Sports | Museums | Nightlife Theological | General Tours | Daytrip | Historic Very few cities have the historic ambience and treasures as does Boston. Our nations early European history occurred mainly on the eastern seaboard and Boston was one of the main ports during the Colonial period. The city has continued throughout the next 200 years to be a major metropolitan center adding history to each succeeding decade. Concord | Lexington | Lowell African Meeting House - 8 Smith Court / Beacon Hill / 617-725-0022 / Built from plans for a town house with salvaged materials from Old West Church, the African Meeting House is the oldest black church in America, dedicated in 1806. Beacon Hill - Bounded by Charles Street on the west, Boston Common and the Public Garden on the south, Cambridge Street on the north and the Massachusetts State House on the east The “best neighborhood in the city from the 1790s to 1880s, the ambience is carried over into the present. Charles Bullfinch made his mark by designing magnificent homes in Beacon Hill. Historic homes, streets and structures in Beacon Hill include: • Beacon Street • Boston Athenaeum • Charles Street Meeting House • Harrison Gray Otis House • Hepzibah Swan Houses • Mount Vernon Street • Nichols House Museum and • Louisburg Square Black Heritage Trail - 14 Beacon Street / Boston / 617-742-5415 or Museum of African American History / 617-725-0022 A self-guided 1.6 mile walking tour of Boston which pays homage the dynamic accomplishments of the 19th century free-black population of Boston. National Park Rangers offer guided tours several times daily from April through October and in the off-season by appointment. The tour is also a feature of the Museum of African American History and information about the tour can be obtained there. Sites include: • Abiel Smith School • the African Meeting House • Charles Street Meeting House • Coburn's Gaming House • Lewis & Harriet Hayden House • George Middleton House • Phillips School • Robert Gould Shaw Memorial • Smith Court Residences • John J. Smith House Boston Common and Public Garden - Bounded by Beacon Street on the north, Boylston Street on the south,Tremont and Park Streets on the east and Arlington Street on the west An open area since 1634, it first was used as pasture land, then was the site of the local gallows and then used by British Troops as an encampment during the Revolution. The area was expanded by landfill and landscaping in the 19th century and has been a gathering place for local celebrations and activities ever since. Features include: • Blackstone Memorial Tablet • Brewer Fountain • Central Burying Ground • George Washington Statue, Make Way for Ducklings sculptures • Shaw Memorial • Soldiers and Sailors Monument • The Swan Boats Boston History Library - 15 State Street / 3rd floor / Boston / 617-720-1713 - ext.12 A great place for some in-depth reading and research on local history. Boston National Historical Park Visitor Center - 15 State Street / Boston / 617-242-5642 / Free Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum - Congress St. Bridge / North End-Waterfront / Boston / 617-338-1773 / $ Every thirty minutes re-enactors recreate the tea party events by boarding a working replica of the Brig Beaver II, one of three ships that were boarded during the original event. The museum provides the evidence of the economic reasons for the boycott and tossing of the tea, the ship is open for exploration. Bunker Hill - Monument Square - 617-242-5641 / Bunker Hill Pavilion / Water Street - 617-241-7575 / Charlestown / $ nominal fee for Battle Talks tour Charlestown Navy Yard - Water Street / Charlestown / 617-242-5601 / National Park Service Headquarters Seventeen acres of historic waterfront was handed over to the Boston National Historic Park just after the Vietnam War. With over a 175 years of history, its crown jewel is the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides”, which draws visitors year round. Along with Old Ironsides is the World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young which is also open to visitors. U. S. S. Constitution - (Old Ironsides) - Charlestown Navy Yard / Water Street / Charlestown / 617-242-5670 / Free For tour information schedule call 617-242-5601, for USS Constitution Museum call 617-426-1812. Commonwealth Museum & Massachusetts Archives - 220 Morrissey Boulevard / Boston / 617-727-2816 / Free /  Archival library, educational programs and historic items bring Massachusetts history to life. Special programs are ongoing. Dreams of Freedom- Immigration Museum - International Institute of Boston - One Milk Street / Boston / 617-338-6022 / $ Immigration is explored in this museum which lets the visitor experience the hardships and difficulties as well as hopes of those who came. Grab your passport and take a journey with those who came before. Also offered are historic walks with famous figures in history including benjamin Franklin, Abigail Adams and Sophie Tucker! Faneuil Hall - Dock Square / Financial District / 617-635-3105 / Built as a public market and town meeting place in 1742, Faneuil Hall is considered the “Cradle of Liberty” because of the illustrious group of patriots who gathered here to discuss America’s independence from England. Restored after a fire in 1761, Faneuil Hall was enlarged to its current appearance by Charles Bullfinch in 1805. Faneuil Hall Marketplace - Quincy, North & South Market Buildings / Financial District / Boston / 617-523-1300 / Over 70 shops and restaurants are located in this outdoor festival marketplace, the existing Faneuil Hall stands as an icon towards the front of the Marketplace. Additional structures including the Quincy Market were added in the 19th