Back on the Block
IN BOSTON
One of the city’s famous sons, actor and New Kids On The Block
member Joey McIntyre, dishes on spots that make
for an unforgettable day in his hometown.
BY REBECCA WALLWORK
T
oday Joey McIntyre lives in Los Angeles.
The entertainment capital is a fitting home
base for the performer who recently starred
in the CBS sitcom “The McCarthys,” filmed
on a studio lot in Culver City, Calif., and
embarks on a huge New Kids On The Block tour this year,
traveling throughout North America and concluding with the
NKOTB Cruise in October. Despite his new home and frequent traveling, McIntyre’s heart belongs to Boston. It’s the city
where he grew up, before hitting the road as a teenager as onefifth of a pop mega-group. When his boy band days (phase one)
were over, it was Boston that McIntyre returned to. Even now,
as a Californian, he makes frequent trips home to visit friends
and members of his sprawling family, and he hasn’t lost his
Boston accent—which served him well in his role as hardcore
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Beantown sports fanatic Gerard on “The McCarthys.”
“It’s a really beautiful city, a special place,” McIntyre says of
Boston. “As I get older, I appreciate it more. I think everybody
has that moment of going back home and appreciating [the
place] they just wanted to get out of when they were a teenager.”
The biggest changes McIntyre, now 42, has seen since
moving west in the early 2000s are most evident downtown.
“People came back to the city and started building a life there,”
he says. “You know, the rebirth of the inner city. [The late]
Tom Menino, who was the mayor for [more than] 20 years,
did a good job of—this isn’t really a word—but the ‘pedestrification’ of the city. It’s much more green and walkable. It’s been
cleaned up and shined up so people can appreciate it more.”
We asked McIntyre to walk us through his recommendations for a perfect day in Boston.
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