AIA Convention 2008: Boston

I came to Boston yesterday, giving myself plenty of time to check in at the sprawling Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) for this year's AIA National Convention before heading out — pretty much cluelessly — to get a closer look at this historic city.

I'd been tipped off that the Freedom Trail, a walking tour following a thin red line that ties together many historic sites in town, was a good thing to do. The convention center is just several blocks from downtown, so I figured if I walked toward the big buildings I'd find the trail eventually. And eventually, I found myself at Boston Common and picked it up.

The city's buildings are an interesting mix of old and new. There were a lot of white guys hurrying past all the history, jockeying for position to photograph seemingly any building with a glass facade. They all looked pretty much alike to me — the photographers and the photographed. I know not all architects are about the modern, but there is a deserved reputation.

And there were lots of kids on disorganized school outings, laughing and pushing, all taking pictures of the same things their friends were, from the same spots, one after the other. I followed the Freedom Trail line — gawking at fabulous old buildings, statues, streets, gravestones, to the sound of urban traffic and squealing girls.

Misplacing the trail as I wandered, I ended up in one of those big "B" bookstores — Barnes and Noble, B Dalton, Borders — again, they all look pretty much alike, but this one was in one of the old buildings. Great on the outside, so-so on the inside. I struck up a conversation with one of the clerks, who enthusiastically started listing nearby buildings on the periphery of salvation... not historic enough to be obviously worth preservation, and facing demolition. This guy, I liked.

I got to sleep later than I'd hoped — I'm on quadruple-duty: sessions for Environmental Building News, the trade show for GreenSpec, all the bits for LIVE, and it turns out that the products section of the next issue of GreenSource (I'm the products editor) needs last-minute attention.

How will it all end? (And when?)