Louisburg Square

On Tuesday September 11, my class and I met at Beacon Hill in Boston, more specifically Louisburg Square. This is a gem in the middle of Boston and is considered the heart of Beacon Hill. Here lies the beginning of Boston. One way streets, adjoining buildings, cobblestone lined streets, and a grassy square surrounded by a wrought-iron fence gives this a real 17th Century feel.

My class was to photograph and sketch what we thought were the most important parts of this area. The following were my findings.

This is a photo taken on the eastern side of the square. It shows how each housing unit is adjoined to the next. It also shows the unique architecture of these units, how each one of them bulge outward toward the green space in the middle of the square. Together they create an interesting waving motion which in turn casts shadows on the facade of the building. The act of erecting buildings adjacent to eachother is also known as "infill" which was and still is a common characteristic of Boston architecture.


Here we have a shot through the wrought-iron fence in the center of the square. Through the courtyard you can see how prominent the shadows of the trees are. The branches of the trees in the square hang over the streets and sidewalks acting as a canopy and allow for much shade on sunny days. Also in this picture is Sen. Kerry's house

Here are a couple sketches of Louisberg Squre. This first one depicts a detail of the facade of the eastern side of the square.

These other two show the landscape of the site, how its sloping down toward the river and an up close detail of an old style street lamp.