Although I grew up in the suburbs of New Hampshire, I lived fairly close to the Massachusetts border and visited Boston numerous times. When I first came to college, I realized that one part of my Boston knowledge was missing. Every time I had visited the city, I went to one place and went straight back home. For example, I would go to a Red Sox game then go back home, rather than travel to different parts of Boston in the same trip. This meant that I knew about many places in Boston, but I did not know how they were connected. During my first year at Wentworth, I made it my goal to explore the city and understand how all of these areas were connected to each other. I learned what the main streets were, took the T to many different areas, and rode my bike everywhere. I learned some of the main landmarks and associated them with a certain area of Boston. I knew that if I could get from one neighborhood to the other than I could figure out the rest through landmarks. For example, I associated Francesca’s Café on Tremont with the South End, or H&M on Newbury Street with Back Bay. As long as I know that Berkeley and Clarendon Streets lead from the South End to Back Bay, I understand how these areas connected. I use landmarks along the way to understand where I am. Buildings are usually the main type of landmark I use, but I also use signs, bumps in the road, or other forms to remember where I am. When I think architecture, I think buildings. But these buildings create the way we circulate through the city, by location, size, shape, etc. These buildings create landmarks other than themselves by influencing roads and signs that become familiar to people.
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