Boston is a great city, and it has a great deal of crowded streets. One of them is Newbury Street, which is quite expensive for not only businesses, but also individuals who want to catch a whiff of “dirty, old Boston.” In a city of brick, the Bonwit Teller building stands out on Newbury Street for its stone. It is a stunning building which originally served as the Historic Museum of Natural History. Today, it is a retail space for those who would like to purchase high-end furniture. The building has passed through a great number of renovations. The most recent renovation was done by Bergmeyer, a local architectural firm. It is definitely worth seeing at night, as well. This sketch was from across from the building.

The Harvard Art Museums emerged from its construction cocoon  after a five-year slumber and has been transformed into a mix of the old and the modern. Renzo Piano’s lines, of course, grace the building. Visitors appreciate his thoughtful steel details in the design of the building. The new skylight design is captivating. This sketch is from a street corner. I can not say that the Harvard collection is as good as Yale’s, and yet there are some pieces that visitors should see. If you visit the museum, you can also see the sole Le Corbusier building in the U.S., nextdoor.

I could not take my eyes off of Le Corbusier’s building, as if it were the only building on the entire continent. He paid attention to his “five point principles” just in the same way he approached the Villa Savoye. This sketch is from the ramp where it connects Quincy Street to Prescott Street. This is a must-see for architecture students.

The only piece in the U.S. of Le Corbusier is located in Cambridge, next to the Harvard Art Museums. The architect accepted the design, despite a delay due to budgetary and schedule conflicts. The comic, perhaps, tragic situation is Le Corbusier visited twice the U.S during that period and yet he never saw the actual building through to its finish due to his poor health. Now, this building is used by Harvard University for the department of Visual and Environmental Studies and a theater, the Harvard Film Archive. The building serves as a venue for a great deal of events, especially films.