Boston's Copley Plaza

A tragic event this weekend at the Boston Marathon, with sympathy going out to the thousands of people personally affected, especially those close to loved ones who died or were injured.  The bombs went off right near the Copley Plaza Hotel, a historic hotel right on the finish line.  The hotel was where all media outlets were stationed, and Channel 10 News reporter Nathan Pransky described being stranded inside for several hours: 

"We ducked into the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel as officers were expanding the lockdown zone.  For the next few hours, nobody would leave - or enter - the hotel. With cell phone service seemingly non-existent, frantic family members scrambled through the lobby looking for loved ones. By the time everyone realized what was happening, the hotel had essentially become a refugee camp.  And through the hotel windows, the sun shined brightly - a reminder of how gorgeous of a day it should have been outside."

 The hotel has of course seen finer days and is wonderfully preserved.  It opened in 1912 on the site of the original Boston Museum of Fine Arts, architected by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh who also designed the Willard in Washington, D. C. and the Plaza Hotel in New York City.  It has been host to every U. S. President since William Howard Taft, and John Singer Sargent kept a room there where he painted a number of his portraits.

The two cards above show the luxurious surroundings in the Tea Room and the Main Restaurant.  The hotel has retained its character, as you can witness by visiting a photo of the lobby on Wikipedia.