The Robert Treat Paine Estate at Stonehurst was the perfect venue for our wedding. We could not…read morehave picked a more beautiful setting! The building and grounds, designed by Richardson and Olmsted respectively, have been well-preserved by the City of Waltham, and we made sure to use them as fully as possible. We had our ceremony on-site outdoors, did photography throughout the grounds, had a cocktail hour that allowed guests to explore both inside and out, ate in the Summer Parlor, and danced in the Great Hall. Our guests all told us how impressed they were with the venue, and enjoyed exploring the house with its dark color palette, ornate woodwork, and extensive collection of solemn Victorian era portraits. Part of the reason we selected the venue was that you could pick your own vendors. Marcia, the manager of the estate, had not worked with our caterer before, and expressed reservations about that, but after the two of them met, and she was convinced they had experience in historic mansions, we were able to go forward with them. She has years of experience with weddings at Stonehurst, and is very direct about what she thinks works well in the venue. She made sure the day went off without a hitch. A few details about how we used the space: - We did the ceremony at 5 in late August, and the light was perfect for photography as the sun had just dropped behind the roof of the house. - Our wedding had about 70 guests which fit quite comfortably, with room to spare in the dining area. - The Great Hall definitely benefits from uplighting once the sun goes down -- our DJ brought 10 wireless amber lights which worked well for dancing.

I got married here, so of course I am going to be somewhat biased about the place…read more As a wedding venue, it was perfect for a smallish wedding of about 90 guests. The grounds were fantastic for everyone to wander around, the foliage and landscaping actually made the need for us to spend half our budget on flowers unnecessary, and the interior was equally gorgeous, with hard wood everything, a grand staircase/foyer that was excellent for dancing and toasts and lots of rooms for a dessert buffet and a large dining area. It is however a historic estate, which means that there are limitations in terms of vendors you can use and decorations (eg, no lit candles indoors) however since we had a late summer wedding, we pretty much stayed outside the entire time so these weren't huge concerns. The event coordinator is -terrifying- but she knows what she is doing. She's very gruff, all business, but really, you're not there to make friends with her, so just smile and nod and everything will go ok. The price wasn't bad for the event, and there is a discount for Waltham residents (which we were not. boo)

Excellent improvements, features, activities, exhibits and theater all on line now as well as a…read moregreat new Director and staff.

Stopped by hoping to get a little info on ancestors who lived in the area. The Director of the…read moresociety was working and knew immediately what we were looking for and provided a ton of information. They obviously put a lot of heart and hard work into what they do here.

Since I've punked the Hampton Beach Seafood Travesty two years running, I feel I need to give a…read moreshout-out to what the Travesty should be - the Lowell Folk Festival. No cover charge - you sample the local food and drink and the entire downtown is closed so you can stumble from watering hole to watering hole while enjoying an amazing variety of ethnic stuff between. I highly recommend the Nigerian goat stew. Also, the baklava and the Dubliner. The Dubliner's a bar, kiddies. This is a July event and you best not skimp on the brew. The music is eclectic, to say the least - but there's always danceable R&B to go along with the "tuvalu throat music". No, that's not slang for a sexual act. Back in the day, you could get some of that kind of throat music on Fletcher St. but that was 25 years ago and now there's a nice shiny Police station where the girls were. Such a shame, IMHO. Yes, Lowell is rough around the edges... if you haven't seen Lawrence. For Gawd's sake this is a Folk Festival - the crowd is slightly less violent than what you'd see at Tanglewood. Just don't wear your Palin Tee - cuz then it's CULTURE WAR BAYBEE and you'd best run to a dive bar... which this being Lowell will usually be about 50 yards.

We went last summer just for the food as we saw a vendor serving Filipino food and have a very hard…read moretime finding any places serving it in our area. The food was AMAZING. You could see everyone working together to cook the food for quite literally the longest line at the festival because of how good it was. We got pancit, garlic rice, lumpia, pork and chicken BBQ, and turon. Each dish was also served with a small vinegar based sauce as well. There is something for everyone at the folk festival as well, with SO many different food vendors from all over the world sharing their unique flavors with the city of Lowell! The festival itself is free, but parking around the festival is not so you definitely need cash. It is also suggested to have extra cash inside the festival as well because many vendors are cash only. There are always concerts playing with live bands and plenty of local artists selling their work. HIGHLY suggest going one of the days it is available over the summer.

