Day 2 - August 31, 2001 Last updated: 8/31/01 10:00pm EDT
Today was a walking day. We did the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail (one way) past many historical sites spanning over three centuries of American history. Somehow we managed to walk 7.1 miles today. Maybe my cheapo pedometer isn’t too accurate. Here are the highlights. We saw more than this, but you need to come to Boston to absorb the history for yourselves.
The day started at the Boston Common, where the trail begins. The trail is marked by either red bricks, or a red painted stripe on the sidewalk. We stopped at the Granary Burying Ground again to snap some pictures. Here’s the sign on the gate.
Here’s Paul Revere’s gravestone. His is obviously a lot fancier than others. Yesterday I said there were a lot of old dead people buried here. I think I should have said a lot of young dead people. Here’s a typical gravestone. This woman died in 1721 at age 26. Not too many people made it past 40 on the gravestones we could read.
Here is the Old State House. This picture gives you an idea of the really old buildings mixed in with the new ones. This building has a great deal of history. Built in 1713, this was originally the headquarters of the British government in Boston. In front of this building is where the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770. Only 5 men were killed, I always imagined more. See that traffic island in the middle of the street? That’s where the massacre took place. Inside the Old State House are paintings of the building from that era, which show there wasn’t always so much traffic around here. On the balcony in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read to the citizens of Boston. I stood just inside that balcony, probably stood on the same square inches that someone historical did 225 years ago. (I have no idea who read the Declaration publicly). Over the years the building served many purposes. In the 1800’s it served as a store front for merchants and was going to be torn down, but in 1882 the people of Boston decided to restore it to its original state, except for one thing. There is a subway station below the building now.
Denise and I had lunch at Ye Olde Union Oyster House, opened in 1826, the oldest operating restaurant in America. Had the Fish & Chips, not bad, kinda pricey being right on the Freedom Trail. No, didn’t have the oysters. I’ve had oysters before. Oysters are nasty. Here’s Denise studying our next move.
On the other side of I-93 (where the Big Dig is messing up traffic big time – Boston is putting the expressway underground) is the North End. Here is Paul Revere’s house. It was built in 1680 and based on the lack of a straight angle on any walls or door frames inside the house, it’s a miracle this building is still standing. This is the oldest surviving structure in Boston. Revere lived here from 1770 until 1800. Here I am standing in front. Yeah, that’s me under the hat. Hard to tell, but I wanted a picture of the building, not me.
The Old North Church was built in 1723. On April 18th, 1775, this church displayed the two lanterns to warn Paul Revere and others of the British troop movements. So here’s one of many things that I learned, the Revolutionary War began BEFORE the Declaration of Independence was written. Not sure I picked up on that in history class when I was 10. I zoomed in on the steeple, and it sure looks to me like two lanterns are hanging there.
Here’s the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides. Launched from Boston in 1797, this is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world today. This ship got the nickname Old Ironsides because cannonballs bounced off the oak sides of the boat (not iron) during the War of 1812. Although this ship is still officially an active military ship, it doesn’t see much action.
Bunker Hill is famous for the phrase “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”. In 1775, this battle against the British Army was the first formal battle of the American Revolution. This obelisk, dedicated in 1843, is 221 feet high and built out of granite. You can climb to the top, but it was hot and humid today, so we passed. The interesting fact here is that this monument to the battle of Bunker Hill, is built on Breed’s Hill. The battle happened on Breed’s Hill. And we lost. Technically, the British won this battle. They took the hill. But the Americans suffered less casualties. This gave the Americans hope. That’s Denise in front of the monument, not sure why there’s a statue of Zorro 🙂
This hike took most of the day, about 7 hours including a stop for lunch. We took our time and went in to as many of the buildings as possible. On our way back from Bunker Hill, we passed back through the North End, an Italian neighborhood. We decided to head up a couple of side streets to get off the Trail and find a place to eat. Dinner was at La Famiglia Giorgios, on Salem St. Denise had the cheese ravioli with meat sauce and I had linguini with calabrese sauce (or is it linguini calabrese?). We both ordered the small servings and we were glad we did. The portions were huge. The taste, fantastic. The price was good too.