06/18/17 - Day 76 - Boston, MA - Freedom Trail
Sunday was a sunny, warm day, perfect for checking out the Boston Freedom Trail, a 2.5mi path through downtown that passes several historically significant locations: Boston Commons (park), the Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, Granary Burial Ground, King's Chapel and Burying Ground, Benjamin Franklin, Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, Old State House, the Site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Copp's Hill Burying Ground, USS Constitution, and the Bunker Hill Monument.
State House - originally completed in 1798, it's been expanded several time since then and serves as the seat of the state's governing bodies. The dome is copper, gilded with gold leaf.
Granary Burial Ground - established in 1660, the site currently has about 2,300 markers but up to 5,000 people are buried there including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and the victims of the Boston Massacre.
Kings Chapel - founded in 1686 as the first Anglican church in New England. The first building was wood, replaced by the current stone structure in 1754.
Old South Meeting House - built in 1729 and was originally a meeting place for Puritans to worship. After the 1770 Boston Massacre, annual meetings were held on the anniversary to discuss issues with British Rule. The Boston Tea party immediately followed a meeting on taxation in 1773. The House was almost demolished in 1876 but was saved by local activists and converted to a museum in 1877 and continues to do so today.
Faneuil Hall
Paul Revere's House
USS Constitution - Currently the worlds oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat (though it was dry docked when I visited). It was launched in 1797 along with five other frigates built to deter Barbary piracy plaguing American merchant fleets in the Mediterranean Sea near northwestern Africa. The Constitution gained it's nickname "old ironsides" during the war of 1812 in a battle against the English ship Guerriere in which British cannon fire failed to pierce it's hull.
Originally intended to serve 10-15 years, the ship escaped several attempts at scrapping, beginning with an 1830 public campaign to save the ship. It continued to function in non-combat roles until retiring from active in 1881. It's still overseen by the US Navy and has a crew of six officers and 46 enlisted men. During my visit the seamen and women gave tours and dramatic story tellings of navel engagements involving the vessel. The public is allowed (after passing through airport style screening) to walk the decks and interior of the ship.
The Charleston Naval Yard also hosts WW2 destroyer, the USS Cassin Young, and at the time I visited, the USCGC Eagle which participated in the Tall Ships Parade.
Finally, I made it back to the Bunker Hill Memorial. The weather was much nicer than my first visit. That said, I didn't climb the tower again.
State House - originally completed in 1798, it's been expanded several time since then and serves as the seat of the state's governing bodies. The dome is copper, gilded with gold leaf.
Granary Burial Ground - established in 1660, the site currently has about 2,300 markers but up to 5,000 people are buried there including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and the victims of the Boston Massacre.
Kings Chapel - founded in 1686 as the first Anglican church in New England. The first building was wood, replaced by the current stone structure in 1754.
Old South Meeting House - built in 1729 and was originally a meeting place for Puritans to worship. After the 1770 Boston Massacre, annual meetings were held on the anniversary to discuss issues with British Rule. The Boston Tea party immediately followed a meeting on taxation in 1773. The House was almost demolished in 1876 but was saved by local activists and converted to a museum in 1877 and continues to do so today.
Faneuil Hall
Paul Revere's House
USS Constitution - Currently the worlds oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat (though it was dry docked when I visited). It was launched in 1797 along with five other frigates built to deter Barbary piracy plaguing American merchant fleets in the Mediterranean Sea near northwestern Africa. The Constitution gained it's nickname "old ironsides" during the war of 1812 in a battle against the English ship Guerriere in which British cannon fire failed to pierce it's hull.
Originally intended to serve 10-15 years, the ship escaped several attempts at scrapping, beginning with an 1830 public campaign to save the ship. It continued to function in non-combat roles until retiring from active in 1881. It's still overseen by the US Navy and has a crew of six officers and 46 enlisted men. During my visit the seamen and women gave tours and dramatic story tellings of navel engagements involving the vessel. The public is allowed (after passing through airport style screening) to walk the decks and interior of the ship.
The Charleston Naval Yard also hosts WW2 destroyer, the USS Cassin Young, and at the time I visited, the USCGC Eagle which participated in the Tall Ships Parade.
Finally, I made it back to the Bunker Hill Memorial. The weather was much nicer than my first visit. That said, I didn't climb the tower again.
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