Latest news with #BostonPublicLibrary
CBS News
19-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
LEGO giving $1 million grant to Boston Public Library for "learning through play" initiative
LEGO begins its move to Boston by officially opening U.S. headquarters on Boylston Street LEGO begins its move to Boston by officially opening U.S. headquarters on Boylston Street LEGO begins its move to Boston by officially opening U.S. headquarters on Boylston Street Days after moving into its new headquarters down the street, LEGO has announced a new partnership with the Boston Public Library that will bring learning and interactive play to over 150,000 children in the Greater Boston area. The library received a $1 million grant from the LEGO Community Fund, which will help fund the two-year project. The library said that it will allow children to "learn through play" while feeling connected to Boston. The program is expected to bring in 21,000 new library card signups and over 600,000 book checkouts. "LEGO Clubs" at Boston Public Library branches The grant will fund a number of initiatives for kids up to age 13. For older kids, LEGO Clubs at more than 11 Boston library branches will be expanded to include "civic, STEM, and storytelling activities supported by LEGO employee volunteers." There will be 20 interactive "author & music series" events to promote creative expression through storytelling and music. And there will also be a summer design contest that gives kids the opportunity to build a LEGO Master Builder mural at the library's main Copley branch. For children ages 9 and below, the programs are geared toward literacy. The library will distribute 12,000 parent literacy kits with books, multilingual resources and DUPLO blocks, a larger version of LEGO blocks for toddlers. The kits will be available at hospitals and community centers throughout Boston. It will also relaunch its 1,000 books before kindergarten program using LEGO's learning through play content. "The transformative grant will expand what's possible—introducing more playful, creative, and civic-minded experiences for young people across all of Boston's neighborhoods," library president David Leonard said in a statement. Lego headquarters moves to Boston The LEGO headquarters made its official move to Boston on Thursday. The company has been based in Connecticut for 50 years, but said the move will allow it to foster relationships with nearby colleges and museums. The LEGO Group CEO, Nils Christiansen, said Boston is his favorite city in the United States. He said that the city is key for everything from sports, literature, creativity, but most importantly, learning. "Boston has always been a community of builders," Mayor Michelle Wu said at the opening. "And we will continue to lead the way in building the future that our families deserve." The company will finish the transition to Boston by the end of 2026.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lego Group opens new U.S. headquarters in Boston
Boston's business community just got a little more colorful, as the city welcomed toymaker Lego Group as its newest commercial resident. The toy company officially opened its new U.S. headquarters Thursday at 1001 Boylston St. The offices, which span six floors and 157,000 square feet of the Back Bay office building, will eventually be home to more than 800 employees. 'Boston is a key city for playing and opportunity, in sports, in digital or in the arts, and it's also an incredible center for learning, with some of the world's finest universities here,' CEO Niels Christiansen said. 'We know that by being in Boston, we are able to tap into a global talent pool that will help us develop and grow our business further.' Lego Group announced in 2023 that it would be closing its previous headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut, where it had been for 50 years. Some employees have already moved to or been hired in Boston, and the rest will have the opportunity to transfer over the next year. Read more: 50 years after arriving in Enfield, Lego's future clicks together elsewhere Gov. Maura Healey touted the company's arrival in Massachusetts as an example of the state's economic competitiveness. 'Lego is the standard for creative play and for innovation,' she said. 'At a time when we're concerned about devices and the impact of devices on our young people, Lego sets this incredible opportunity to offer our children gifts of imagination and also agency that makes it a perfect fit for Massachusetts, because we are the top-ranked state in America for education and innovation.' At Thursday's event, company leaders announced that over the next two years, Lego Group would contribute $5 million to provide access to play for children in Boston. This will include a partnership with the Boston Public Library to fund learning experiences for children up to age 13, among other programs. A visitor to the new Lego office wouldn't have any trouble recognizing where they were. Offices and common spaces are decorated with models built from Lego bricks. Nearly every room is equipped with a bin full of bricks that can be snapped onto the walls during meetings. Even surfaces not covered with Legos are reminiscent of the iconic toys: lighting, furniture and other design elements are circular and arranged to mimic Lego's patented 'stud and tube' design. Office amenities include flexible workspaces, parents' rooms and wellness areas, a cafe, gym access and panoramic views of the city. In the office lobby, a prominent series of models references Boston Common's 'Make Way for Ducklings' statue. However, the first duck in the line is not the expected mother mallard, but a wooden toy that was one of the first created by the company when it was founded in Denmark more than 90 years ago. 