Tonight: "After Hours" 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston $12 / $5 students / $10 seniors Details Isabella Stewart Gardner collected so many works of art that the origins of some pieces are still unknown even after more than 80 years in her museum. (Of course, the whereabouts of some pieces remain unknown.) There is something beautiful, ancient, and/or devotional in every direction of Gardner's Italian palazzo......

--Mayor Menino has a hotline, but there's no system to track the complaints. [Boston Globe] --Then again, do we really need to track messages such as one from February 4, 2008: "Would like the Mayor to know that he is "LOVING LIFE" this morning as he is a "DIE HARD GIANTS FAN"!!!!" [Boston Globe] --The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is scheduled to expand. [Boston Herald] --Local bloggers react to a New York Times trend......

--A four-alarm fire broke out in Brookline overnight on Sewall Avenue. The building was vacant, but 120 people were evacuated, and three firefighters were injured. [WCVB] --Heist, heist baby. The Herald pulls out all the stops when anniversary the theft of priceless art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. [Boston Herald] --Whole Foods plus the South End sounds like a perfect storm for satire. [Boston Real Estate Blog] --The priceless line of......

As Red Sox fans we've become accustomed to the various tauntings (they're clearly jealous), pepto-fueled stressful evenings, and many bleary-eyed mornings. However no matter what curve balls (pun intended) our beloved Boys of Summer, er October, throw at us, we will always declare ourselves proud members of Red Sox Nation. Turns out our all-weather team allegiance is nothing new. One of Boston's most giving and interesting daughters, Isabella Stewart Gardner, was a passionate Red......

Celebrate the origins of the Native American genocide by going to see some European art! Bostonist couldn't miss that irony. But the truth is, if you've got this rainy Columbus Day off anyway, you could do worse than to check out the Fenway Cultural District's "Opening Our Doors." All the museums in the area are free today, from the MFA to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (The reaction of one Bostonian: "The Gardner's free?! That......

We’ve long been fans of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, enough so that we’ve got two nicknames for it – ISGM when writing and “da gadnah” when speaking. The museum has been doing a lot in recent months to re-energize their image, though they’ll never lose sight of their founder (and Red Sox fanatic) Isabella, new programs are putting a new life into ISGM. Tonight marks the first in their new series, Gardner After Hours,......

This past September something innovative happened in Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum launched a webcast. It wasn't just any webcast, it was a creative commons licensed release of concerts performed as part of the long standing museum concert series. It's allowed users world wide to take in a little classical music culture by downloading the file and playing it on their iPod, in the windows media center or whatever MP3 compatible device they choose.......

Every once in a while a webcast comes around that Bostonist just adores. Of course, we want to share this adoration and what better way to accomplish this than to drop a review on the intertubes for your consumption? This week we review a 'cast that is produced by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: The Concert. Let us get the geekery out of the way. The folks over at the Gardner have done something great......

Fall seems to have set in, at least for now. the temperatures are dropping and people all over the metro have been forced to put their flip-flops away for some more sensible footwear. At least until it gets warm again in another week. Or so we hope. Music abounds again this week and we're listening. Tuesday, 9/12 Branford Marsalis Quartet Braggtown CD Release Concert Berklee alum Branford Marsalis created Cambridge-based (and Rounder distributed) Marsalis......

This short work week is long on music. The small show battles the bigger venue this week as the students invade the city. When they come back it seems the shows start up with vigor. Lots of 18+ hit the mark – and they've still got summer money in their pockets. What's this mean? Quite possibly there will be a few more sell outs than usual as the concert funds still run high. Fair......

In a world where there's nothing to do but watch movies. In a city full of theaters, museums, and libraries. One moviegoer who can be in three places at once. Thursday 8/3 Stolen One of the things that endears the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to us (along with the dim lighting, strict ban on electronic devices, and terse signage) is how the frames of missing paintings hang empty on the walls. (As per Mrs. Gardner's......

Yesterday the employees of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum were steps away from the Red Sox and Fenway Park when the first pitch was thrown at home for the Sox’s 2006 season. Long noted as a rather eccentric, er, crazy woman Isabella Stewart Gardner did have one thing right – a passion for the Olde Towne Team. After sporting a white headband with the words “Oh you Red Sox” written in red lettering to......

This week we're trying hard to think about something other than how hard it is out here to be a pimp. Well, ok, maybe Bostonist is looking at the Oscars and just scratching our heads. We didn't know Jon Stewart could be that bland. We're still waiting to hear what Three 6 Mafia were wearing that made the camera all jakey last night. Now that we're done with the Academy we're looking back to Grammy.......

The holiday season taught us the ability to close our ears to inane conversation. If we had to listen to Uncle Carl tell his far too long recount of the time he was on the local news for running his car though a fence one more time…well, we can tune out the family talk. Unfortunately that translated to our daily lives and Bostonist is sure we’ve missed out on some real jems (and yes,......

Sure, Benjamin Franklin’s 300th birthday has been getting lots of press here in the city that strives to keep that American Revolution spirit alive. Well, there is another famous birthday coming up next week and a local museum has decided to dedicate a whole day to him. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is turning 250 years old on January 27th and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will be celebrating it all day long on Sunday, January 29......

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is at it again, creating an installation that boggles the mind, A Pagan Feast. Michele Iodice, a set designer and much more from Italy, has created a Pagan feast in the Dutch Room replete with dinner settings, food, tablecloth, and centerpieces. The artist took into account the lavish holiday parties that Mrs. Gardner was known for, using her passion for making each occasion a real experience, he assembled a......

The thrill of the heist or the prestige of the art, what is it that inspires art theives? The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is looking to get back thirteen works of art stolen from them fifteen years ago this week. The Museum has had one anonymous tip that promised to help them secure the art for $2.6 million ten years ago, but the tip line has been silent ever since. Not a robbery in the......

Bostonist’s heart trembled over the Boston Herald’s cover today. According to an anonymous source, the FBI may have a solid lead on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s stolen paintings. They seem to think the French have something to do with it. The FBI wants to get their hands on former Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier, who may have acquired one of the stolen works for his personal collection. Bostonist wishes we could get Condi Rice......