Category Archives: Travel

Has anyone seen Boston recently? Nice little city, lots of charm, historical buildings, a couple of sports teams that my teams love to hate. All I’ve seen on the news is this plain of white, cold ice and snow for as far as the eye can see. There must be something still there, I’m hearing news about the Boston Marathon bombing trial. Maybe someone dug a tunnel in The Great New England Glacier Of 2015, going from Hartford to Manchester and found Boston along the way.

If you’re digging side tunnels in the glacier and you find Boston Common, please dig out The Freedom Trail so that folks can walk it again. It’s not too strenuous, only 2.5 miles, mostly flat, one historic site after the other. Starting at Boston Common, walk up Fremont Street to the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, and the North End Park. Follow the trail into Boston’s North End (with the elusive Callahan Tunnel to Logan International Airport buried somewhere underneath you) and you’ll find some wonderful, quaint neighborhoods, with many fine places to eat when you’re done walking the trail.

Near the end of North Street, on North Square, you’ll find Paul Revere’s house. For a small fee you can tour the inside, which I recommend. I’m a sucker for seeing how people lived 200+ years ago, especially when it’s the original building and furnishings.

Two blocks away, on Hanover Street, you’ll find Saint Stephen’s Church. It used to be called the “New North Church” and if you’re tracking down your Paul Revere history, you might mistake it for the famous one in the story of Paul Revere’s Ride. This isn’t it. However, it is the last remaining church in Boston that was designed by famed architect Charles Bullfinch.

Originally founded as a Congregational church in 1714, it had become a Unitarian church when Bullfinch designed this current building  in 1802. It’s now a Roman Catholic church, where one of its more prominent parishiners, Rose Fitzgerald, daughter of Boston’s mayor, was baptized in 1890. It’s also where she was laid to rest in 1995. In between, she married Joseph Kennedy and had nine children, including Theodore, John, and Robert. (I’m going to assume you’ve heard of them.)

Across the street you’ll find the Paul Revere Mall, which leads to the Old North Church. This is the one that you’re looking for if your cell phone battery is dead and you have a couple of lanterns to hang as an alternative means of communication.

I’m also a sucker for statues, the bigger the better. Of course, Paul Revere will be portrayed on a horse and not as a silversmith or a leader of the American Revolution. We all take our fame where we can get it.

I’ve always heard (and believed) that there’s a code of some sort for how people on horses are shown. If the horse has one foot up the rider was wounded in battle, two feet off the ground means the rider died in battle, all feet on the ground mean they survived all battles. (I guess if you weren’t in any battles at all you don’t rate a statue showing you sitting on a horse.) Turns out that “code” is bogus.

Here’s your Old North Church, built in 1723 and site of the infamous “One if by land, two if by sea” signals. Paul Revere’s ride and the signal lanterns hung here on April 18, 1775 warned revolutionaries in Lexington and Concord that British troops were on their way to attack.

The Old North Church is the oldest standing church in Boston, and still serves as an Episcopal church. Inside it’s bright, sunny, and a fantastic place to sit and relax for a few minutes before heading toward and across the Charles River. If historical churches are fascinating, historical churches that are still in use every day as churches are even better.

The current steeple is 175 feet tall, but it’s not the original one that the 1775 signal lamps were hung in. That steeple was destroyed in a storm in October 1804. Our old friend Charles Bullfinch designed a replacement, which was destroyed by a hurricane in 1954. The current steeple mixes elements of both designs and is an easy-to-spot landmark for tourists. Tourists who, as you can see, should be walking the Freedom Trail instead of trying to find a place to park!

Invigorated by one of the highlights of your tour of Boston, it’s time to head north toward the Charles River. There might be just a couple of other things there that you heard about in grade school.

Dig down deep under the glacier forming over New England, and you’ll find Boston. A wonderful city, I spent a lot of fun times there while I was in high school, coming down to visit from Vermont. Here’s what it looked like before the New Ice Age buried it. (I’m sure it will look like this again, when the snow melts. Like, in September, maybe.) If you’re there and you have a few hours, I strongly recommend that you walk The Freedom Trail.

It’s not too strenuous, only 2.5 miles, mostly flat, one historic site after the other. I started at Boston Common, then started up Fremont Street.

The route is clearly marked, both by street signs, occasionally painted lines on the sidewalk, and often by these medallions embedded in the sidewalk. Or ask, I’ve always found Bostonians to be friendly.

Three blocks up from the Boston Common you’ll find the King’s Chapel and Burying Ground. The burying ground (“cemetery”) is on the far side as seen from this view.

