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Allston Skirt Gallery
For stunning exhibits by rising-star artists, visit the Allston Skirt Gallery. The work displayed often combines material beauty with rich interpretations of art theory. Works by Tina Feingold, David Robbins (if you haven't seen his snowmen, you should), Heather Holber-Keene and more.
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Alpha Gallery
Presenting the work of some headline-grabbing artists (sometimes local, sometimes international), this starkly minimalist gallery mostly shows oils (some figurative, some abstract), though occasionally you'll see a bit of sculpture, mixed media and prints. They have an annual new talent exhibition and intermittently have special shows of masters such as Max Beckman and Milton Avery.
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Arlington St Church
This 1861 church was the first public building erected in Back Bay. The original congregation gathered in 1729 in a barn on Federal and Franklin Sts. Three meeting houses later, this graceful church features extraordinary Tiffany windows and 16 bells in its steeple, which was modeled after London's well-known church St Martin-in-the-Fields.
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Barbara Krakow Gallery
The catalogue of artists represented by this older gallery (established 1964) reads like something you'd expect from a major museum. Among the famous are Josef Albers, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt and Jasper Johns. Though it's very much a house of the modernists, the gallery sometimes displays the work of an emerging artist.
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Blackstone Block
Stepping off the T at Government Center, you emerge from the underground onto a vast plaza of cement and concrete. Mammoth, modern buildings surround you on all sides. You dodge the traffic to cross Congress St. Suddenly you find yourself on a quaint, cobblestone street, lined with brick row houses with paned windows and flower boxes. The traffic noise fades and instead you hear the cry of farmers hawking their produce at the open air market.
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Boston Athenaeum
Founded in 1807, the Boston Athenaeum is an old and distinguished private library, having hosted the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, as well as less traditional members like Amy Lowell. While the writers and bibliophiles that are members today are perhaps less known, the place is no less esteemed.
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Boston Massacre Site
Encircled by cobblestones, the Boston Massacre site marks the spot where the first blood was shed for the American independence movement. On March 5, 1770, an angry mob of colonists swarmed the British soldiers guarding the State House. Sam Adams, John Hancock and about 40 other protesters hurled snowballs, rocks and insults. Thus provoked, the soldiers fired into the crowd and killed five townspeople, including Crispus Attucks, a former slave.
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Boston Public Library
Dating from 1852, the esteemed BPL lends credence to Boston's reputation as the 'Athens of America.' The old McKim building is notable for its magnificent façade and exquisite interior art. Pick up a free brochure and take a self-guided tour; alternatively, free guided tours (times vary) depart from the entrance hall.
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Bumpkin Island
This small island has served many purposes over the years, first farming then fish drying and smelting. In 1900 it was the site of a children's hospital, but it was taken over for navy training during WWI. You can still explore the remains of a stone farmhouse and the hospital. The beaches are not the best for swimming, as they are slate and seashell. A network of trails leads through fields overgrown with wildflowers. One of three islands with camping facilities.
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Bunker Hill Monument
'Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!' came the order from Colonel Prescott to revolutionary troops on June 17, 1775. Considering the ill preparedness of the revolutionary soldiers, the bloody battle that followed resulted in a surprising number of British casualties. Ultimately, however, the Redcoats prevailed (an oft-overlooked fact).
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Bunker Hill Pavilion
The pavilion provides an introduction to both the Navy Yard and Bunker Hill Monument. The 18-minute multimedia presentation, The Whites of Their Eyes runs from every 30 minutes from to and uses music, slides and mannequins (in costume) to reenact the battle. The name, of course, comes from Colonel Prescott's famous command .
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Castle Island & Fort Independence
Since 1634, eight different fortresses have occupied this strategic spot at the entrance to the Inner Harbor. Fort Independence - the five-point granite fort that stands here today - was built between 1834 and 1851. It sits on 22 acres of parkland called Castle Island (a misnomer, as it's connected to the mainland). A paved pathway follows the perimeter of the peninsula - good for strolling or biking - and there is a small swimming beach.
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Cathedral Of The Holy Cross
When this neo-Gothic cathedral was built in 1875, it was America's largest Catholic cathedral, as big as Westminster Abbey. It serves as the main cathedral for the archdiocese of Boston and the seat of the archbishop. The exquisite rose window features King David playing his harp, while the rest of the cross-shaped building is peppered with stained glass windows and traditional church art.
