Boston - Part I

We took the Amtrak from NYC to Boston, only to be greeted by rain. So, what do you do on a rainy day? Visit a museum! And that is just what we did.

Archimedean Excogitation
An Audiokinetic Sculpture by George Rhoads

Boston's Science Museum was featuring a Harry Potter Exhibit with hundreds of props and costumes, and so we went. We saw Hermione, Ron, and Harry's robes from the first few films - and it was great to see how they've grown up. They were oh-so tiny back in 2001! We saw Dolores Umbridge's pink suit and every one of her "Educational Decrees." We walked through Haggrid's Hut and the Gryffindor Common room.

The museum featured hundreds of other exhibits, too. Honestly, we were right along with the little kids pushing buttons and being amazed. And the lightning show was incredible!



Thankfully, the rain ceased, and we were able to spend a day walking The Freedom Trail.

The Cradle of Liberty... the birthplace of American Independence... Paul Revere's home and the Old North Church where his lanterns were hung: the very places where our nation began. Here were the gathering places of the patriots, the incubators of revolution... the buildings where American resistance to the British Crown was born, grew, and flourished... until, eventually, the only alternative was war and independence.

- Charles Bahne, The Complete Guide to Boston's Freedom Trail

STOP ONE: Boston Common "America's Oldest Public Park"
The grounds once served as a pasture for Boston's first white settler - William Blackstone. He arrived in Boston in 1622 (before the Puritans in 1630), and lived on this land as a hermit with "his library of 200 books."

Side note: Boston was originally named Shawmut, an Indian name meaning "living waters," but the Puritans renamed it Boston, after their hometown in England.

In 1634, Blackstone moved and the land became "Common Land." It served a variety of purposes for years - from training ground for militia, feeding ground for cattle, and the town gallows. The first British troops marched from here to the battle of Lexington and Concord. And Reverend Martin Luther King and Pope John Paul II both spoke on these grounds.



STOP TWO: The Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial
Many Massachusetts' blacks wanted to fight to free their enslaved brothers during the Civil War, but blacks were not allowed to enlist in the U.S. Army. Governor John Andrew convinced the U.S. Army to allow blacks to serve. It was granted that blacks could enlist, but not as officers.


Robert Gould Shaw served as the white Colonel and lead the 54th Massachusetts Regiment to Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina. Unfortunately, Shaw and 32 of his men were killed and buried in a mass grave at the fort.

This is "a memorial to interracial cooperation and individual heroism." It was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and took 14 years to complete.


STOP THREE: Massachusetts State House
Note: This is Massachusetts second state house - you'll read about the first one in a bit.

The State House was built on John Hancock's old cow pasture. Of course you'll recognize that name as the first signature - and largest - on the Declaration of Independence. Hancock also served as the first elected governor of Massachusetts.


The State House was designed by Charles Bulfinch (Who also designed Connecticut and Maine's state capitols, and worked on the U.S. Capitol in D.C.). The cornerstone was laid July 4, 1795 by Governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. It was completed in 1798.

The dome was originally covered in wooden shingles, which leaked. It was covered in copper in 1802, then painted gray, and finally gilded after the Civil War.

The big double doors at the capitol entrance are only opened for 3 occasions:

1. when a governor leaves the State House for the last time at the end of his term of office,
   
2. when a Massachusetts regimental flag is returned to the permanent collection,
   
3. for official visits from the President of the U.S., or a foreign head of state. (Note: The last official presidential visit was made by William Howard Taft in 1912.)

Some Highlights from the State House:

THE GREAT HALL - a 1990 addition to the State House, it is used for official state functions and receptions. There are 351 flags on display in the room that represent each city and town in Massachusetts.

The Great Hall, Massachusetts State House

THE MAIN STAIRCASE - after the iron on the main staircase was cast, the molds were broken to ensure that the railings would be one of a kind.

SENATE CHAMBER - an original section of the State House. Another side note: There is a wooden cod fish hanging above the House of Representatives chamber. It was originally given to the House in 1784 by merchant John Rowe. It symbolizes the importance of the fishing industry to Massachusetts' economy. It is considered a good luck charm and must always hang above the House Chamber for the session to be held.

Senate Chamber, Massachusetts State House

Mosaic Tile Floor, Massachusetts State House

STOP FOUR: Park Street Church and the Granary Burying Grounds
Park Street Church was built in 1809, and was a site of firsts.

• Home of America's first Sunday School (1817)
• The first missionaries sent to Hawaii (1819)
• The first prison aid society (1824)
• The hymn "America" (the song "My country tis of thee...") was sung publicly here in 1831

The Granary Burying Grounds are named for the old grain warehouse that stood here. It is the 3rd oldest burying ground in Boston (established 1660), and "More famous people are buried here than any other small graveyard in America."


Let's see if you recognize any names...

