Things are looking up for the down-in-the-dumps Tremont Street stretch between my house and Sister Sorel’s. Taped to the door of the old Thai Village restaurant: (No update on the rumor that a Dunkin’ Donuts will be opening on the site of the Bostonian Market. The owner says “absolutely not” but we’ll see.)

Know your history! The next United South End Settlements (USES) walk will be on Monday, September 8th. The topic is piano factories; the walk is free. The meeting place is the Harriet Tubman house (USES headquarters) at the corner of Columbus and Mass Aves. at 6:30 pm. Contact Al Whitaker at awhitaker@uses.org as participation is [...]

A column written by me appears in this week’s South End News. Defeated Columbus Center is an orphan with a thousand fathers John Keith South End News An opportunity to stitch back together a deep tear in the urban fabric was lost with the failed Columbus Center project, the proposed $800 million, mixed-use complex to [...]

From the South End News: A 25-year-old local man was robbed of his $25,000 gold Rolex as he walked home on Columbus Avenue at around 1 a.m. on Aug. 10. The victim told police that after he left Clery’s Bar at Columbus Avenue and Dartmouth, walking toward Massachusetts Avenue, he saw a young man riding [...]

Confirming rumors, the owner of Stephanie’s on Newbury has announced plans to open a second restaurant on the site of the now-defunct Garden of Eden, at 671 Tremont Street, in Boston’s South End neighborhood. A Boston Licensing Board hearing on the transfer of the beer & wine liquor license is being held at 10:00 AM [...]

Conversations you might be hearing around the neighborhood Well, summer is here – the time for cookouts and rooftop cocktail parties. And, no one loves a barbecue as much as I. Where else do you get a chance to mingle with old friends as well as new acquaintances, to talk with each other about the [...]

Comparison of 2008 to earlier years. Period is from 01/01 – 07/15 for each year. 2008 Total Properties Sold: 337 Avg Days on Market: 98 Average Sales Price: $685,826 Average Final List Price: $705,037 Average Original List Price $716,169 Lowest Price: $237,000 Median Price: $590,000 Highest Price: $2,350,000 Average Price: $685,826 Total Market Volume: $231,123,500 [...]

UPDATE I received a voicemail from someone on Tuesday after this thread began and after I posted the developer’s renderings on my blog. He seemed frantic that people were talking about the “movie theater” as if it was going to actually happen. I just got off the phone with him; he’s the Director of Development [...]

Well, “breaking” in the sense that it was rumored at least four months ago … Overheard at the coffee shop today is the rumor that Back Bay hot-spot Stephanie’s will be opening in the South End, on Tremont Street, on the site of the Eagle recently-closed Garden of Eden.

The Improper Bostonian is out with its “Boston’s Best” issue. The South End did really well, when it came to “Best Food & Drink”. At least 18 of the 78 choices were from this neighborhood, which some call the best in America. Which is even more impressive given that at least 26 of the 78 [...]