Ave and you quickly arrive in Central Square. The section of Central Square along Massachusetts Avenue between Clinton Street and Main Street is designated the “Central Square Historic District,” and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 1990.

Now, like Harvard Square, it has made it’s way onto the list of 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

That makes it greater than Kendall Square or Porter Square, since they did not make it onto the list.

It’s an intersection. Massachusetts Avenue meets Brattle Street. Life intersects with shopping, education, transportation, and red bricks. Lots and lots of red bricks.

Harvard Square began in 1630 as the Colonial village of Newtowne. In the early years of settlement, the future Harvard Square lay on the outskirts of the village. It was merely a passing for travelers along the Charlestown-Watertown path.

Harvard Square has grown along with the Harvard University.

Now, it’s one of the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

I’ve ridden by the Belkin Family Lookout Farm dozens of times and have been meaning to stop and explore. From the road you just see the farmstand and it doesn’t seem like much.

You would be mistaken. The farm owners apparently sold off the lots with road frontage over the years. There is 180 acres of beautiful farmland tucked in behind the farmstand.

One of the reason I’ve been visiting the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts is to get off the couch and take the kids (and myself) to new places. Lookout Farm should definitely be on you list of places to visit with your kids.

There is plenty of U-pick with great looking apples, peaches, and plums. They grow their trees in the espalier method so the trees are shorter, making it easier for kids to pick the fruit.

They also have a great children’s play area. We were there for a birthday party. The area had climbing structures, petting zoo, pony rides, camel rides, a maze, a tram, and a maze.

I have to admit that I had been a negligent parent. I had not taken my kids to the Boston Children’s Museum. I fixed that problem when I finally brought them to Boston’s waterfront last Friday.

There is plenty for young kids to experience and enjoy. I shouldn’t have waited so long.

Right at the entrance is the three-story climbing maze. The Boy went charging right in and up. The Girl had second thoughts and came right back out. We continued on while he continued to go up and down.

The Girl went to the KidPower exhibit next door and started pulling, pushing, and climbing.

I was surprised that The Boy was intrigued by the flying leaf machine in the “Out on a Limb” exhibit. He kept grabbing the fabric leaves and throwing them into the plastic tube over the fan. He spent an hour throwing the leaves in and watching them float up.

The only miss at the Boston Children’s Museum was the “Japanese House.” It’s a fully equipped 100-year-old Japanese House reconstructed in Boston by Japanese carpenters inside the Museum. Given the age of the structure, it’s mostly a no touch zone, standing out in sharp contrast to the rest of the museum. The Japanese House off the main traffic flow at the back of the third floor.

There are plenty of other exhibits and things to do. Bring your young kids. They will have a great day.

It’s easy to see why the Boston Children’s Museum is one of the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

I don’t think anyone is surprised that Harvard Yard appears on the list of 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts. It’s the centerpiece of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. The Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony voted to establish the institution in 1636.

It was named after the College’s first benefactor, the young minister John Harvard. When he died in 1638 he left his library and half his estate to the institution. A statue of John Harvard stands today in front of University Hall in Harvard Yard. Rubbing his foot for good luck is long standing tradition. (You can see how shiny his foot is from all the rubbing.)

I stopped by early in the morning. Under the dawn light, there was only one other person around. That young student had the dazed look of not knowing whether it was very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon.

One of the reasons I’m continuing on my quest to visit each of the 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts is to introduce the kids to new and fun places. A new discovery was Davis Farmland in Sterling. I’ve passed by the place during the Climb to the Clouds, but never visited.

So I decided to drag along The Son and one of his friends. When presented with the choice of Davis Farmland or Davis Mega Maze, they chose the maze. So we took a right-hand turn instead of a left hand turn. We will have to come back another day to visit farmland.

We had such a great time at the Mega Maze that I decided to turn it into a story for GeekDad: Lost in a Cornfield Maze.