Old Glory on Acorn Street in Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, that borders the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden. It covers about one square mile and is presently home to approximately 10,000 people. It is a neighborhood of Federal-style row houses, with some of the highest property values in the nation. Known for its narrow streets, brick sidewalks and gas-lit streets, it has been home to many famous Americans including Louisa May Alcott, Robert Frost, John Hancock, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Cabot Lodge, Sylvia Plath, David Lee Roth, Carly Simon and Daniel Webster to name a few.

Acorn Street, which is pictured in ‘Old Glory’, is a narrow lane within Beacon Hill that is paved with cobblestones. It is often mentioned as the most picturesque street in Boston. At twilight, the focal point of the whole street is the flag which literally glows in the dimming light. Elements in the painting are sometimes changed for both metaphoric and aesthetic reasons. The street light on the upper left is not lighted. This I did to keep the eye traveling to the interior of the lane. If it had been lit, it would have reflected off all the brick walls around it taking the viewer to that area rather than down the lane to ‘Old Glory’.-RC