The Museum of Fine Arts has just opened up a very pleasant exhibit of works by A.C. Goodwin (1866-1929), a minor American artist who spent a lot of his time making pictures of Boston. The display assembles nearly 70 paintings and pastels, predominately of Bean Town streets, wharves, gardens and countryside, done around the turn of the century. An exhibit like this probably goes up more for its civic and historical interest than for its artistic merits, and there's nothing wrong with that. Goodwin's cityscapes are fun, if nothing else, and its always nice to know how your town looked and how people felt about it a couple of decades ago. Besides all that, the MFA is free on Sundays until 1 p.m., and the Degas exhibit is still hanging in two of its galleries.
The Graduate School of Design, like good old A.C. Goodwin, is interested in the way cities look. This week the GSD is featuring an exhibit on housing for the elderly. The display presents models and drawings produced by the Winthrop Housing Authority's competition of works that best solve the problem of architecturally caring for the aged. The 21 prize winners all created designs that took specific behavior patterns into account and tried to deal with the patterns sympathetically. An interesting exercise that's worth stopping by Gund Hall to take a look at.
The Center Club, a community mental health facility in Boston, is holding a fund-raising rummage sale Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 109 Avon Hill St., near Radcliffe. Antiques and curiosities are featured among the many fine items for sale, and for once your money will be well spent.