Historic sights in Boston
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Old City Hall
This monumental French Second Empire building is now office space with one fancy restaurant, but this site has seen its share of history. Out front, a plaque commemorates the site of the first public school, Boston Latin, founded in 1635 and still operational in Fenway. The hopscotch sidewalk mosaic, City Carpet, marks the spot where Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Bulfinch were educated. Statues of Benjamin Franklin, founding father, and Josiah Quincy, second mayor of Boston, stand inside the courtyard. They are accompanied by a lifesize replica of a donkey, symbol of the Democratic Party. (‘Why the donkey?’ you wonder. Read the plaque to find out.) Tw…
reviewed
-
Walden Pond
Thoreau took the naturalist beliefs of Transcendentalism out of the realm of theory and into practice when he left the comforts of town and built a rustic cabin at Walden Pond. The glacial pond is now a state park, surrounded by acres of forest preserved by the nonprofit Walden Woods project. The site of Thoreau’s cabin is on the northeast side, marked by a cairn and signs. To escape the crowded summertime beach, follow the path along to the other side of the pond. Parking costs $5.
reviewed
-
B
Blackstone Block
Surrounded by mammoth, modern buildings on all sides, Blackstone Block is a quaint, cobblestone street, lined with brick row houses with paned windows and flower boxes. Bounded by Union, Hanover, Blackstone and North Sts and named after Boston’s first settler, this tiny warren of streets dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Established in 1826, the Union Oyster House is Boston’s oldest restaurant. Around the corner in Creek Sq, the c 1767 Ebenezer Hancock House was the home of John Hancock’s brother. At the base of the shop next door, the 1737 Boston Stone served as the terminus for measuring distances to and from ‘the Hub.’ (The State House dome now serves th…
reviewed
-
C
Plimoth Plantation
These days, people make their pilgrimage to Plimoth Plantation, an authentically re-created 1627 Pilgrim village. Everything - the houses, the crops, the food cooked over wood stoves and even the vocabulary used by the costumed interpreters - is meticulously true to the period. Equally insightful are the home sites of the Wampanoag tribe, who helped the Pilgrims through their first difficult winter. If you're traveling with kids, or you're a history buff, don't miss it. The admission price includes entry to the Mayflower II, a replica of the Pilgrims' ship, at Plymouth Harbor.
reviewed
-
Appleton Farms
One of the country’s oldest continuously operating farms, Appleton Farms is now maintained and operated by the Trustees of Reservations. Four miles of trails wind along old carriageways, past ancient stonewall property markers and through acres of beautiful grasslands. The store sells fresh, organically grown produce, not to mention tantalizing jams, spreads and sauces made with said produce. From MA 128 take MA 1A north. Turn left on Cutler Rd and drive 2 miles to the intersection with Highland Rd, where parking is available.
reviewed
-
D
Great Elm Site
The trees that occupy this site are probably descendents of the Old Elm that stood here for more than 200 years. History has it that Ann Hibbens was hanged on the branch of the elm tree for witchery in 1656, and Mary Dyer for religious heresy in 1660. Boston’s ‘oldest inhabitant’ was damaged in 1869 in a brutal storm that reportedly took down the spires of many churches, and destroyed for good by another storm in 1876.
reviewed
-
E
John Harvard Mall
The shady, brick plaza north of City Sq is John Harvard Mall, which leads up Town Hill. Back in the days of the earliest settlements, a fort crowned Town Hill, which you can read about on the bronze plaques along the mall. Before the local minister – one John Harvard – died of consumption, he donated half his £800 estate and all 300 of his books to a young Cambridge college, which saw fit to name its school after him.
reviewed
-
F
Faneuil Hall
‘Those who cannot bear free speech had best go home,’ said Wendell Phillips. ‘Faneuil Hall is no place for slavish hearts.’ Indeed, this public meeting place was the site of so much rabble-rousing that it earned the nickname the ‘Cradle of Liberty’.
Although the hall was supposed to be exclusively for local issues, the Sons of Liberty called many meetings here, informing public opinion about their objections to British taxation without representation. In December of 1773 meetings concerning the controversial consignment of tea that had recently arrived in Boston Harbor were drawing so many townspeople that they had to move to the larger Old South Meeting House…
reviewed
-
Edson Cemetery
Two miles south of Lowell center, Kerouac is buried in the Sampas family plot at Edson Cemetery. His gravesite remains a pilgrimage site for devotees who were inspired by his free spirit.
reviewed
