Hotel Agassiz, the former hotel at 127 Newbury in Boston, Massachusetts, is a six-story brick Victorian Gothic landmark later converted into condominiums. It provides the setting for Ginger Weiss's unexpected visit to Pablo Jackson, pairing a weather-beaten historic exterior with the airy modern apartment inside.

Setting and Identity

The building stands on Newbury Street behind a low iron fence. When Ginger arrives, a blustery wind strikes her, and the bare trees rasp and clatter like rattling bones. The details make her approach feel exposed and uneasy, while the building's scale and Gothic style give the destination a distinct presence in the scene.

Ginger Weiss's Visit

Ginger comes to see Pablo Jackson after reading about him in the previous day's Boston Globe. She has left Baywatch after George Hannaby went to the hospital and Rita Hannaby went Christmas shopping, afraid they might try to stop her. The maid, Lavinia, had urged her not to go alone; Ginger leaves a note explaining where she has gone and hopes the others will not be too upset.

The Apartment Interior

Pablo's apartment overturns Ginger's expectations of both an elderly bachelor and a sedate old building. The cream-colored living room is furnished with contemporary sofas and chairs, a matching Edward Fields carpet sculpted in a wave pattern, pastel accent pillows, and two large oil paintings, one by Picasso. The scheme is bright, warm, and modern, sharply distinct from the building's Gothic exterior. Ginger settles into an armchair across a small table from Pablo, near a long bay window, and declines coffee before admitting that she has come under false pretenses. The contrast makes Hotel Agassiz more than a historic address: its interior stages the threshold between Ginger's anxious, secretive arrival and her direct encounter with Pablo.