Boskone 1, 2, 4 were organized and run by the Boston Science Fiction Society; Boskone 3 was ostensibly run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Fiction Society, but really by only Erwin S. "Filthy Pierre" Strauss.
Statler-Hilton, Boston (Arthur Thompson/ATom) |
Statler-Hilton, Boston (Greg Mironchuk) |
M.I.T., Cambridge (Erwin S. Strauss) |
Statler-Hilton, Boston (Susan Hereford/ Suford Lewis) |
The next set of Boskones (5-24) were held mostly in Boston with the exceptions of Boskone 8 (Andover, MA) and Boskone 17 (Danvers, MA); those two conventions were downsized because Noreascons I and II were later those years.
Following Boskone 24, relations with the Sheraton Boston were strained. This relationship was also transferred to other Boston hotels making it necessary to move Boskone out of Boston. Boskones 25-29 were held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Some fans refer to this five-year period as the "Springfield Captivity."
There was still a great desire to return to the Boston area. Although this could not yet happen, the smaller size of the Boskones and five years of good relations with the Springfield hotels made a move to MetroWest possible. Boskone remained in Framingham for a decade.
Changing management (note the name change of the hotel between Boskones 36 and 37) with its desire to save money made the hotel less and less attractive to the fen. There was always the problem of where to eat for those without cars. When the Sheraton Boston accepted the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention (Noreascon 4), it became possible for Boskone to return to its home city. In 2007 Boskone moved to the new Westin Waterfront in the Seaport District.
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