I’ve noted the Boston Walk of Fame proposal that’s being
considered and developed. I still think it’s a miserable idea. And
Concillor John Tobin apparently is still all for it.
But maybe
if I could suggest a compromise, or another way at looking at this,
how about a Boston Musical Heritage Trail? I’m picturing something
starting in the South End, going down Mass Av. then up Comm Av. to
Kenmore Square. At fairly regular intervals, there would be a simple
plaque, maybe a flush square of brushed metal, bearing the name of
some important (not necessarily famous) musician, composer, singer or
musical act who hails from Boston or spent significant time here.
Dignitaries would reflect the heritage of both high and popular
musical genres. Any neighborhood connections would be stressed: jazz
musicians in the South End, symphony greats near Huntington, Berklee
grads or faculty by the school, forgotten opera singers in Back Bay,
and rock acts lining Kenmore. In fact, I don’t even think Boston
residents are always aware of the musical heritage; this would be as
much for us, and the self-image of the city, as for the tourists.
What do you think? It still has a Walk of Fame vibe, but more
clearly references the Freedom Trail, which is locally grown. It
doesn’t do much to get tourists circulating in the theatre district,
but that part of town already has plenty of visitors, and if we’re
going to create an attraction from scratch it might as well
foreground other parts of the city, particularly since the city’s
musical heritage is in these neighborhoods, not downtown. The muscial
focus would ignore stage and screen, but Boston hasn’t been known for
its theater since the 20s at least, and Atlanta and Minneapolis
probably have as big a contribution to cinema and TV as we do. Let’s
not try to play the fame game, which we’ll lose. Boston excels at
Culture, in both its high and subterranean varieties. Let’s play to
our strength. Is there anything we can humanly do to stop the
embarrasment of a Planet Hollywood-ish Walk of Fame?
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