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Established in 1807, the Boston Anthenaeum is one of the oldest and most respected libraries in the country. Also housed here is an extensive art gallery. Their collection is over half a million volumes. The Boston Athenaeum is located in Beacon Hill close to the Massachusetts State House. One interesting item in the collection is a book bound in human skin, a copy of The Highwayman written by burglar James Allen, that was bound in his own skin per his request in 1837. Its newly renovated Children's Library serves children through age 13. A Preschool Room entices little readers with board books, easy readers, an aquarium, and more. The Young Reader Room has classics, non-fiction, and popular fiction. It also offers magazines, audio books, and computer stations for research. The Preschool Room has weekly story hours for members. Children's Library Hours: Mon 9am-8pm; Tue-Fri 9am-5:30pm; Sat 9am-4pm (Sept-May)

Hill House, Inc., founded in 1966, is an independent, non-profit community center that serves all Boston downtown neighborhoods, mainly centering on the community of Beacon Hill. The Hill House has multitude of acitivies to offer including a wide variety of intramural sports for children of all ages. However, the Hill House also serves the adult community through a variety of fun continuing education classes that you can sign up for. This is a fantastic resource for urban family and community building and is an asset to any new family to the area. A lesser known fact is the Hill House now occupies the spot where the MTV cast of the Real World Boston lived. This used to be an old firehouse. Hill House also has summer day camps, soccer camps, and baseball camps, for children ages four to 12. Registration for Hill House programs and Summer Camp is available online.

Remembering and Restoring the Edmund Fowle House, Last month The Boston Globe ran a story on the restoration and opening of the Edmund Fowle House, funded by the Historical Society of Watertown. In 1775 the Massachusetts Provincial Congress used this building as the headquarters of the Council it had set up to serve as the executive wing of its government, Gov. Thomas Gage having lost the loyalty of the people and being otherwise engaged. Why Watertown? It was far enough away from Boston to be safe, near enough to the lines for news to travel quickly, and about equidistant between the northern and southern ends of the siege lines. Henry Knox and the printer Peter Edes also set themselves up in Watertown after escaping from Boston. Why the Fowle house? Apparently it had an unusually large room for a private dwelling. According to the Globe: The second floor was still unfinished—mostly because Fowle’s wife had died in childbirth before it was completed—when the Provincial Congress took over the house in 1775; at the time, it sat barely 3 miles from the Continental Army’s encampment on Cambridge Common. The New England army actually occupied many camps ringing Boston, but Cambridge housed the headquarters of its commanding generals, Ward and Washington. The Fowle house was moved off Mount Auburn Street in 1871, but it’s still near the old center of Watertown. The memory of the Fowle house’s use in 1775-76 didn’t last long. “Within a decade after the Revolution,” said preservation architect Wendall C. Kalsow, “nobody would have known where the council’s meeting room was. By the 1780s, this was no longer a house of national historical significance.” By then, he explained during an interview at the house, bedrooms had been constructed on the second floor, cutting up the space used for the meeting room. Which helps to remind us that historic preservation is a relatively newfangled value. Our Revolutionary ancestors cared more about the usefulness of land and buildings than about what had happened in them many years before. above written by: J. L. BELL, a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston.
Historical Society Blog & Forum http://historicalsocietyblogforum.blogspot.com/

Fantastic Laundromat, this is a really comfortable, clean place to get your laundry done, or drop off dry cleaning. Bright and airy inside, Right on a bus route and just a short walk from the T.

Learn about robots and artificial intelligence, see amazing holograms, follow the making of MIT scientists and engineers, catch the time-stopping beauty of strobe photography, discover the art in architecture, journey with leading edge oceanographers, even thrill to a roomful of ingenious kinetic sculptures. The Museum features changing and ongoing exhibits, unique hands-on experiences, and community programs for visitors of all ages. The Museum also presents the annual Cambridge Science Festival in late April and hosts a huge variety of events, demonstrations, and activities for all ages during that time period. Admission is free with your MIT ID other students, kids under 18, senior citizens: $3.00 all others: $7.50 Check out the museum's calendar for a listing of their special (and often free) events.

The NABB is a great way for the residents of Back Bay to stay in touch with current local events and information. You should become familiar with their website if you're new to the neighborhood and try to get involved so you can meet your neighbors and give back to the community in whatever way you like. There is a small fee to join, but is a great way to meet the people you live near. They host parties, events, and 5Ks. The people are young and old, with various backgrounds- but all social beings!

Formerly Twentieth Century Bowling Lanes, an establishment dating back before the 1950s. In more recent years, 20th Century became more known for its ice cream than its bowling. It's been upgraded and modernized a couple of times, and recently they have started to repaint the bowling lane area with some brighter, newer colors, but the lanes are still the same. They do not have a game room or pool tables, but they *DO* have bumper bowling for children. To understand the perfection of Ron’s brownie-nut ice cream, imagine dunking a brownie into a glass of ice-cold milk and then taking a bite. This place alone is worth the trip to Hyde Park.

Senior Homecare Solutions is the perfect answer for seniors and others who aren't ready to leave their home for an institutional setting or live with relatives, but because of illness or chronic conditions need support to remain at home. We improve your life by providing compassionate, one-on-one care in the comfort of your own home. Highly qualified and trained caregivers are ready to help you and your loved ones with a variety of daily activities such as: Caring companionship Meal planning and preparation Incidental transportation Running errands Light housekeeping Medication reminders Assistance with bathing and grooming Assistance with bill paying Information and referral services Our personalized and affordable services are available 7 days a week and can range from a few hours day to 24 hour and live in care.

The Main Library of the Somerville Public Library offers children's programs including storytelling, preschool films, crafts, special events, and parent resource programming.