Sure - it’s $3 (I think) to park there, $3 RT on the T. The closest stop would be Government Center, though.
Can we get a list of who is going? i plan to.
Count me in as well.
Not true – Haymarket is as close or closer, and you don’t have to go down all those stairs.
Telemark
Robot Arm
aruvqan
The Weird One
Pammipoo
DianaG
ralph124c
lorene
tdn
CalMeacham
Pepper Mill
MilliCal
Happy Scrappy Hero Pup
Linty Fresh?
That’s 14, but a few are really tentative. The reservation is for 12, so it will probably work out. But I’m sure I can change the reservation at the last minute when the list firms up.
I think State Street is even closer, but that’s a long way from the Red Line.
This site lists Government Center, State Street, and Haymarket as all closest:
http://www.boston-online.com/visitors/000774.html
But notes that Government Center is not handicapped accessible, which might be an issue (especially with all those stairs to go down afterwards). i personally think Haymarket’s closer than State (and you have to go downhill from State, too, although it’s a slope rather than stairs along the direct route).
Since I’m organizing this little shindig, I should probably be first to get to the restaurant.
But when can you be where? If it’s both early and close enough, I can try to meet you.
Good point about handicap access, but the last time I was in Haymarket, it was staired like an Escher painting. Has it become more handicap accessable since then?
I don’t know. I didn’t look when I was last there. The page I linked to claims it is handicapped accessible, but doesn’t say where the elevators or whatever are.
Probably doesn’t matter much anyway. aruvqan says she can walk, just not great distances. I trust that escalators are no problem.
Still, if she needs any help, I’m happy to offer it.
Aquarium is pretty close, too - and, since it’s new construction, should be handicapped-accessible, complete with working elevators.
Hi, all
Sorry, but I can’t come. I’ve got class on the 11th. I’ll make it sometime after all this education goes away . . . whenever that might be 
You’re right about Downtown Crossing being a ways from Durgan’s. I like to walk, so usually, I stroll from there no matter how far it is.
State’s not that far from the red line, though. You take the red line to Downtown Crossing, transfer to the orange line, and it’s the next outbound stop. The question is whether there’s an elevator from the station to the street. There are escalators, but not all of them go the entire way to the street. Actually, now that I think about it, you can go part of the way up via the escalator and take the elevator the rest of the way, but I’ll have to try it out. Even then, you still have to walk down a pretty long hall to get to the elevator to the street, so State’s probably not the best choice (I know State Street station pretty well. It’s right across from the Borders bookstore on School Street, which is one of my favorite hangouts.).
As far as handicapped access, I’ll tell you what. I have to take the T tonight anyway after my study session, so I’ll stop by the Aquarium, State Street, Government Center, and Haymarket to make sure there are elevators and other handicapped accessible facilities at the stations. The problem with relying only on escalators is that they’re stopped so often, so I’ll make sure to look for other ways to get around. I’ll post in this thread tonight to tell you what I’ve found.
OK, just got back after a pleasant evening around Government Center.
As far as stations, I checked out Park Street, Government Center, the Aquarium, Haymarket, and State.
First off, forget walking to Durgan Park from State. It’s way too far. The closest place is the Aquarium, but that’s got a catch. The best way to get to the Aquarium is by getting to Government Center and catching the blue line downstairs from the green line. First off, I couldn’t find an elevator at Government center. Now they’ve got escalators going up from the blue line to the green line, but they don’t have escalators going down from the green to the blue. If you don’t have trouble going down stairs, that shouldn’t be a problem, but if going down stairs is a problem, then Government Center to the blue line is out. You could take the orange line to state and transfer at State to the blue line, but that involves a walk down a long hallway, which you may or may not be up for.
To make a long story short, if Government Center to the blue line to the aquarium station is out because of going down the stairs (Remember, you don’t have to climb up stairs, because there’s an escalator going up), your next best bet is to take the orange line to Haymarket and walk from Haymarket to Durgan’s. Now don’t be fooled at Haymarket. It just so happens that the Haymarket elevator that would place you next to the closest entrance to the street that leads to Durgan’s is out of service, but there is another elevator a little ways back that will lead you to an adjacent street a bit further away (If that first elevator had been in service, I would have been tempted to place Haymarket station above the Aquarium station in terms of easy accessibility, but never mind . . . ).
I didn’t check the distance from Government Center station to Durgan’s because it seemed a bit far and fraught with stairs (and plus, I was getting kind of tired and sweaty), but I believe someone else passed judgement on that way in this thread.)
I checked the elevator at all the above stops, and except for that one at Haymarket, the other elevators are working.
I hope this helps. Have fun at Durgan’s, and someone remember to drink a pint of Guiness for me, OK?
Linty
You know, I just realized a couple of things:
Even from the Aquarium, it’s a bit of a hike to DP. I can’t measure distance very well, so I count steps. I would put the distance from Durgan to the Aquarium stop at around 340 steps. From Haymarket to DP, it’s more like 520-40.
Also, maayyyyybbeee, I was wrong about State Street station. I was a bit tired and sore, and I forgot to actually count the steps going to State Street station, and plus I got twisted along the way, so I walked extra, so that might have thrown me off. I’ve always gone to Fanueil from Government Center rather than State, so I don’t know the exact distance.
Just thought I’d throw in that caveat.
LOL, tuesday is my day off, so I can be anywhere in Boston by 11 am. I am sort of planning on heading in to get there like 4 ish when people are leaving to score some parking, as I dont mind driving around a bit scoping things out. But I can just as easily go somewhere else as long as I get good detailed directions. I was thinking of calling a friend who lives in the area and seeing if she wants to go along as i can park at her flat=)
But right now I am very open to suggestions=)
I am kind of iffy on down escalators [but love up ones] because I am not overly steady sometimes and have a mild phobia from falling down a 3 storey escalator when very young. Stairs down arent a problem other than gor going slowly=)
Stupid question, but do you have a handicapped placard on your car? It seems to me this would give you access to more potential parking spots near Quincy Market than the average person.
BTW I can’t come, life is hectic these days. I leave on the 26th for a two week trip with Earthwatch, and am working on a lot of little details. Plus the usual work, wife, kid, etc.
Have fun guys!
Nope, I dont have a placard. I figure as long as I can toddle along slowly, I wont take up a space that someone else who is worse off than I am can use. Maybe when I end up in a chair I will get one.
There are always stairs down.
Let us know what you decide, and I’ll help if I can. I can leave work by 5:15 by the latest, putting me in that neighborhood by 6:00 or so.
Oh, and Linty, thanks much for doing the research! Too bad you won’t be able to make it. But I guess you’ve given us an excuse to have yet another Dopefest/