Good morning, Waltham,
Welcome to Issue 14. The inbox was full of correct answers to last week's trivia question and I had so much fun reading them. Thank you to everyone who played along.
This week we are heading to one of the best Mexican kitchens on Moody Street, celebrating Waltham Pride on the Common, and walking 109 acres of woodlands designed by two of the most famous names in American architecture and landscape design.
Let's get into it.
🏆 THE TRIVIA WINNER AND THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
A huge congratulations to Jack Burton, who was the very first person in the inbox at 9:20 am with the complete correct answer, Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, also known as the Bobbin Boy of Massachusetts. Honorable mentions to Anwesh, Carl, and Fernando who all sent in great answers within the first few hours.
Now for this week's challenge. First correct reply gets a shoutout in Issue 15.
The Question: Which historic Waltham estate has been called The Monticello of the North by architectural historians?
Hit reply and send me your best guess. Good luck.
🍽️ THIS WEEK'S EAT
Tempo, 474 Moody Street
Tempo has been a Moody Street fixture for over twenty years, and if you have not been in a while, this is a great weekend to fix that. The menu is built around fresh seafood, great cuts of meat, chicken, and duck, with a bar program and wine list that consistently outperform their price tag.
The real summer move at Tempo is the BakBar in the back. Friday and Saturday nights starting at 8:30 pm, they bring in live bands and DJs. It turns a regular dinner into a full night out without leaving Moody Street. Outdoor patio seating is first come first serve, so if it is a nice evening, get there a little early.
📍 474 Moody St | Tue to Thu 4:30pm to 9:30pm | Fri and Sat 4:30pm to 10:30pm | Closed Sun and Mon
📅 2 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND
1. Waltham Pride Festival
Sunday June 14 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm on the Waltham Common. The fifth annual Waltham Pride Festival brings musical acts, drag performances, speeches, food, and their annual clothing swap to the Common. Free and open to everyone. Bring some cash to tip the performers and to grab food from local vendors.
2. SVDP Bundle Weekend at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted
Saturday June 13 from 10:00am through Sunday June 14 at 2:00pm at 920R Trapelo Road. The St. Vincent de Paul Society is collecting bagged or boxed clean usable clothing, shoes, and books. Proceeds support neighbors in need. If you have been meaning to clean out a closet, this is the weekend.
🛍️ LOCAL FIND
The Lyman Estate, 185 Lyman Street
If you have driven past the Lyman Estate a hundred times and never actually stopped, you are in good company. Most people in Waltham have not. This weekend is a good chance to fix that.
In 1793, Boston shipping merchant Theodore Lyman commissioned the famed Salem architect Samuel McIntire to design a Federal style country house here on what was originally a four hundred acre estate. McIntire is widely considered one of the finest architects of the early American republic, and the mansion he built for the Lymans is a National Historic Landmark. Today the property covers thirty-seven acres of meadows, gardens, woodlands, and some of the oldest surviving greenhouses in the country, including an 1804 grape house and an 1820 camellia house.
The Lyman family used The Vale as their summer retreat for over a hundred and fifty years before donating it to Historic New England in 1952. The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk and they are completely free. The greenhouses are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30am to 4:00pm.
📍 185 Lyman St | Grounds open daily dawn to dusk, free | Greenhouses open Tue to Sat
💬 ONE GOOD THING
Waltham was once a summer destination for some of the most powerful people in early America, and Christopher Gore is the reason why.
Gore was born in Boston in 1758, served in the Continental Army during the Revolution, and built a law practice that according to John Quincy Adams made him the wealthiest lawyer in the entire country. He went on to serve as the eighth Governor of Massachusetts and a United States Senator. In 1806 he completed construction of a country estate on the western edge of Waltham, where he hosted figures like the Marquis de Lafayette, Daniel Webster, and future president James Monroe.
He died at that estate in 1827. The mansion is still there, and you can walk the grounds today. Most people drive past it on Main Street without realizing what they are looking at.
See you next Thursday,
Pankhi
The Waltham Insider
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