The Opera House offers an open door
The
Boston Opera House re-opened its doors today, and natty yuppies
and families will be swarming these once-quiet streets around 7pm every night.
It’s
quite a change for the
neighborhood near my office, whether you call it the Theater District,
Downtown Crossing, the Ladder District, or even the Combat Zone.
(Currently, the streetlamp banners proclaim it “Boston’s Historic Theatre District — More than Great Theater!“
Probably because “Theatre” is different than “Theater”). I remember
that when I first came to Boston in 1993, Downtown Crossing wasn’t a
savory place after 6pm. Now, at least on the Washington Street
side of things, it’s almost convivial. I remember strolling to the T
stop with co-workers after movie-and-a-dinner (“De-Lovely” and Vietnamese)
at around 8pm, and they were remarking that when we first moved into
our office location, some were concerned about safety when leaving
after rush hour.
Of course, the area is still a hodgepodge of Filenes, $1 stores, the
Loews hangarplex, porn shops, trendy clubs, and the Asian restaurants
people go to after all of the above. And to me, that’s just de-groovy.