I was not sure what to expect as the description for this house was that it was open for guided…read moretours only but there was no schedule. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it operates with continuous tours and they will place you with an active tour to join and then you can continue when that one is done with another tour to complete viewing the entire house. This also allowed for a couple of different tour guides. I duplicated one room in completing my tour and was able to observe that the tours are a bit unique by guide, not a memorized canned tour script. Interesting tour and house to visit overall with knowledgeable guides eager to share all that they know.

Excellent tour guides, walking through the history of the Emerson family home was wonderful…read more Highly recommend!

My mom and I visited the Gropius House when we spent a day in Concord a week or so ago, and it was…read moreincredible. Walter Gropius was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He founded the Bauhaus, a German art, design, and architecture school in 1919. It's incredible how influential Bauhaus was and continues to be, considering it only lasted until 1933 (when it was closed by the Nazis). Gropius left Nazi Germany in 1934 and arrived in the United States in February 1937, with his wife and 12-year-old daughter. Gropius became a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and built this house in Lincoln, Massachusetts, for himself and his family. Gropius lived in the house until his death in 1969, and his wife lived in the house until own death in 1983. The house opened to the public in 1985, operated by Historic New England. I arranged a tour in advance for my mom and me, and about 5 other people joined our tour. Our tour guide Christine showed us around both floors of the house. She was great and so was the tour! The house is really incredible. It features design elements of Gropius and Bauhaus, but Gropius also featured design elements inspired by New England (the exterior's vertically-oriented white planks and stone elements). The house is just cool - an incredible staircase in the entry hall, an open coatroom, glass blocks, and more. On the tour, you can enter every room of the house, and there's so much to say about each one. The furniture is incredible, and so is the art. The Gropiuses had famous and talented friends that stayed at the house, and the house is filled with art and mementos from those friends. The tour is incredible. If you're at all interested in architecture, this house is a must visit!

Beautifully executed house by Gropius is a must see for architects or anyone interested in…read moremodernism. It is very well maintained, and the guides are well informed.

Both John Hancock and Samuel Adams, leaders of the colonials, were staying in the house before the…read morebattle of Lexington. This is one stop that Paul Revere and William Dawes made during their nighttime ride to warn everyone that the British were coming. Did you know William had a longer route and finished first? Yet we remember Paul. How about that?

my brother and I visited Lexington, and enjoyed an amazing day of learning. We ended our tour at…read morethe Hancock Clark , and I'm glad we did. Even when we arrived close to the end of the day, our curator Carol still took us through the and treated us with such professionalism. Thank you, Lexington Historical Society for all that you do.

Lots of fun, music crafts If the weather is good its an awesome way to spend some time in Harvard…read moresquare.

MayFair is a city of Cambridge tradition. Note how I say city of Cambridge instead of Harvard…read moreSquare. That is because it's all local and none of that kitschy Harvard University touristy crap which is one of the reasons I love attending it every year. The city basically closes down several blocks in Harvard Square where businesses and the community set up shop in the streets selling various food, art, clothes and random things like home decor window treatment specialists. But it's not all business, there's always something to see from the Chalk Walk along Church street and concerts in front of the train station to kiddie trains and street performers busking. It's a lovely day filled with activities for all ages. Did I mention the food? There's all kinds of food here. While Harvard Square already has quite the array of restaurants it also draws some Mexican and Caribbean places from greater Boston as well. During the few hours I spent there I had a Belgian waffle, Spanish rice and beans with shrimp, jerk chicken, and I washed it down with a lychee tea. I probably ate too much but all that cost me only about $15. I should also mention the event itself is free. There's nothing but an upside to this.

Beautiful place to go to see the fall foliage beginning and enjoy a reasonable lunch in the café…read moreand walk the grounds of the museums. It was a nice surprise and would be a perfect event venue.

Located on the side of a huge hill, the Fruitlands museum offers a variety of different activities…read morefor its guests. There are hiking trails along with a museum. It is larger than you think it is and the hill is fairly steep for visitors. The exhibits are changed every so often. Plenty of parking for people and bathrooms for customer use.