• 2:28 p.m.: Jared Bowen at the Hynes Convention Center:
Biden: America will never ever stand down. We own the Finish Line!
• 1:31 p.m.: Peter Kadzis in the WGBH Newsroom:
Menino, Walsh, and Patrick all spoke with deep feeling and genuine eloquence.
• 1:09 p.m.: Adam Reilly in Copley Square:
Heading over to Copley Square this morning, I wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that the noon memorial is private. Giving the victims a space of their own seemed entirely appropriate. But saving seats for Boston’s political and business elite — while denying entry to the general public — felt odd, like an exclusionary move that ran counter to the “One Boston” ethos that was embraced and celebrated after the attacks.
Halfway through the tribute, though, it’s clear it’s not really “private” at all. I’m writing this at a Starbucks on Boylston Street a stone’s throw from the marathon finish line. I can hear the tribute in real time, thanks to loudspeakers set up a block away. And I can watch as the people around me process what’s going on — from the media crush to the police dogs casing the scene to the sound of the tribute itself. Some people snap photos; others look silently toward the finish line. The abundance of “Boston Strong” shirts and gear from marathons past suggests that a large portion of today’s crowd is here by design.
And yet there are plenty of other activities — a Berklee College tour for prospective students; businessmen guffawing on their coffee break — that seem to have no connection to today’s proceedings at all. Take it all together, and it may actually be the perfect memorial to what happened last year: a mix of somber commemoration and mundane activity that shows how life goes on in the wake of tragedy — and that, instead of simply happening naturally, remembering the horrific requires effort.
• 1:20 p.m.: Jared Bowen at the Hynes Convention Center:
Speaking now @marty_walsh. Testing our faith produces perseverance. He found a picture of himself with Martin Richard recently.
• 1:09 p.m.: Amanda Kersey in Copley Square:
Lis Giusto flew from California to retrace her steps on the one-year anniversary of the #BostonMarathon bombings. pic.twitter.com/JngroWmH60
• 12:59 p.m.: From The Takeaway:
Audio Essay: Today We Remember Boston: http://t.co/tmxswpymIB pic.twitter.com/avdOx54LiB
• 12:35 p.m.: Edgar B. Herwick III at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center:
One year ago today, the scene at the Beth Israel Deaconess emergency room would be very different.
• 12:15 p.m.: Howard Powell on a closed-off Boylston Street:
• 12:15 p.m.: Jared Bowen inside the Hynes Convention Center:
Joe Andruzzi says he has an eerie feeling being back. But amazed by what survivors have done in 1 year. pic.twitter.com/2As35NRlJo
• 12:13 a.m.: Adam Reilly outside the Hynes Convention Center:
Julie and Brian Stamm of Mission Hill vowed to run Boston after last year’s attacks, but they couldn’t get bib numbers. So they did it today, on their own, and raised about $650 for the One Fund. It’s the first time either one of them has run 26.2 miles.
• 12:05 p.m.: Jared Bowen inside the Hynes Convention Center:
The program for today’s tribute. 2500 people expected to attend. pic.twitter.com/uGj6bKKeol
• 12:00 p.m.: Edgar B. Herwick III at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center:
One year ago today, the scene at the Beth Israel Deaconess emergency room would be very different.
• 11:50 a.m.: Jared Bowen inside the Hynes Convention Center:
It’s quite overwhelming to see so many prosthetic limbs. The impact of the bombings already very profound here.
• 11:45 a.m.: Adam Reilly outside the Hynes Convention Center:
I’m across the street from the Hynes Convention Center, where the tribute to the marathon bombing victims is starting soon.
Just spoke with a man names Thomas Heller who was dressed in colonial garb, is holding two American flags, and says he ran the entire marathon route from Hopkinton on this morning to personally commemorate what happened last year.
Also seen/heard in the vicinity of the Hynes: an older woman named Karen who said, during a cigarette break outside the Pour House, that she’s glad the noon tribute is private — “They’d have two million people” otherwise, she told me — and three Berklee College of Music students who were near the blast last year and are split on whether they’ll watch the race on site in 2014.
Earlier, in an especially somber moment, cameraman Howard Powell and I watched firefighters at Boston’s Ladder 15 — which lost two men in last month’s Back Bay blaze — hoist a banner bearing the names of Sean Collier, Krystle Campbell, Martin Richard, and Lingzi Lu, all of whom were killed last April (photo below).
• 11:29 a.m.: Jared Bowen at the Hynes Convention Center:
Carlos Arredondo, now wearing black cowboy hat, says this is a day to remember and support the families.
• 11:20 a.m.: Jeb Sharp at Boston Common:
Boston marks the one-year anniversary of the marathon bombings today. Nick Reynolds (left) and Chris… http://t.co/H2LTEIkF7M
• 10:26 a.m.: Adam Reilly in Back Bay:
Firefighters at the Boylston Street firehouse that suffered the loss of Edward Walsh and Michael Kennedy last month hang a banner for the Marathon bombing memorial
• 10:33 a.m.: Listen to former Boston Mayor Tom Menino speak at Massachusetts General Hospital:
• 10:26 a.m.: Peter Kadzis in the WGBH Newsroom:
@EJDionne writes a prose poem in praise of Boston -- “a wondrous bundle of contradictions”. http://t.co/AHIaok2Ez4 via @washingtonpost
• 10:20 a.m.: Jared Bowen at the Hynes Convention Center:
Just arrived at the Hynes Convention Center for today’s Marathon memorial beginning at noon. A remembrance which VP Joe Biden will attend.
Marathon memorial will include performances by @TheBostonPops & @KeithLockhart, @BCChorus and soloist Renese King.
Dignitaries speaking include @JoeBiden @DevalPatrick @marty_walsh @mayortommenino Rev. Liz Walker to deliver opening remarks.
Marathon victims speaking include Patrick Downes, Adrianne Haslet-Davis and teenager David Yepez along with his dad Luis.
• 10:07 a.m.: Anne Mostue in Copley Square:
It’s getting very busy here in Copley with viewers, victims families, runners and state officials. There are three honor guardsmen standing vigil over wreaths in front of the two bombing sites. News trucks as far as the eye can see on Boylston Street.
Most of the people out right now are commuters. And there is traffic on Boylston because it’s getting so busy.
• 9:30 a.m.: Kirk Carapezza in Dorchester:
On this somber anniversary, a sign carrying Martin Richard’s lasting message hangs over 93N in Savin Hill. @wgbhnews pic.twitter.com/VcFJEV80st
• 8:25 a.m.: Anne Mostue in Copley Square:
Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh just presented wreaths in front of the bombings sites, along with the families of Martin Richard, Lu Lingzi and Krystle Campbell. It was a tearful sight.
About a dozen state police are patrolling and gathering near the finish line. I see a bagpiper, presumably here for the ceremony at Hynes Convention Center at noon. People are starting to place bouquets of flowers on the finish line. News trucks are everywhere.
• 8:05 a.m.: Anne Mostue in Copley Square:
The mood here is bustling and upbeat. About a dozen state police are patrolling and gathering near the finish line. I see a bagpiper, presumably here for the ceremony at Hynes Convention Center at noon. People are starting to place bouquets of flowers on the finish line.
Most of the people out right now are commuters. And there is traffic on Boylston because it’s getting so busy.
I’ve overheard people say it’s hard to believe a year has already gone by since the bombings. They’re touched by human spirit, all the helping, fundraising and city pride that’s come of the response.
