Page 57 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Boston

BEA C ON HILL AND WEST END  55

t Massachusetts com mission (1818).
General Hospital Alexander Parris,
who succeeded
Cambridge & Fruit Sts. Map 1 B2. Bulfinch as the
Tel (617) 726-8363.  Charles/MGH. city’s leading
Open 24 hrs daily. Ether Dome and architect, was
Russell Museum: Open 9am– 5pm involved in
Mon–Fri (also mid-Apr–mid-Oct: preparing the
11am–5pm Sat). 7 8 self-
guided tour brochure available drawings for this
at information desk. “modern” hospital
∑ massgeneral.org/vep built of local
Chelmsford granite. Charles Bulfinch’s Ether Dome, part of Massachusetts
The sprawling complex of The oper ating General Hospital
Massachusetts General theater, with
Hospital covers the original seating for observers, is set y Museum of
site of Harvard Medical School. beneath a skylit dome. In Science and
The main hospital building, 1846, the use of ether as a Science Park
the George R. White Memorial surgical general anesthetic
Building, is a massive Art was first demon strated here. Science Park. Map 1 B2. Tel (617) 723-
Deco structure from 1939, The Paul S. Russell, MD 2500.  Science Park. Open 9am–
largely hidden from Cambridge Museum of Medical History 5pm Mon–Thu & Sat–Sun (Jul–early
Street by other buildings. and Innovation explores the Sep: 9am–7pm), 9am–9pm Fri.
The eye-catching Bulfinch evolution of healthcare and Closed Thanksgiving, Dec 25. & 7
Pavilion and Ether Dome was medicine throughout the 9 ∑ mos.org
Charles Bulfinch’s last Boston hospital’s history. The Museum of Science
straddles the Charles River atop
the inactive flood control dam
Charles Bulfinch that sits at the mouth of the
Born in 1763 in Boston, Charles Bulfinch (see p34) was among Charles River. The museum itself
America’s first professional architects and one of the most influential. was built in 1951, but Science
He rose to prominence with his 1795 plan for the Massachusetts Park has taken shape around
State House (see pp52–3), and went on to design many of the it since, virtually obscuring the
neighboring mansions on Beacon Hill. His own forays into real estate dam structure with theater
development cast him into bankruptcy, but he continued to enjoy and planetarium buildings and
the steady patronage of Boston’s wealthiest citizens for his elegant a massive parking garage.
yet boldly confident house designs. These patrons also helped him With more than 700
secure many public commissions, including the renovation of interactive exhibits covering
St. Stephen’s Church in the North End (see p74) and the enlargement natural history, medicine,
of Faneuil Hall (see p65). His application of local granite building astronomy, and the wonders
stone to the Massachusetts General Hospital surgical pavilion laid of the physical sciences, the
out principles later followed by Alexander Parris and others as they Science Museum is oriented to
forged the Boston Granite style of architecture, exemplified by families with children. In 1999
Quincy Market (see p66) and Charlestown Navy Yard (see p117). the museum absorbed the
Bulfinch left Boston in 1818 to assume direction of the construction holdings of Boston’s Computer
of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Museum, one of the first of its
kind in the world.
The Mugar Omni Theater
contains a five-story domed
IMAX® screen with multi-
dimensional sound system
with wraparound sound, and
shows mostly educational
films, usually with a natural
science theme. The Charles
Hayden Planetarium offers
daily shows about stars,
planets, and other celestial
phenomena.
An extensive array of
educational toys can be bought
from the museum’s shop, while
the food court has a number
19th-century view of Massachusetts State House from Boston Common of concessions catering to
children’s tastes.

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