Boston's idee fixe that it's among the premiere cities of the world is one of its really charming quirks. We have a duty to show the other cities how class is done.
I think it's got a better claim to Premiere World City than Atlanta which seemed especially fixated with that notion during its Olympics. At least Boston has Harvard and MIT. Okay, actually Cambridge has both of those. Boston has...Newberry Comics! And, uhm...a bank and an insurance company. History. Stuff. Sports! Unlike other cities!
Oh, and I guess Boston might have a good hospital or two.
I've heard.
Boston has TONS of good things. Don't make me start listing. I'll take over Natter.
AND let's play the game of every city has it's own qualities yadda yadda.
HEY! Shouldn't you be soaking your finger?
The Museum of Fine Arts! The Symphony and the Pops! The Head of the Charles Regatta! Old North Church! Berklee School of Music! The Public Gardens!
Allyson, may I introduce you to my friend zip it?
HEY! Shouldn't you be soaking your finger?
That's one way of putting it.
Yes, yes, Boston has lots of great virtues. I love Boston. But even Pittsburgh could put up a list comparable to this...
The Museum of Fine Arts! The Symphony and the Pops! The Head of the Charles Regatta! Old North Church! Berklee School of Music! The Public Gardens!
But I can't think of many institutions which would qualify as the Most Important or Most Influential on the world stage, aside from Harvard (and all its many grad schools) and MIT. Which is not nothing as those institutions alone are massively important. But in most instances (publishing, finance, theater etc) it would have to defer to NYC, as San Francisco would have to defer to LA or Silicon Valley. (Not that long ago, SF
could
lay some claim as an important financial center but that was before BofA got hijacked and the Pacific Stock Exchange disappeared.)