century and all were re-established as a marketplace in the 1970s and 1990s. Freedom Trail - a few individual sights charge admission There are several aspects of the Freedom Trail experience which provide a good overview of American history during the revolutionary period. Sites include Boston Common • the State House • Park Street Church • Granary Burying Ground • statue of Benjamin Franklin • King’s Chapel • Old Corner Bookstore •Old South Meeting House • site of the Boston Massacre • Old State House • Faneuil Hall • Paul Revere House • Old North Church • Copp’s Hill Burying Ground • USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument. There is also a guided abbreviated “Little Feet” version of the Freedom Trail for families with children. Harvard Yard - Massachusetts Avenue / Cambridge / 617-495-1573 The complex houses the original Old Harvard Yard that dates from the schools founding in 1636 making Harvard the oldest college in the country. Other points of interest include: • Holden Chapel • Hollis Hall • Massachusetts Hall • Memorial Hall • Sever Hall • University Hall • Widener Library King's Chapel and Burying Ground - 58 Tremont & School Streets / Boston / 617-523-1749 The first chapel on this site was built in 1688. Replaced with a more formal edifice in 1750s, the original 1717 pulpit remains as does the chapel bell cast by Paul Revere. Boston’s oldest burial ground is here. Longfellow House - 105 Brattle Street / Cambridge / 617-876-4491 / $ Open May – October Built by a Colonial merchant who was loyal to the British Crown, this handsome house was confiscated during the Revolution and was used by George Washington during the siege of Boston. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was given the house as a wedding present and he kept certain rooms in period homage to Washington. Longfellow lived in the home until he died in 1888. Massachusetts State House - Beacon Hill / Boston / 617-727-3676 Designed by Charles Bullfinch, it replaced the Old State House in 1798 and was an inspiration for the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The building holds the state House of Representatives and the state Senate Chamber as well as the Administrative Offices, Great Hall, Hall of Flags, Doric Hall and the Nurses Hall. The Sacred Cod hangs over the gallery of the House and has hung over every House of Representatives meeting since 1798. Museum of Afro American History - 46 Joy Street / Beacon Hill / Boston / 617-725-0022 / Donations suggested / The largest museum about African Americans in New England, the museum developed the Black Heritage Trail® and also maintains three national historic sites dating back to the 1800s. The major focus is on the history of free blacks in New England and the white abolitionists who worked to change the course of American history. Nichols House Museum - 55 Mount Vernon Street / Beacon Hill / Boston / 617-227-6993 / $ A Charles Bullfinch designed residence dating to 1805, the home was remodeled in the 1830s with addition of a Greek Revival portico. The house was left as a museum in the 1960s as it was furnished by former owner Rose Standish Nichols. Old North Church - 193 Salem Street / North End / Boston / 617-523-6676 / Free As immortalized in the poem, “one if by land, two if by sea ...” the Old North Church was here during the Revolution to light the way to freedom by being the instrument of signalling the British invasion. The 1723 era church is a centerpiece in the Patriot’s Day re-enactments in April. Old South Meeting House - 310 Washington Street / Boston / 617-482-6439 / $ (nominal fee) A Puritan church built in 1729, the structure was the towns largest during that period and used for town meetings. The Sons of Liberty met here and planned an infamous “tea party” in 1773. The British turned the building into a stable and tavern during the Revolution. Old State House - 206 Washington Street / at State & Washington Streets / Boston / 617-720-3290 / $ Nominal Fee / One of the most revered buildings in the city, the Old State House overlooks the site of the Boston Massacre and is the place where delegates of the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence. The symbol of the British colonial government, the Lion & Unicorn, still decorate the eastern facade. Just below those symbols from the eastern balcony, the citizenry first heard the words that declared the country’s freedom. Rooms in the building have been restored to the appearance of their colonial-era functions taking visitors back in time to America’s Revolution. Paul Revere House / Hichborn House -19 North Street / Boston / 617-523-2338 / $ (nominal fee) The home of Paul Revere during the time of the Revolution, the house and museum are operated by the Paul Revere Memorial Association and are open to the public year round on a seasonal schedule, please call for specific times of operation. Trinity Church of Boston - Copley Square / Boston / 617-536-0944 for guided tours / $ (nominal fee) An architectural wonder of the Romanesque style, Trinity has been hailed as one of the 10 best buildings in the country. Founded in 1733, the present structure was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson with John La Farge and dates from 1877. The stained glass windows of Edward Burne-Jones executed by William Morris enhance the inspiring interior. Nearby Historic Attractions Adams National Historic Park - 135 Adams Street / Quincy / 617-770-1175 / $ The ancestral home of four generations of the Adams family including Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The “Old House” was also the home from where Abigail Adams wrote her famous letters to her husband John while he was away on government matters. John & John Quincy Adams Birthplaces - 133 & 141 Franklin Street / Quincy / $ Parking fee Located a mile from the Old house are the birthplaces of both John and John Quincy Adams. Parking fee covers trolley transport between National Park sites. Concord, Massachusetts - Located only twenty miles west of downtown Boston The Old Manse - 269 Monument Street / Concord / 978-369-3909 / $ Both Hawthorne and Emerson resided in this house during their lifetimes. For Hawthorne it was the honeymoon home for he and his bride Sophia. Emerson’s grandfather, the Reverend William Emerson watched the first battles of the Revolution from his fields. Ralph Waldo lived in the house after his first wife died and before moving with his new wife to Lexington Road. Concord Museum - 200 Lexington Road / Concord / 978-369-9763 / $ Explore the galleries that show the life and times of Concord, from the native Americans to the turbulent beginnings of America’s fight for Independence. Other exhibits deal with the literary wealth of the region including authors Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau and Louisa May Alcott. Emerson House - Lexington Road at Cambridge Turnpike / Concord / 978-369-2236 / $ Ralph Waldo Emerson lived here from 1835 until his death in 1882. The home held the office and creative writing space for Emerson. The Transcendental Club also met here. Minute Man National Historic Park - 174 Liberty Street / Concord / 987-369-6993 / Headquarters for the sites and exhibits around Lexington and Concord that apply to the American Revolution, including the Old North Bridge, the Minuteman Statue, and the Minute man Visitor Center. Old North Bridge - Monument Street / Concord The bridge is the site of the beginning of the American Revolution where the “shot heard round the world” was fired and the first British casualties occurred. Over 250 British were killed or wounded, the Colonials lost less than a third of their opponents total. Orchard House - Lexington Road / Concord / 978-369-4118 / $ The home so immortalized in Louisa May Alcotts Little Women, the house was home to the Alcotts after they sold their original home, The Wayside, to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery - Bedford Street / Concord A short stroll from the common, this is the final resting place of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Emersons, Thoreau and the Alcotts. Walden Pond State Reservation - 978-369-3254 / $ Parking fee May – October, lot size is limited, call for space information Walden Pond is known as a great spot for swimming during the summer months, so do not expect to find the solitude Thoreau found at the site unless one gets there early. A replica of his one room cabin is right by the parking lot, its original site is further into the reservation marked by a stone. Swimming, canoeing and fishing are allowed. The Wayside - Lexington Road / Concord / 978-369-6975 / $ Originally owned by Bronson Alcott, he fell on hard times and sold the home to Nathaniel Hawthorne who lived their until his death. Hawthorne added to the then 150 year old house, it later became the home of Harriet Lothrop, a childrens author who wrote under the name of Margaret Sydney. Lexington, Massachusetts - Located only twenty miles northwest of downtown Boston Lexington was the final destination of Paul Revere during his famous ride, he roused patriots Sam Adams and John Hancock at the Hancock-Clark House on what was to become the Battle Green. Battle Green - The Lexington village common at the time of the Revolution. Advancing British Regulars fired on sixty to eighty assembled armed Patriots warned by Revere, the site is marked by The Minuteman statue. Buckman Tavern - Battle Green / Lexington / $ - Lexington Historical Society Facing the Battle Green, this original building is where the patriots met to respond to the British Redcoat threat. Open to visitors from April (Patriot’s Day) to Halloween. Hancock - Clark House - 36 Hancock Street / Lexington / $ - Lexington Historical Society The period home is open to the public and is located only a block from the Buckman Tavern. Sam Adams and John Hancock were aroused from their sleep by Paul Revere and William Dawes, warning them of the British arrival of troops. Lexington Historical Society - Tickets for House admissions and events information call / 781-862-1703 National Heritage Museum - 33 Marrett Road / Lexington / 781-861-6559 / Free (except for certain special events) The museum features exhibits on the American Revolution, and a broad range of American cultural landmarks and artifacts from Native American crafts to the Shakers and 50s style diners to the Vietnam War. Munroe Tavern -1332 Massachusetts Avenue / Lexington / $ - Lexington Historical Society The British troops took care of their wounded in this location, while Lord Percy fended off the local Militia with artillery fire. Lowell, Massachusetts - Located 45 minutes north of Boston’s city center, the city has a national park devoted to the rich history of Lowell’s 19th century industrial complex. Other points of interest include the Whistler House Museum of Art, the Brush Art Gallery, New England Quilt Museum and the Brott Cotton Mills Museum. Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center - 246 Market Street / Lowell / 978-970-5000 / Free Begin at the visitor center to learn the history of Lowell and get an overview of America’s early textile industries. American Textile History Museum - 491 Dutton Street / Lowell / 978-441-0400 / $ Machines, textiles and the tools that made up the industry in America from the home spinning wheel to the industrial revolution is explored. Reserve Early...while your preferred accommodations are still available.