AIA 2008 - Tours and Events

Tours and Events

The BSA hosts more than 70 tours for attendees, offering you a special welcome to Boston and New England. Special thanks to tours sponsors: Arup, Boston Properties, Nitsch Engineering and Cubellis.

Host City Celebration
Friday, May 16, 7:30 to 10:30 pm at the Boston Public Library

What would HHR do? Well, given the chance, we think he’d dance the night away at the the Boston Public Library. Who doesn’t love this icon— McKim’s masterpiece and Boston’s gift to all people — affectionately known as “the BPL.” Arrive in Copley Square, just opposite Richardson’s Trinity Church and Pei Cobb Freed’s John Hancock Tower, and then step inside for the party! We promise the best of Boston’s food, music and revelry. Lots of everything — except lines! Headline Sponsor for this event is Cubellis in association with DiCicco Gulman & Company LLP, Lawson & Weitzen LLP and Sovereign Bank.

You do not have to be a paid registrant for the convention or a BSA/AIA member to attend; buy tickets to all these events at the BSA Store and Lounge during these hours: Thursday, May 15, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm and Friday, May 16, 9:30 to 5:00 pm.

Breakfast in the Ballpark
Saturday, May 17, 7:00 am, 8:00 am, 9:00 am or 10:00 am

Get behind the scenes throughout the new Fenway Park and hear firsthand from architects, contractors and engineers about the challenges of renovating this historic venue. We will listen for echoes of baseball's greatest — Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice and more. Our guests will linger in the stands, view the Green Monster seats and see the last hand-operated scoreboard in the major leagues. Tickets cost $70, and you can bring one child at no cost for each ticket purchased. This event is sponsored by Lumber Liquidators.

Late Nite Movies at the Epicenter
Thursday, May 15, 9:00 pm to midnight

Revel in the first night of the AIA National Convention in Boston on May 15 with a smorgasbord of architecturally themed movies, an open bar and building tours by Arrowstreet. Head to the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter (100 West Second St. near the Red Line's Broadway Station), the only Platinum LEED-certified building in Boston, from 9:00 pm to midnight for this $50 networking event. Tickets cost $50. This event is sponsored by Autodesk.

The BSA Store and Lounge

The BSA provides a respite at its BSA Lounge and Store located at the center of the exhibition floor at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Gensler
and Suffolk Construction have designed and built the perfect place to take a break, meet a friend and check email (using free Wi-Fi) at the convention
center, where admission is free. For those whose necks are stiff from sightseeing, the BSA Lounge offers neck massages by local masseuses. Boston studio and retailer Vessel is managing the store, which will showcase modern products by designers around the world -- including many created in
Boston by our thriving product design community.

Convention Tours

Some of our tour providers have provided additional resources on their tours so that you may continue learning about these exciting places after you have left us. Please check below to see if we have further information on the tours you are taking.

Guest Tours

TG01 MYTOWN: A Youth-Led Tour of Boston’s South End
This tour is being offered by Multicultural Youth Tours of What’s Now (MYTOWN). Please visit www.mytowninc.org to learn more about this organization and to download a tour brochure.

Professional Tours

Boston By Foot is offering the following tours as part of AIA 2008:

TP09 Six Moon Hill Tour
TP20 Beacon Hill Highlights: A Walking Tour of Historical Sites
TP52 The Contemporary City – The Story of Boston as Told by her Skyscrapers
TP66 Leers Weinzapfel: A Look at Boston’s Most Recent Firm of the Year
TP75 A Close Look at Historic Harvard Yard
TP76 Tory Row: A Walk Down Cambridge’s Most Historic Street

For more information about any of these tours, as well as Boston by Foot’s other tour offerings, please visit www.bostonbyfoot.org.

Historic New England is offering the following tours as part of AIA 2008:

TP12 A Day in Salem: The New and the Old
The handout for this tour will be available the day of the tour or can be downloaded below. For more information on the Peabody Essex Museum, please visit www.pem.org.

TP12 Handout (DOC)

TP18 A Taste of Modernism: The Gropius House Tour

TP18 Floorplan 1 (PDF)
TP18 Floorplan 2 (PDF)
TP18 Landscape Plan 1 (PDF)
TP18 Landscape Plan 2 (PDF)

TP40 Historic House Tour: Extraordinary Homes from New England’s Past

TP40 Handout 1 (PDF)
TP40 Handout 2 (PDF)

TP47 A Tour of Beacon Hill’s Historic Meeting Places

For more information on this organization and their extensive tour offerings, please visit www.historicnewengland.org.

TP45 Boston’s Chinatown in the 21st Century
This tour is being offered by the Asian Community Development Corporation, The Architectural Team, and ADD inc. The handout will be available the day of the tour or can be downloaded below.

TP45 Handout 1 (PDF)
TP45 Handout 2 (PDF)

TP53 For the Ages: Mount Auburn Cemetery
This tour is being offered by the Mount Auburn Cemetery, America’s first landscaped cemetery. For more information, please visit www.mountauburn.org.

AIA Knowledge Communities at 2008 AIA Convention

Learn more about AIA Knowledge Community programs and exhibits at the 2008 AIA National Convention and Expo.