Dean Christakos

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July 28, 2004

Fortress Bostonia

Today is Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention. It's also the first day that I actually went downtown. What's striking is not necessarily the police presence. Certainly I've seen plenty of police cars and policemen out in force blocking and redirecting traffic. What's striking is how quiet everything is around the Fleet Center. The combination of streets closed to traffic and the fact that so many people are staying away from Boston during the convention creates an eerie quietness in the areas around North Station and the North End.

The oft-derided "protest zone" is actually extremely close to the convention area. I had to walk right through it to get to Canal Street. Apparently no protests were in effect, this afternoon. The worst of it is really the netting and barbed-wire that was used to enclose the area. The distance from the Fleet Center itself is not an issue; the area is actually closeby to anyone heading in the direction of the convention. Netting and barbed-wire just means that complaints of a "police state" from the protesters suddenly don't seem as kooky as they are normally regarded.

Pictures follow.

Canal Street blocked by a truck.

Canal Street empty.

Street police in force.

Boston's finest on a National Enquirer break (that's really what they are reading)

The protest cage.

Barbed wire in the cage.

Posted by Dean at July 28, 2004 2:54 PM

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