3 signers of the Declaration of Independence

• Samuel Adams
• John Hancock
• Robert Treat Paine

9 governors of Massachusetts

• Richard Bellingham
• William Dummer
• John Hancock
• Thomas Cushing
• James Bowdoin
• Samuel Adams
• Increase Sumner
• James Sullivan
• Christopher Gore

Others include victims of the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770), Benjamin Franklin's parents, Paul Revere, and there is even a suspected Mother Goose, Elizabeth Goose, but historians admit that she is not the original one.

We learned that the headstones have been rearranged several times over the years, so it is unlikely that the headstones match the bodies buried beneath them.

We were most drawn to the carvings on gravestones and discovered that wooden grave markers were the least expensive, but they quickly deteriorated. In the early 17th century, markers were stone, but only displayed initials and dates.

Some common carvings we saw in Granary Burying Grounds:

Death's Head - a skull with wings or crossed bones. This carving might have included an hour glass, or a winged hour glass, symbolizing "time flies." It was not a religious symbol.

Winged Cherub or a soul effigy shows a "fleshy face, life-like eyes, and an upwards-turned mouth." Cherubs started appearing in the late 17th century and are more common in the 18th century.

Winged Cherub Gravestones

Willow and Urn symbols - seen most often after the American Revolution. The urn was an imperial Roman device used to contain ashes. We didn't see many of these here.

So, how much did it cost to bury someone at the Granary Burying Ground in 1732?
(Note: these are the actual spellings and descriptions)

• For white man or woman = 10 shillings
• For persons 6 to 12 years of age = 7 shillings
• For children caryed by hand = 6 shillings
• For negro man or woman = 7 shillings & 6 pence
• Ditto from 6 to 12 years of age = 6 shillings
• For children = 4 shillings
• For opening the new or wall Toombes = 14 shillings
• For opening an old Tomb = 16 shillings

Samuel Adams Tombstone

STOP FIVE: The King's Chapel
This is an interesting story...
Remember that the Puritans were escaping the Church of England (also called the Anglican Church), but King James II had ordered an Anglican Church to be built in Boston. Since no Puritan would sell land for an Anglican Church, Governor Edmund Andros claimed a corner of the burying ground (today known as the King's Chapel burying ground) and said that the dead would never complain.

This was the first Anglican church in New England, and the first chapel was built of wood, then covered with granite. When the granite installation was complete, the interior wooden structure was removed.

What is interesting about this building is that the architect, Peter Harrison, never stepped foot in Boston.



STOP SIX: The First Public School
Learning to read was most important for the Puritans, and this mosaic commemorates the original site of Boston Latin School established in 1635, built in 1645.

The school was free and all children were welcome, however, few poor students were able to attend because the students were responsible for paying for firewood. Plus, the children were needed for chores and earning a living.

Benjamin Franklin (a dropout), John Hancock, and Samuel Adams all studied at this school.



STOP SEVEN: The Old Corner Book Store
Built in 1712, this is one of Boston's oldest surviving structures, but it is best known as publisher for some of America's most famous authors.

• Walden - Henry David Thoreau
• The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Hiawatha - Henry Longfellow
• Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
• and poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

STOP EIGHT: Old South Meeting-House
The original building was built in 1670, and the current building was constructed in 1730. It served as a Puritan church and meeting house. This is where Samuel Adams signaled to local men to head to Griffin's Wharf to begin the Boston Tea Party.

The Old South Meeting-House was scheduled for demolition, but it was saved - Yippee! It is one of the very first buildings in America to be preserved for its historical significance.


Just down the street is a modern office building with a bust of Benjamin Franklin in the middle. It is surrounded by decorative moldings with the words "Birthplace of Franklin" carved below. Yes, Benjamin Franklin was born on this site on January 6, 1706, but the original cottage burned in 1810.



STOP NINE: The Old State House (I promised you'd see it again!)
Built in 1713, this is "The oldest public building still standing in the eastern United States." It was originally the center of British authority, but it also became a center of opposition to British rule. After the American Revolution, the new state house was built on Beacon Hill, and this building was rented as stores and offices. The city proposed tearing it down to widen the street, but a group of Chicagoans (Yes, Chicago!) said "Don't do that, we'll move it brick by brick to the shores of Lake Michigan, for all America to revere." This, of course, offended the people of Boston - and so the old state house remains and serves as a museum.



STOP TEN: Faneuil Hall "The Cradle of Liberty"
Peter Faneuil was one of Boston's wealthiest merchants. He wanted to build a central food market, but the locals didn't like the idea. Eventually, he got his wish, and the hall was built.

This structure served as a marketplace and meeting hall since its completion in 1742. It was the first town hall in Boston, and before the American Revolution, the 2nd floor was used as a meeting place for Bostonians to voice their frustrations with British policies. It is still used as a forum for debate on today's issues.


What's with the grasshopper?
It was constructed by Deacon Shem Drowne in 1742, possibly inspired by similarly designed weathervanes on the Royal Exchange building in London. This weathervane is the only original, totally unmodified section of the hall.

And we'll end with the photo above of a gentleman carving wooden columns.
Just in case you can't see the writing, it says:

"Intelligent Questions Gladly Answered! Stupid Questions $5.oo"