Paris in Boston

Eastern Standard Restaurant
Eastern Standard Restaurant

Photo Essay by Jack Dzamba

If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.

-Ernest Hemingway

It is intriguing how certain scenes of Boston resemble those of Paris. Some in stately buildings, some in striking vistas, some in fleeting glances, and some reflected in current design. In fact, the architects of some of Boston’s most famous buildings of the nineteenth century studied at the École des Beaux-Artsin Paris. These included Henry Hobson Richardson, Charles Follen McKim, Robert Swain Peabody, William Morris Hunt, and Arthur Gilman. They brought back the styles of the Second Empire, French Renaissance, French Romanesque, and French Châteauesque. Later architects introduced the styles of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, and more recent designers have included a variety of revived elements in their work. The influence of Paris can be found everywhere in Boston.

 

Petit Robert Bistro
Petit Robert Bistro
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Vendome Condominium, formerly the Vendome Hotel (top left), Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel (top right), Langham Hotel (bottom left), Ritz-Carlton Hotel (bottom right)

 

Four Seasons Hotel
Four Seasons Hotel

 

Hotel Commonwealth
Hotel Commonwealth

 

JackJack Dzamba (Dziamba) is president of Icron Image International, a firm devoted to fine art photography. He has won numerous awards, including Honorable Mention placements in the prestigious International Photography Awards Competition and the Prix de la Photographie Paris. All photographs in this article appeared in his book Paris in Boston , which was released in 2008. A lawyer by training, he teaches ethics as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University.

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9 comments

  2. I have known Jack Dziamba for many years. I met him in Berkeley, CA. He now lives in Massachusetts and although was a good attorney he’s a also a great photographer. His shots comparing Paris & Boston are well worth owning. It is worth buying his book or contacting him.

    Reply

  3. I have known Jack Dziamba for many years. I met him in Berkeley, CA. He now lives in Massachusetts and although was a good attorney he’s a also a great photographer. His shots comparing Paris & Boston are well worth owning. It is worth buying his book or contacting him. ssssss

    Reply

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