'Our founder's son hoped to achieve time and cost savings by applying only two coats of varnish to the ducks when the standard was three coats. His father found out and insisted the ducks be retrieved for a third coat of varnish,' Chief Commercial Officer Colette Burke said. 'Our 31,000 employees across the globe know this story and recognize the duck as a symbol of our commitment to quality.' Lego Group employs about 3,500 people in the United States, including at 150 Lego stores across the country. The company plans to open a new factory and regional distribution center in Virginia in 2027, which is expected to employ 2,000 people. Boston Puerto Rican restaurant opens second location in Worcester Over 40 pairs of sunglasses worth over $19K stolen from Boston store Boston Red Sox prospect goes 5-for-5 with homer, 5 RBIs; Marcelo Mayer stays hot BU center with over 1,600 brains gets $15M federal grant to detect disease Boston City Councilors renew calls for Fernandes Anderson to resign Read the original article on MassLive. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Boston Globe
11-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
With Copley Square partially reopened, some people are not crazy about the new look
Steven Hubbard, sitting on one of the benches, said he 'hated' the revamped layout. 'It's too much cement, and they took away the greenscape,' Hubbard said, adding that the city needs more shade and trees. 'It's horrible.' But Crystal Rodgers, an archivist at the Boston Public Library, which faces the park, said she was 'mostly happy about it.' Advertisement When she moved to the city in the summer of 2022, the renovated section of the park was an 'unusable patch of grass,' she said. Now, there are more places to sit, Rodgers said, but she wishes there was 'a little more green footprint.' It seems everybody has an opinion on Copley Square's new look. 'Like many Bostonians, I was shocked to see the 'new' Copley Plaza, consisting of mostly barren open space. It is grey, barren and soulless and looks like a skateboard park,' Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft said in a statement last month. 'Where are the trees and green space, and more importantly, did the community have input here?' Mayor Michelle Wu 'needs to explain what happened,' Kraft said. On social media, several users slammed the makeover with some saying the park would've been better left untouched. Advertisement WHERE IS THE GRASS!! Why did it take 2 years to just pave everything over 😭 Copley Square Park, as it's officially known, partially Renovations began in July 2023, and the northeast triangle, between Trinity Church and Boylston Street, opened on New Year's Day this year. The fountain, lawn areas, and perimeter sidewalks are slated for In response to criticism of the new design, the city said the parts of the park that have yet to open will be the greenest. 'Copley Square Park's renovation is ongoing and in the final phase of the project, set to be completed by the end of 2025,' a spokesperson for the city said in a statement. The city gathered feedback from more than A lack of green seemed to be the most common complaint from visitors of the recently reopened portions of the square, which was designed by the firm Drafting the redesign began 'The resulting plan by Sasaki prioritizes accessibility, flexibility, and year-round functionality, ensuring that Copley Square remains a welcoming and sustainable public space for generations to come,' the city spokesperson said. Meg Mainer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, attended the project planning meetings. Some of the city's thinking behind the redesign was to make the square more suitable for special events, she said. Advertisement Grass is easy to damage with overuse, she said, and the city wants more gatherings and community events to take place in the The square already is used to host First Night, staging for the Marathon and farmers markets. It is also sometimes is the site of public protests. 'This is such an important location, for the voice and entertainment of the public ... it's where people come to protest and voice concerns about things that are happening on a local, national, and international level,' she said. Mainer-Cohen also said the green space is going to be closer to the church, the area that is still under construction. The city did plant new trees, but they are 'harder to see because they're brand new' and 'acclimating to their new space,' she added. 'This is a space trying to evolve to the underlying needs and uses of the community while simultaneously having expanded trees,' she said. But Martyn Roetter, chair of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, said he worries the city is too focused on making it an event space. 'Our impression was that Sasaki and the city were pushing to turn Copley Square into a venue, like a smaller version of City Hall Plaza,' he said. The associations had advocated for a less costly repair project estimated at $4 million to $5 million. According to the city's final plan, the new Copley Square design aims to balance large events as well as everyday public use. Advertisement 'I think it's important for us to think about the role that our public spaces can have in creating the community events that strengthen our fabric as Bostonians,' Mainer-Cohen said. Emily Spatz can be reached at
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
They Survived the Boston Marathon Bombing. This Year, Father and Daughter Faced Their Fears and Ran Together (Exclusive)
