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• #1700 block of acorn street how to

“We could keep people out if we wanted to,” Burnes said.

#1700 block of acorn street how to

It also means that it’s within the rights of residents, whose homes’ assessed values range from about $1 million to upwards of $6 million, to choose when and how to allow the general public access to the street - if at all, city officials say. Maintenance, upkeep, and liability falls on the shoulders of residents, who own the property in front of their house up to the middle of the road, Burnes said. “And here we are, contributing to it.”īecause Acorn Street is a private way, it’s not managed by the city. “If I lived here, I’d have a big problem with it,” she admitted.

But still, the charm of the street, which has its own TripAdvisor page, was just too powerful. Laura Talbot, who had been taking photos of her daughter, Aspen, sympathized with the residents. A tiny dog wearing a plaid sweater posed for photos until a resident chased dog and owner from the stoop. A woman tossed the frills of her pink tulle skirt in the sun. On a warm Sunday afternoon in October, the single-block street was so crowded that people joked about waiting in line.Ī man wearing a black top hat, peacoat, and scarf leaned against a lamp post (it was 62 degrees). But zoom out, and the street looks less like a colonial village and more like a carnival attraction. Perhaps the worst offense, Burnes said, was the time a resident was greeted by a smartphone on a selfie stick that was aimed directly into the dining room window.Ī quick scan through Instagram shows couples kissing in the road, barefoot dancers hanging from the lamp posts, and strangers sprawled out on doorsteps and smiling between decorative gourds.Īlmost every image seems to channel something rustic and undiscovered and quintessential New England. At least once, someone held a wedding celebration right in the middle of the street.

People have tossed rubbish on the ground (“The rats love the tourists,” one resident said) and woken up homeowners in the middle of the night. And while the association’s website points out that “tourists are welcome to click a quick picture at the top or bottom of the Street,” many stage long impromptu photo sessions all along the private way, too.

The influx recently prompted the association to explore new ways to help control the number of visitors. At times, she said with a laugh, she’s fantasized about paving the street. “Little did we know what we were bringing down upon us,” Burnes said. But decades later, the stones are a big part of what draws so many - too many - to Acorn Street.

The group first formed in the 1980s to prevent the city from paving over the riverstones, she said. Now, Burnes is a spokeswoman for a group of residents called the Acorn Street Association – “And it is dramatically different.” When Nonnie Burnes moved to the neighborhood, Instagram was still almost a decade away. Tour companies promote it to customers as a place to check out while in town.īut in recent years what had been a steady trickle of visitors has grown into something like a flood - a surge residents say seems largely fueled by social media. It’s featured on JetBlue’s website, and a picture of it greets travelers arriving at Logan Airport. Acorn Street, which was laid out in 1823, has long been a must-see spot for tourists from as far away as China and as close by as Cambridge.