Seth Gitell
@SethGitell
Followers
2K
Following
26K
Media
1K
Statuses
10K
Hull-raised food maven. Fmr @TheCrimson, @Forward, @BostonPhoenix. Fmr Press Sec @MayorTomMenino and CoS @SpeakerDeLeo. Now at PRIM. Opinions mine. RT ≠ endorse
Joined April 2012
Today is the 40th anniversary of Live Aid. I watched it in between my shift at Burger King on Nantasket Beach and home. Bowie, Sting, Queen, Phil Collins, and Paul Young were among my favorite performances. Here are all of them.
0
0
1
The amazing Donna Summer should be the subject of the next @DaveWedge book.
26 years ago tonight, July 13, 1999, the legendary recording artist and Boston native, Donna Summer, sang the national anthem before the 70th All Star Game at Fenway Park.
1
0
4
18/. And now, as more than 700 people gather to rename the convention center in his honor, I’m sure some of those students — now grown — will be there. To say: Mayor Menino, you mattered too. 🙏.
1
0
1
17/. It wasn’t politics. It was Menino’s way of saying: You matter. To the students. To the parents. To the teachers. ❤️. #BostonStrong #MeninoWay.
1
0
0
16/. For two hours, he stood with the children of Boston. I couldn’t interrupt him for anything — not even the press. This was sacred time. ⛔🗞️.
1
0
0
15/. My favorite? The school awards. Each spring, Faneuil Hall filled with students and families. 2 kids per class. 1 for academics, 1 for spirit. Each got a photo with the Mayor. 🎓📸.
1
0
0
14/. To make that happen, we invented ways to connect him with residents: ☕ Coffee hours in parks. 🍽️ Dinners for new homeowners. 🧑🌾 Meet-and-greets at farmers markets. He showed up. Over and over.
1
0
0
13/. And then there were the people. In 2014, a Globe poll found 57% of Boston residents had met Mayor Menino. That's unheard of in American politics. 🤝.
1
0
0
12/. That idea led to Roslindale Village Main Street — the first urban version of the program. It helped revitalize neighborhood business districts across Boston. 💡🛍️. #Roslindale #UrbanPlanning.
1
0
0
11/. But he also had vision. As a city councilor, he learned about the National Trust’s Main Street Program — meant for rural towns. Menino thought: why not cities? 🏙️.
1
0
0
10/. It’s now lore, but it’s true: Tom Menino would call City Hall from his car to report broken sidewalks or neglected flower beds. Even plantings on Columbia Road. 🌻🚧.
1
0
0
9/. Of course, the Seaport isn’t the whole story. Menino's true focus? The neighborhoods where Bostonians lived. Dorchester. Roslindale. Mattapan. Hyde Park.
1
0
0
8/. He had a vision: the convention center would anchor a new neighborhood—one of international business, innovation, and community. While others scoffed, he stayed the course. 🧭. #Seaport #InnovationDistrict.
1
0
0
7/. Menino, the Hyde Park kid who never sounded slick, will have his name cemented into Boston’s history — quite literally — at the BCEC.🧱❤️.
1
0
0
6/. Menino’s belief in the convention center was mocked at first. Critics thought it was a waste. A vanity project. A white elephant. But it became a defining success of his mayoralty. 💼🏗️.
1
0
0
5/. Now, the Boston Convention Center will be renamed the Thomas Michael Menino Convention & Exhibition Center — a tribute to the man who proved the doubters wrong. 🏛️. #Menino #BostonHistory.
1
0
0
4/. I didn’t know where he was going with it. “What do you mean, Mayor?” I asked. He replied:. “You know… the white… the white elephant.”👀.
1
0
0
3/. "Not bad," Menino seemed to say, eyes scanning the crowd and architecture. Then he turned to me with a question:. "What was it they said this would be?".
1
0
0
2/. I served as Mayor Tom Menino’s press secretary from 2003–2006 — including during the launch of the Convention Center. I saw firsthand how deeply he cared about its success. #BostonPolitics.
1
0
0