Boston tourists look for ways to keep cool during heat wave
BOSTON (CBS) - A cocktail on an outdoor North End Patio? A 90-minute outdoor Freedom Trail Tour? These are some of the options tourists have when they come to visit Boston, and in the summer of 2022, these options have paired with 16 days of heat above 90 degrees, and two extensive heat waves.
"We are going to Carmelina's and it's quite a wait," explained Dayle Hendrix, visiting from Canada as she sipped on a cocktail outside in the North End. "We are sweating," she said. "But it's beautiful despite the heat."
During the peak hot hours, many of the North End patios were mostly empty, with customers opting for indoor, air-conditioned seating instead. That's the reality of another heat wave in Boston.
"I came in here for a work conference, so I just have been pants and long sleeve shirt and the whole nine and I was like 'yeah that's not happening,'" explained Reid Preziosi, in town from New York. "I had to put on shorts and get outside and then I got outside and I needed [to get back to] the air conditioning."
Down the road at the Freedom Trail Foundation, organizers were surprised to have zero cancellations despite the sweltering temperatures. "We haven't had any cancellations, if you can believe that," said Suzanne Segura Taylor, the Executive Director of the Freedom Trail Foundation. "Some people are still calling and saying, 'can you do a tour tomorrow?'"
To accommodate the blistering temps in the all-outdoor tour, the Freedom Trail Foundation is switching up its uniforms for its Revolution-era tour guides. "For our guides we instituted a plain clothes policy," Taylor explained. "They are usually in 18th century costumes which can be very heavy. They've also been allowed to augment their costume by taking off their jacket."
In addition, guides have gone out of their way to stop tours in shaded areas, point out places to buy water or lemonade, and make sure participants are hydrated along the route.
While this hot weather can prove a challenge for many tourist attractions, for others, it's a blessing in disguise. "On days when it's hot out, we definitely see more people walking up to the Aquarium and buying tickets on the spot," explained Suzanne Liola Matus, the Vice President of Marketing at the New England Aquarium.
She says the Aquarium has sold out each weekend and been very busy during the week as well. "We are a cool, dark place, so a lot of people know that this is a great place to beat the heat and escape the bright sun, so we see increased numbers and visitors during heat waves," she explained.
Families like the Goldbergs, grandparents local, but their grandkids Ari and Ella visiting from London, took advantage of the cool Aquarium inside. "I wanted to jump in the tank," Grandpa said. "It felt nice with the air-conditioning," granddaughter Ella added.
She and her brother and parents escaped a heat wave in London, only to be greeted with another in Boston.
The only special circumstance for the Aquarium in this heat? The animals. The crew makes "sure the exhibits for the animals, their habitats, are temperature controlled," Matus explained.
