BOSTON WALKING TOUR LANDMARKS
Brought to you courtesy of Central Mass Mediation & Arbitration
Boston, incorporated in 1630, is mistakenly thought to be one of the oldest cities in America (it’s not in the top 10); however, it is touted as the “cradle of American democracy” and is one the two most important cities in America from its founding through the end of the American Revolution.
1. Trinity Church: The Trinity Church is a staple in Boston architecture, being voted the finest building in the US in 1885, and still among the top ten. The church was built after the prior church burned down in the great fire of 1872 under Rector Phillips Brooks. It was designed by a group of architects headed by Henry Hobson Richardson. Richardson also designed libraries and commuter stations throughout Massachusetts, as well as the New York state asylum and multiple Harvard buildings (his alma mater). The church was constructed from 1872-1877 and has been praised as one of the finest churches ever designed.
2. Boston Commons: Considered the oldest public park in the United States, Boston Common played an important role in the history of conservation, landscape architecture, military and political history, and recreation in Massachusetts. The Common and the adjoining public garden are among the greatest amenities and most visited outdoor public spaces in Boston. The history of the Common's use by the city illuminates the conservation movement in Massachusetts and mirrors similar models carried out by American conservationists throughout the nation.
In 1634, the townspeople of Boston voted to tax each household six schillings for the purchase of William Blackstone's farm to be used as a community common. The newly established Common served a combination of public, military, agricultural, and recreational purposes. In the 1600s and 1700s, companies from Boston and surrounding communities performed military training on the Common. During the winter of 1775 and 1776, British soldiers installed artillery entrenchments on the Common, and a garrison of 1,700 soldiers remained encamped there. Other early public uses of the Common included public hangings and whippings. The Common also served agricultural purposes. The Common was a pasture for cattle from the time of its creation through the early decades of the 1800s. As an early example of "utilitarian" conservation, regulations protected the land from overgrazing by restricting the number of cattle each family could graze on the Common.
3. Old State House: The Old State House a/k/a the Old Provincial State House, is a historic building in Boston, Massachusetts, built in 1713. It was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798. It is located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States.
It is one of the landmarks on Boston's Freedom Trail and is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. It now serves as a history museum that was operated by the Bostonian Society through 2019.
4. Faneuil Hall: In 1742, Peter Faneuil, one of Boston’s wealthiest merchants, built Faneuil Hall as a gift to the city. The building would serve as a meeting hall and a permanent central marketplace. The edifice was home to merchants, fisherman, and meat and produce sellers, and provided a platform for the country’s most famous orators. It became home to the town government and served as a public hall for concerts, banquets, and ceremonies. The building was named in Faneuil’s honor, but a significant portion of his wealth came directly as well as indirectly from the slave trade. Slaves were, in fact, sold for a number of years, in the area right next to what is now Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall was expanded to include Quincy Market in 1826 when Boston’s rapid growth necessitated a larger marketplace.
5. Paul Revere House: 19 North Square; Born in Boston’s North End on December 21, 1734, Paul Revere was the son of Apollos Rivoire, a French Huguenot (Protestant) immigrant, and Deborah Hichborn, daughter of a local artisan family. in 1756, Revere was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Massachusetts artillery and sent to fight the French in upstate New York. When he returned in the Fall of 1756, he began in earnest to build the family silver business. Revere had 15 children with his two wives (his first wife died in 1773). Revere was politically active as well. Revere took part in meetings that planned the destruction of East India Company Tea in December 1773. The next day, he spread the word of the Boston Tea Party to New York and Philadelphia. At 10 pm on the night of April 18, 1775, Revere received instructions from Dr. Joseph Warren to ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the British approach. During this time Revere printed paper currency for the Massachusetts government and helped to acquire powder and ammunition for the colonial troops.
6. Old North Church: Old North’s fame began on the evening of April 18, 1775, when the church sexton, Robert Newman, and vestryman Capt. John Pulling, Jr. climbed the steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea across the Charles River and not by land. This momentous event ignited the American Revolution. Built in 1723, Christ Church in the City of Boston, known to all as the Old North Church, is Boston’s oldest surviving church building and most visited historical site.