Boston, MA - America’s historical heart

BOSTON
Past Is Present In
America’s Historical Heart

By Ray Chatelin

Photos By Toshi

BOSTON, MA – In the old Granary Burying Yard, where some of America’s most notable citizens rest, a man in 18th Century dress approached me and asked, “You wouldn’t be Samuel Adams, now would you.” No, I replied. “Well I thought you were,” he said, “because you are about the same size, you know.”

And from there the historical lesson continued as we stood next to the elaborately embellished obelisk that marks the site of John Hancock’s tomb. Within a short period, the volunteer in historical garb told me about the lives of other Revolutionary heroes buried here - names that included Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, James Otis, all five of the Boston Massacre victims, Benjamin Franklin’s parents and Peter Faneuil.

You can’t avoid history in Boston. It’s why you go there. The first thing you notice while walking through downtown Boston is a red line painted along the brick sidewalks. Follow that continuous line and you’ll soon find yourself among America’s most historical and treasured sites.

For no city in America so treasures and exploits its history as much as this city – from its old gravesites to Bunker Hill; from the USS Constitution that proudly sits in Boston Harbor to the stately homes of Beacon Hill; from Faneuil Hall Marketplace to The Paul Revere House and Quincy Market; and from magical confines of Fenway Park to the learning halls of Harvard.

That red line is called The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, when the wrecking ball threatened to obliterate many of the city and nation’s most sacred sites, the Freedom Trail today is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the many stories of the American Revolution and beyond.

And to help get that story across, scores of volunteers in historical dress, are stationed along the Freedom Trail and within historical sites to provide the color and wonderful stories associated with the city’s and the nation’s beginnings.

Near the downtown waterfront is Faneuil Hall, in the heart of the marketplace area that shares its name. Built by wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil in 1741, it’s where the Sons of Liberty proclaimed their dissent against Royal oppression. Faneuil Hall has served as an open forum meeting hall and marketplace for more than 250 years and has continued to provide a forum for debate on the most consequential issues of the day.

And the Faneuil Hall Marketplace is still Boston's central meeting place, offering visitors and residents alike an unparalleled urban marketplace. The unique and burgeoning array of shops, restaurants and outdoor entertainment has made it a premiere urban destination that attracts more than 18 million visitors annually.

Just a short walk north of the market is one of the most glorious restaurant districts you’re ever likely to see in the city’s North End, which just also happens to embrace many of the city’s historical sites such as the Revere House and the Old North Church.

On the evening of April 18, 1775, the Old North sexton, Robert Newman, climbed the church steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock and to seize the Colonial store of ammunition. That event ignited the American Revolution.

The North End is Boston’s oldest neighborhood that over the years has been home to a wide range of ethnic communities. Today, the neighborhood has a strong Italian flair and is the home of some of the city’s best Italian restaurants, which is why it is sometimes called Boston’s “Little Italy.” Walk along Hanover Street and you’ll be overwhelmed by the number of restaurants and specialty shops. Take the side streets to find out-of-the-way places that locals frequent. You can spend at least one full day just taking in the ambience of the place.

While the Freedom Trail helps you explore some of the most treasured historical areas of the city, there’s so much more to entice a visit. For it is also the home of the Boston Symphony, the Red Sox, the traditions of Harvard, MIT’s contemporary looking campus, Berklee College of Music, the great Boston Public Library (where the Boston Marathon ends) and the Museum of Fine Arts where entry allows you to come back for three days without charge.

With some 60-plus universities and colleges within a few miles of greater Boston, the city has a vibrant, youthful energy. And at no single place can you experience the energy and artistic nature of Boston than at Harvard University in the nearby suburb of Cambridge.

It’s just a short subway ride from downtown Boston and well worth the 20 minute trip. And if you stay at The Inn at Harvard Square – a boutique hotel owned by the university – you have the right to use the faculty restaurant and eat with the Nobel Prize winners that teach there. Even if you’re not staying at the Inn at Harvard Square, it’s a great place to unwind after exploring the university grounds. Tea in the Atrium – or lunch and dinner – is one of the city’s great experiences.

On the campus grounds is The Peabody Museum, one of the oldest archaeological and ethnographic museums in the world, with superb materials from Africa, ancient Europe, North America, Mesoamerica, Oceania, and, South America.

The Busch-Reisinger Museum, the Fogg Art Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum - house more than 160,000 objects of art that range in date from ancient times to the present, and come from Europe, North America, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Nearby, at the Harvard University Events & Information Center, located in the Holyoke Center Arcade at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in the heart of Harvard Square , you can sign up for a student-led, hour-long free historical tour of the Harvard campus.

Boston is one of America’s most civilized cities and a place you’ll want to return to time and again.