The Zito family returned to the Boston Marathon after 12 years Isabella Zito ran the 2025 marathon with her father, Jamie Zito Jamie was running in the 2013 marathon when the bombs went offIsabella Zito was nine years old when she watched the unimaginable happen. Zito and her family were waiting for her dad, Jamie Zito, to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, as horror struck. They were tracking Jamie's running pace and expected him to cross the finish line any minute when the first bomb went off. Isabella thought it was fireworks at the time, but when the second explosion went off, her mom knew something was wrong. She took Isabella and her five-year-old sister under her arms and brought them into the Boston Public Library. They heard screaming, and in the chaos, someone suggested there may be even more explosives in the library, so they broke down the door to get out. They tried to contact Jamie, who was being held in Kenmore Square, one mile from the finish line. He feared the worst for his family the second he heard news of the attack and ran to find them in the chaos once things cleared. Three people were killed in the Boston Marathon bombing: Krystle Marie Campbell, Lingzi Lu, and Martin Richard, who was 8 years old at the time of his death. In addition to the fatalities, over 260 people were injured in the explosions, and at least 17 people lost limbs. No one in the Zito family was seriously injured. After Jamie found his wife and kids, they all piled into the car to get home to Rhode Island. Once there, Isabella's dad said, "One day we're going to run this together. We're not going to let this take us down." On April 21, 2025, after fundraising for the Special Olympics, the father-daughter duo did just that. Isabella, now 21, is a senior at Northeastern University. She spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about finding the strength and courage to return to the Boston Marathon and cross the finish line with her father. "I wanted to run it to show you can do the hard thing. These things can't take you down. We can't allow these things to overpower and scare us," she shares. "We need to stand up to them." Isabella ran the whole course with Jamie. At first, she was worried about keeping up with him and was, admittedly, a little "scared." However, she said that running with her dad was "helpful." "It was emotional. Before we got to the start line, we both started crying," she shares. "We made this promise to each other 12 years ago, and we were finally doing it. I cried the whole last three miles because it was both hard and really emotional." "For a long time, I couldn't go back to Boylston Street because it was a traumatic place to go. When I came to college here in Boston, my whole first year, I went home that year for the marathon. I couldn't stay in the city. Now, fast forward three years, and I ran the marathon." Crossing the finish line brought Isabella back to that moment 12 years ago, but she didn't let it break her. "I blacked out for the last five minutes, but after I crossed the finish line, I was super emotional because running a marathon is hard and emotional," she says. "I have a connection to it and thought, 'This broke me down, but I didn't let it break me forever.' I was able to come back and overcome it, which was emotional for me. I cried for 30 minutes after." The father-daughter duo finished at the same time, down to the same second. Read the original article on People
Axios
02-05-2025
- General
- Axios
Revamped Copley Square has some Bostonians asking where the green went
Boston's Copley Square partially reopened last month after nearly two years, and while most visitors love that it's back, some expected more grass and less cement. Why it matters: The $18.9 million renovation transformed what was predominantly a grassy area into a paved plaza. To some, the Back Bay's green oasis now looks more like a parking lot. What they're saying: Back Bay native C.J. told Axios that he's happy the park has reopened and that he likes the plaza's greater capacity for events but that "the jury's still out" on the aesthetics. "It could use maybe a sprinkle of color, some art display or something like that, you know, kind of to signify Copley," he said. Mary M. Smith told Axios she's been waiting for the plaza to reopen and thinks the designers did a beautiful job. "One of the big things for me is the Boston Book Fest, and so I am hoping to see the vendors back, and even before that, I'm looking forward to seeing the farmers market happen again," Smith said. "It sucks," said one woman who declined to be interviewed. Mayor Michelle Wu defended the new layout. "This is the result of months and months of community conversations ... a more walkable, vibrant space for everyone," Wu said. The intrigue: Josh Kraft, Wu's opponent in this year's mayoral election, is asking if that community process was well known enough to everyday Bostonians. "It is grey, barren and soulless and looks like a skateboard park. Where are the trees and green space, and more importantly, did the community have input here?" Kraft wrote in a campaign statement. Yes, but: The park project isn't finished. Fountains and lawns on the Trinity Church side of the square remain under construction. And while the park doesn't have much green at the moment, it does have some yellow. A tulip installation on the Boston Public Library side of the park has blossomed just in time for this week's bout of warm weather. The bottom line: Where the old park presented traditional urban greenery, the revamped Copley Square prioritizes the site as a multiuse gathering spot. The new Copley Square features cement paths meant to improve walkability and for large gatherings, like First Night, sports rallies and other celebrations. The cement walkways have replaced the previously expansive tree-lined grass field nestled between St. James Avenue and Boylston Street with hardscaped surfaces.