Also seen in this view is a Duck Boat. We love the Duck Boats and have taken them in many cities. Boston, Seattle, Toronto, and possibly a couple more that I’ve forgotten. Remember to get a quacker and quack at the pedestrians. (Hey, if you can’t go and be a complete idiot while on vacation, why go?)

Hang a right here, down past where that FedEx truck is…

…where you’ll find the Old City Hall. Originally the site of the Boston Latin School, which in 1635 became the first public school in the country, this building served as Boston City Hall from 1865 until 1969. When the new City Hall was built, this property, rather than being razed, was one of the country’s first examples of adapting and reusing old buildings in order to save them. The Architectural Heritage Foundation turned the building into a Class A office building, which it remains today.

In front of the Old City Hall you’ll find this statue of Benjamin Franklin, a favorite son of Boston and one of my favorite historical figures. I have the most interesting conversations with him when I’m bored.

Two blocks to the southeast you’ll find the Old South Meeting House. About 230 years ago this is where a bunch of hotheads decided to have a Tea Party. These days it’s used for concerts, some lively lectures and public debates on things like the First Amendment, and other public and private functions.

You may notice that we were going north, turned right and now we’re going southeast? That’s actually north-ish, then more like east-southeast. Streets in Boston rarely (if ever) go in a straight line very far. It’s NOT my favorite place to drive, but fortunately has an excellent public transportation system. Learn it, use it, stay out of your car if at all possible. And it’s not just me — one of my favorite memes is decidedly NSFW so I won’t post it here, but if you Google “Boston streets vs New York streets image” it will pop right up. Yeah, that!

Two blocks to the north (-ish) is the Old State House. Just out of view to the left in this image is where the Boston Massacre occurred, one of the things you can see re-created on some tours. There are also tour packages available that can combine several sites at a discount, so if you plan on going here and to Paul Revere’s House and a couple of other museums, get the package.

This view also shows why Boston is one of most European-like cities today – buildings 250+ years old cheek-to-jowl with mid-rise skyscrapers from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and modern skyscrapers of 40 or 50 stories towering above them all.

A block north and you’ll find Faneuil Hall, sometimes called “The Cradle of Liberty.” In the 1770’s it was another key meeting place, including the public meetings that occurred immediately after the Boston Massacre. The statue on the Congress Street side (shown) is of Samuel Adams, who was a fiery speaker, rabble rouser, revolutionary, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a regular speaker here. These days, Faneuil Hall is a market and shopping center, but also a great place to get lunch and something to drink while you’re walking The Freedom Trail.

On the east side of Faneuil Hall is a large plaza, dominated by Quincy Market. When I was there it was full of vendors, a farmer’s market, folks from the office buildings having lunch, and signs about concerts and other events. There’s an MBTA subway station on the far side, so it’s an easy place to get to.

In the background of this image you can see the Boston Custom House. Originally Boston’s first skyscraper, finished in 1849, it makes a great landmark if you get lost. These days, it’s high-priced condos and a Marriott time-share property.

Heading north (-ish) you get out of the downtown area and head toward the North End. A block or two up from Faneuil Hall you’ll find the North End Park, which is a great place to relax and eat if the area around Faneuil Hall is crowded. The park usually has people playing baseball, frisbee, or just relaxing.

Looking back to the south is the skyline of downtown Boston. Looking up to the north you can see the TD Banknorth Garden, where the Bruins and Celtics play. Next to it you can see another iconic Boston landmark, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. Built as part of the Big Dig (the largest and most complex freeway construction project in US history), The Long-Suffering Wife and I just know it as “That-Beautiful-Honkin’-Huge-Bridge-That-We-Passed-Over-About-Nine-Times-Trying-To-Get-From-Downtown-To-Logan”.

You’ve heard Abbot & Costello’s “Who’s On First?” routine, where no matter what the one guy says, eventually the response will be “Third Base!” Well, that was us going over the bridge, getting off and coming back and trying to find the correct combination of one-way streets and magic spells (remember that NSFW meme that I mentioned above?), only to end up once again on TBHHBTWPOANTTTGFDTL, getting off, coming back, getting lost, only to once again…

Of course, every time I tell this story to anyone who lives in Boston, they look at me with dismay (“How did this clown ever get a driver’s license?!”) and bewilderment, eventually screaming, “You don’t go over that bridge to get to Logan from Downtown!!”

Exactly.

I know that.

I knew that then.

Boston streets vs. New York streets.