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Central Burying Ground
Dating to 1756, the Central Burying Ground is the least celebrated of the old cemeteries as it was the burial ground of the down-and-out (according to one account, used for 'Roman Catholics and strangers dying in the town'). Some reports indicate that it contains an unmarked mass grave for British soldiers who died in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
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Charlestown Navy Yard
Besides the historic ships docked here and the museum dedicated to them, the Charlestown Navy Yard is a living monument to its own history of shipbuilding and naval command. The only other building open to the public is the old Paint Shop, which houses a collection of artifacts. But you can wander around the dry docks and see how the ships were repaired while resting on wooden blocks.
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Children's Museum
The interactive, educational exhibits at the delightful Children's Museum keep kids entertained for hours. Highlights include a bubble exhibit, a two-story climbing maze, a rock-climbing wall, a hands-on construction site and intercultural immersion experiences. The museum features a light-filled atrium with an amazing climbing structure, bridges and glass elevators. Kids can enjoy outdoor eating and playing in the waterside park.
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Chinatown Gate & Park
The official entrance to Chinatown is the decorative gate, or paifong , a gift from the city of Taipei. It is symbolic - not only as an entryway for guests visiting Chinatown, but also as an entryway for immigrants who are still settling here, as they come to establish relationships and roots in their newly claimed home. Chinatown Park surrounds the gate and anchors the southern end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
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Christ Church
Cambridge's oldest church was designed in 1761 by America's first formally trained architect, Peter Harrison (who also did King's Chapel in Boston). Washington's troops used it as a barracks after its Tory congregation fled. Christ Church's favorite son is Teddy Roosevelt, who taught Sunday school here when he was a student at Harvard.
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Christian Science Church
Known to adherents as the 'Mother Church', this is the international home base for the Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science), founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866. Tour the grand classical revival basilica, which can seat 3000 worshippers, listen to the 14,000-pipe organ and linger on the expansive plaza with its 670ft-long reflecting pool.
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Copley Square
Copley Sq is graced on all sides with amazing architecture. With eyes constantly drifting upward, it's easy to miss the square's plebeian-sized, down-to-earth elements. Boston's most famous annual event, the Boston Marathon, finishes right here. Runners congregate in a staging area on the square, where they are commemorated by the Boston Marathon Monument, embedded in the sidewalk (on Boylston St near Dartmouth St).
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Copp's Hill Burying Ground
The city's second-oldest cemetery - dating to 1660 - is named for William Copp, who originally owned this land. The oldest graves here belong to his children. An estimated 10,000 souls occupy this small plot of land, including more than 1000 free blacks, many of whom lived in the North End. Near the Charter St gate you'll find the graves of the Mather family - Increase, Cotton and Samuel - all of whom were politically powerful religious leaders in the black community.
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Custom House
Begun in 1837, the lower portion of the Custom House resembles a Greek temple. But the federal government decided something grander was in order; so in 1913 it exempted itself from local height restrictions and financed a 500ft tower. Thus Boston's first skyscraper was born. At first Bostonians were aghast, but they have since grown to love it. The 22ft illuminated clock makes this gem the most recognizable structure of the city skyline.
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Dorchester Heights Monument
In the winter of 1776, rebel troops dragged 59 heavy cannons to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York. On the night of March 4, they perched them high atop Dorchester Heights, from where the British warships in the Harbor were at their mercy. The move caught the British completely by surprise, and ultimately convinced them to abandon Boston.
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Ether Dome
On October 16, 1846, Thomas WG Morton administered ether to the patient Gilbert Abbott, while Dr John Collins Warren cut a tumor from his neck. It was the first use of anesthesia in a surgical procedure and it happened in this domed operating room in Mass General Hospital. The dome looks like a typical, old-fashioned hall used for lectures and medical demonstrations, up to and including the skeleton hanging in the corner.
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Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall - a brick colonial building topped with the beloved grasshopper weather vane - was constructed as a market and public meeting place in 1740, at the urging of Boston benefactor and merchant Peter Faneuil. In 1805, Charles Bulfinch enlarged the building and enclosed the 1st-floor market, designing the 2nd-floor meeting space that's here today.
