I used to live on Prospect Hill. As recently as two years ago or so, I would hurry past that castle parapet everyday on the way to Union Square, always just barely catching the bus to work. Of course, it wasn’t until I moved elsewhere in Somerville that I finally learned of Prospect Hill’s historical significance. I know. Missed the big old “Somerville Gateway Mural” and everything. (It’s by Be Sargent and adorns 59 Union Square). In any case, as many of you wiser Villens already know, it was atop this tower that the first true American Flag was raised.

According to NPR’s Steven Mulder, who lives “halfway up the hill where the first American flag ever flew,”

“January 1, 1776 is the date that made Prospect Hill famous. On this day, George Washington ordered that a new flag be raised on a 76-foot schooner mast placed on Prospect Hill. This ‘Grand Union Flag’ was the first true American Flag representing the united colonies. It was raised with a salute of 13 guns and loud huzzahs by the soldiers…

“The flag design wasn’t sanctioned by the Continental Congress, but was a design that Washington and others liked. It combined the British crosses of St. Andrew and St. George with 13 red and white stripes…

“The Grand Union Flag flying on Prospect Hill continued to be a great morale booster for troops in the seige of Boston, maintaining them until the British were finally driven out of the city in March of 1776. It remained the de facto national flag until the Continental Congress authorized the more familiar Stars and Stripes in June of 1777.”

For more of Mr. Mulder’s interesting and in-depth research, visit: http://www.muldermedia.com/prospecthill/

So just in case you weren’t around 236 years ago or happened to have slept through that historical re-enactment this New Year’s Day, there you have it.

Happy New Year, Everyone !

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    Many folks find the statues in Davis… creepy, well-sculpted work but somewhat unsettling, largely because of their masks. So effective are these statues at doling out both the heebies & the jeebies that one wise observer wondered whether or not that had been the artist’s intent all along. As it turns out, this was not the case.

The statues had been defaced by vandals. Their bronze masks were added  in 1996, to address the vandalism as well as the toll taken by age. Commissioned in 1980 by the MBTA and the Cambridge Arts Council’s “Arts on the Line” program, sculptor James Tyler based all of these cast-masonry statues upon people that lived in or around the area. The elderly couple who inspired this prominent pair of statues, illustrated above, apparently owned a restaurant in the neighborhood. According to a woman interviewed in a film about the “Arts on the Line” project, “They were the nicest people you’d ever met your whole life. If you didn’t have a dime you still could have a nice dinner for nothing.”

Below is the segment of that film, by Northern Light Productions, which focuses on the Davis Square statues and the children’s wall-tile artwork inside the T station. Ever want to hear a whispery voiceover speak for the statues? Yikes. Ok, well, this is your chance.

http://vimeo.com/5749920

Happy (early) Holidays from The Somerville Scout and your favorite masked restauranteurs!

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When my friend, Holli Banks, publisher of my local bimonthly magazine, The Somerville Scout, approached me about helping with their first annual holiday gift guide, I was thrilled.  At last, my penchant for shopping locally could be put to good use!  Scouring my neighborhood squares for great goodies is a favorite weekend pastime that I never have a problem indulging in.  I am lucky to live in a small city with a vibrant local scene of shops, restaurants, music and artist studios (NYC is the only US city with more artists per capita!) and try to take advantage of this awesome locale every chance I get!  I quickly got to work, brainstorming and popping around to my favorite neighborhood haunts to see what they had in store for the holidays.  After a few inspired emails on my favorite findings (you may have noticed, I can be rather verbose about my passions), Holli asked if I would author the guide.  I’ve never had an official writing gig, but hey, why not?

To read the rest, go to Amanda Williams’ “Scribbles and Schemes” blog!

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the lease to my new property.

On my second day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my third day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my fourth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my fifth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my sixth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my seventh day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

7 shoes on wires

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my eighth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

8 thermal windows

7 shoes on wires

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my ninth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

I-nine-ty three

8 thermal windows

7 shoes on wires

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my tenth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

10 hills by Mystic

I-nine-ty three

8 thermal windows

7 shoes on wires

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my eleventh day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

11 elected aldermen

10 hills by Mystic

I-nine-ty three

8 thermal windows

7 shoes on wires

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property.

On my twelfth day in Somerville my landlord gave to me

12 thousand students

11 elected aldermen

10 hills by Mystic

I-nine-ty three

8 thermal windows

7 shoes on wires

6 Green Line Stations

5 pot-hole dings

4 streets named Linden

3-1-1

2 parking permits

and the lease to my new property!

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