It’s a wonderful city. Fly in and use taxis and subways. If you’re driving, park in New Hampshire, take a taxi in…

Next time, we follow The Freedom Trail into Boston’s North End.

Without really planning it or meaning to, all of my “couple times a month” travel picture posts for 2014 were about my three-country, three-kids, three-weeks tour. (Great planning, subconscious!) Starting in Shanghai on January 21st, going to Seoul on March 17th, then spending half the year going on about Kyoto, finally ending on December 9th. I hope you enjoyed the tour. I most certainly enjoyed the trip.

But I realized that between one thing and the other (lots of Comet Lovejoy and NASA Socials, so I’m not complaining!) I haven’t done any travel pictures in a while. After a whole year of pictures from Asia, let’s get back to the United States.

As you may have heard, the city of Boston is buried somewhere under approximately a half-mile of snow this year. Growing up in Vermont, I had occasion to make many trips to Boston and it’s a favorite place. My last visit there was during the late summer (no snow in sight), playing “arm candy” for The Long-Suffering Wife when she was at a business conference. While she was conferencing and meeting one day, I went and walked The Freedom Trail.

The Trail is only 2.5 miles, mostly flat, and has one historic site after the other. If you’re just there for the afternoon, I guess you could do it in a couple hours, but I recommend you spend at least a full day. Start early, take your time, dawdle, poke into side streets, find interesting places to eat, and enjoy one of America’s great cities.

Our hotel was just a block or two away, so I started at the Boston Common. A lovely park, a great place to chill for lunch if you work downtown, and I’m sure a great place to go sledding right now if you can get there. I liked seeing the boxes of street chalk left along with an invitation to draw whatever you wanted on the path.

I’m a sucker for old sculptures, fountains, and other artwork. This is the Brewer Fountain, a gift to the city in 1868, a copy of a fountain from the Paris World Fair of 1855. At the time I was there it wasn’t functioning, but it was restored in 2009 and re-dedicated in 2010. I’ll have to go back and see it fountaining.

The statues are of figures from Greek mythology and are obviously more influenced by their French origins than any Puritanical New England standards. Maybe the guy on the left is supposed to be in a contemplative pose, but it seems pretty obvious what he’s contemplating!

The “Shaw – 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry” memorial was created by Augustus Saint Gaudens, one of America’s premier sculptors of the late 19th Century. It shows Shaw leading his regiment, the white officers at the front and the black volunteers in the back, off to battle in the Civil War.  The memorial is at the north end of Boston Commons, across the street from…

…the Massachusetts State House. A monumental structure when built in 1798, designed by Charles Bullfinch, located on land donated by John Hancock, it’s still the location of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Chamber. But I suspect that all of those far more modern white buildings hidden in the back are where the hundreds and hundreds of offices are.

Just across the street is the Park Street Congregational Church. Built in 1809, it was the site of William Lloyd Garrison’s first anti-slavery speech in 1829, kicking off the emancipation movement which thirty-two years later would be a major factor leading to the Civil War. There are a whole list of other historic events and speeches made here (for example, the song “America” was first sung here on July 4, 1831) and the church is still in use. Services every Sunday morning at 8:30, 11:00, and afternoon at 4:00, and 6:00. (That’s as of 2008, check before you show up this week.)

Next door to the Park Street Church is the Granary Burial Ground which dates back to 1660. Another thing I love is visiting old cemeteries and seeing old gravestones and monuments. (Remember Rockingham Meeting House?) In this particular burial ground lie three signers of the Declaration of Independence (John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine) as well as seven former Massachusetts governors and assorted lieutenant governors and judges. Also buried here is Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, who was a key figure in the Salem Witch trials, sending twenty people to their deaths in 1692. Near the entrance by the Park Street Church are the remains of those killed in the Boston Massacre in 1770.

The headstone for Samuel Adams, third governor of Massachusetts and Revolutionary War rabble rouser. While I’ve always been interested in his cousin, John Adams, Samuel also had a fascinating role to play in instigating the movement to break the colonies away from England. (He has nothing to do with the beer.)

The headstone of Paul Revere, remembered for his midnight ride to warn of approaching British troops. He was also a successful silversmith and one of the leaders of the American Revolution. (He has nothing to do with Paul Revere and the Raiders.)

Now we’re on our way, but are we sprinting or dawdling? If sprinting, you probably didn’t stop to peruse the headstones (I was there twenty minutes or so, but could go back for hours). We’re only about three blocks from the start in Boston Commons, time to head north on Tremont Street.