Author Archives: Andy Woodruff

About Andy Woodruff

I grew up as a regular visitor to Boston, my mom being a native (a BU alumna from Malden), and became an area resident when I moved to Cambridge in 2008 after finishing graduate school in Wisconsin. That's a lifetime short of being a real "local" by the standards around here, but I'm doing my best. I think I can at least imitate the Boston accent better than most people from my home state of Ohio. My day job is being a partner in Axis Maps, where we do custom interactive cartography and also sell typographic map posters. Sometimes I also post things on my personal site, too. Cartography is more than a day job, though; I've been exploring Boston by mapping it since I got here—by foot, bicycle, train, and study. There's hardly a better way to learn about and appreciate the city.

Happy birthday, Red Line

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

Do you live, work, or ever travel in the area between Harvard Square and Park Street? If so, you know a piece of the MBTA Red Line that celebrates its 100th birthday today! Yes, what is now the Red Line … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

For Here or To Go

Posted on March 13, 2012 by

It’s your lunch break, and you want to grab some food to eat in the park. Or maybe you’ve just gotten off work, and you want to pick up a meal to take home with you on the T. But … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Allston: Trash v. Treasure Heap

Posted on February 17, 2012 by and

It’s been nearly six months since Boston’s big moving day of 2011. Landlords will soon be demanding answers about lease renewals, if they aren’t already, and we will once again begin dreaming of that great holiday: Allston Christmas. You may … Continue reading →

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Thirteen neighborhoods: one city

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

If there’s one thing everybody knows about neighborhood boundaries in Boston, it’s that nobody knows where they are. But they’ll tell you you’re wrong if you try to draw lines. That’s fair enough, really—any line drawn will divide neighbor from … Continue reading →

Posted in Geography, Historical | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Density

Posted on January 15, 2012 by

One of the things that quickly struck me—and that, I think, becomes apparent to most newcomers and visitors—after moving to the Boston area is how small it is for a “big city” in the United States. It is of course … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Geography | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

A year of Bostonography

Posted on December 13, 2011 by

Well, we’ve lasted a year. And we’re not even close to tired of this yet! Success! Thanks for your readership, comments, tweets, links, emails, and encouragement over the past year. We’ve been beyond pleased with the interest and support you’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 5 Comments

An MBTA bus-iness day

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

(Click to see the whole thing!) You know by now that real-time bus location data are available for the MBTA via NextBus. It’s very handy for riders, of course, but for cartographers it’s also something else: a gold mine of … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Tagged , | 26 Comments

A new BPL home for the Leventhal Map Center

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

In case you missed it, this past weekend was the grand opening of a beautiful new public space for the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center in the Boston Public Library at Copley Square. You probably already know the Map Center, … Continue reading →

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Autumn streets

Posted on October 9, 2011 by

Our last post was about summer colors. Boring. It’s autumn in New England! It’s those happy few weeks when the weather is pleasantly cool and the dazzling yellow, orange, and red trees distract us from thoughts of the dismal season … Continue reading →

Posted in Seasonal | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Boston’s photographic colors

Posted on September 4, 2011 by

Boston is a colorful city, literally. From the green grass and trees of the Public Garden to the red bricks of the North End to the white triple-deckers of Dorchester, there is a variety of colors to see in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Seasonal | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments