River Stories, 2nd Edition $15

A collection of reflections, memories, essays, and hopes and dreams about the Charles River. These stories come from a wide array of people: some are published authors, while others are leaders or active citizens in their communities. But all are united by a deep love of the Charles River and the tremendous gifts that this band of green and blue, flowing right through the heart of our brick and concrete city, offers us.

Charles River Conservancy Greeting Cards 5 for $15, 10 for $25

Two beautiful greeting cards featuring watercolors by local artist Frank Costantino are available for purchase. Blank on the inside, these cards are great for personal use and make a unique gift. The watercolors showcase two historical landmarks along the Charles—the Weeks Footbridge and the Weld Boathouse in Cambridge—and were created specifically for the Conservancy.

 

Aerial Photograph Poster of the Charles River Parklands $10

The Charles River Conservancy has created a stunning display map (20.5" high by 39" wide) in poster format that captures the tremendous scale and dramatic impact of one of Boston's most outstanding landmarks—the Charles River Basin and its surrounding parklands.

 

Inventing the Charles River, by Karl Haglund. Published by The MIT Press and the Charles River Conservancy

Profusely illustrated in an oversized format, Inventing the Charles River charts the River's changing course, both geographic and cultural, from Colonial times to the present. Virtually every bend in the river has been created and re-created, generating political, commercial, and social ferment at every turn.

Urban planners, students of architecture and landscape, and all who value our public spaces will find Haglund’s lucid recounting of the River's development a useful guide to future action, as we consider what else can be done to make the Charles River Parklands “more active, attractive, and accessible for all."  The book is 10 inches x 9 inches, hardbound, 512 pages, with 450 illustrations (151 color).  Buy this book from the MIT Press.

 

Panoramas on Canvas by photographer Fran Gardino

Deep Dusk Along the Charles River - This 8-foot long twilight photo captures one of the most beautiful, expansive and popularly photographed views of the Boston Skyline from the Cambridge side near MIT.  It is a view that includes the entire sweep from the Longfellow Bridge, the Community Boating Inc. club, Back Bay all along the Esplanade up to the lights of Fenway Park, and the famous landmark Citgo sign in Kenmore Square.  Image available for purchase at  www.frangardino.com.

Memorial Drive Sycamore Trees - An 8-foot long autumn panorama of the long stretch of Cambridge with over a hundred old sycamore trees, forming a golden canopy for travelers on Memorial Drive.  This photo is a celebration to the visionary brilliance of Charles Eliot as described by Charles River Conservancy president Renata von Tscharner..."The magnificent allee of sycamore trees along Memorial Drive, for instance, was also of Eliot's design.  Some present here today will remember the 'Battle of the Sycamores' under the leadership of Edward Bernaise, John Moot, and others.  The plan they successfully resisted in the 1960's was to widen Memorial Drive, create underpasses and lose sycamore trees and parkland along the river."  Thank you Ed and John.  Image available for purchase at www.frangardino.com.

Shadow Dancing - A photo of two trees dancing in the sun along the Esplanade by the footbridge across Storrow Drive from Exeter Street, with all the grace and charm of Boston and the curvaceous Charles River.  Image available for purchase at www.frangardino.com.