,
Boston offers
a plethora of
sites for the
Jewish
traveler.
LEWIS ERIC LACHTER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
oston is the home of
several major league
universities, a ton of
early American histo-
ry, great seafood
restaurants and over
200,000 Jews.
The largest number
of Jews live in the sub-
urbs of Newton and
Brookline, but they are also
spread far and wide throughout
the greater Boston area. Many
are students enrolled in such
schools as Harvard, Boston Uni-
versity and, of course, Brandeis
University.
Brandeis' 250-acre campus is
a great place to visit. Beautiful
buildings dot the landscape. Arts
programs and lectures are open
to the public. The American Jew-
ish Historical Society is housed
on the campus and maintains
75,000 books and 7 million man-
uscripts.
Harvard's huge campus is an-
other site to see. The school's
"yard" or quadrangle, surround-
ed by red brick buildings, sends
forth an aura of tradition and
scholarship.
It is estimated that over 20
percent of the Harvard popula-
tion (counting students and pro-
fessors) is Jewish. Many years
ago, the study of Hebrew was a
required part of the curriculum.
While visiting Harvard, walk
over to Brattle Street and Har-
vard Square. You'll
The statue of find clothing and
John Harvard specialty shops,
bookstores and
on the
university
places to eat.
campus.
Boston's first
synagogue was
founded in 1845.
Congregation Ohabei Shalom is
now located on Beacon Street in
Brookline. The Reform shul's
Byzantine-Romanesque archi-
tecture, featuring a large, blue-
green dome, is very impressive.
In the early 1900s, Boston
boasted seven Yiddish newspa-
pers. Zionism had many early
supporters in this city by the sea.
Today, there are over 100 con-
gregations in the greater Boston
area. A bustling, full-service Jew-
ish community center is located
on 28 acres in Newton.
On downtown Boston's New-
bury Street, you will find many
art galleries that feature the
works of some of the world's finest
Jewish painters, print makers
and sculptors.
There are many museums in
town, including the Fine Arts
Museum, the Institute of Con-
temporary Art, a computer mu-
se= with hands-on displays, a
wonderful Children's Museum
and a Museum of Science.
If you are interested in John F.
Kennedy memorabilia, a world-
class museum and library is lo-
cated on Columbia Point. The —
museum houses a full-scale oval
office, films and audio-visual dis-
plays of President Kennedy's life >-
and times.
American history lovers will
want to walk Boston's downtown
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