History Lover

Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest settlements in the country. And no other city has preserved its past as well as Boston. There's 18th-century churches, redbrick meeting houses, and even the nation's oldest continuously-operated watering hole, the Bell in Hand.

You know the stories, from the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere to the “Shot heard 'round the world”. They're still alive here - a walk along the Boston's Freedom Trail tells all the tales. And the city's many historic museums detail every significant period in the country's history, as well as the history of the world.

If you're a History Lover visiting Boston, start your journey to the past here Walking the Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage Trail allows you to really get a sense of the struggles of this country and that of the Abolitionist Movement. The Irish Heritage Trail is a self-guided tour to landmarks of Irish-American artists and heroes from the 1700s to the present here in Massachusetts. The Norman B. Leventhal Walk to the Sea is the latest addition to the free and accessible walking history of Boston. The Walk to the Sea encompasses four centuries of Boston history.

Be sure to stop at Louisburg Square and remember to pronounce the “s”- Bostonians do not say “Louie-burg.” The small fenced park, a symbol of exclusivity, is the last private square in the city of Boston.

Duck into the Omni Parker House Hotel, America’s longest continuously operating hotel. The legendary Saturday Club (Emerson, Thoreau, Longfellow and Hawthorne) held their meetings here as did many local and national politicians. Boston Cream Pie and the Parker House roll were concocted here and at one time  the hotel’s kitchen and dining room employed Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm Little (Malcolm X).

Spend a few moments at the Holocaust Memorial, six glass towers representing the 6 major Nazi death camps. The numbers one to six million (one for each victim) and survivor stories are etched in the panels.

Cross Union Street and order up a cup or bowl of clam chowder at the Union Oyster House-Boston’s oldest restaurant where legend has it that Daniel Webster would consume a half dozen oysters and a tumbler of brandy and water – usually six times per seating. If you can’t go inside- at least look through the window and watch the oyster-shucking at the bar.

You might want to have a chat with one of two bronze statutes of  Mayor Curley who served four terms as Mayor - one from a federal penitentiary. Edwin O’Connor’s Frank Skeffington of The Last Hurrah is based on James Michael Curley.        

Look for the Boston Stone at the corner of Marshall and Salt Lane. In the 1700s this was the zero point from which all distances were measured.

Visiting on a Friday or Saturday? You’re in a for a real treat. While Farmer’s Markets are all the rage today- Boston also has The Haymarket – an open air market from the 1830s, with dozens of pushcart vendors selling vegetables, fruit and fish just off the boat. Meats,cheeses and other products are also available from longtime purveyors. The prices are cheap, the voices are loud, and the vendors can border on being rude - it's always an adventure!

An admirer of  Rose Kennedy? Take a look at 4 Garden Court (North Square, near the Paul Revere House). Rose was born here and later moved to 8 Unity Street (between Hanover and Salem Streets) in the North End. While strolling the North End, stop in any café, ristorante or enoteca for a quick snack or a full meal.Real history buffs will emulate Paul Revere’s ride (sans horseback) out to Lexingtonand Concord. Stop in at Buckman Tavern where the minutemen were waiting that fateful day and at the nearby Hancock-Clarke House where John Hancock and Samuel Adams slept on that same historical day. Monroe Tavern, used by the British as a field hospital after the Battle is filled with fascinating artifacts. Continuing on to Concord, stop in the Concord Museum, and also be sure to pay a visit to the homes of Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. And you will want to pay your respects to Walden Pond’s Henry David Thoreau - whether you consider him a very early hippie or the first environmentalist. A little farther west you will encounter Old Sturbridge Village, a historically accurate re-creation of a 1830s rural New England village where early nineteenth-century life is faithfully reproduced and re-enacted by guides dressed in period costumes.

Just south of the city Plimoth Plantation beckons and brings history to life. Visitors can journey to the Wampanog Homesite where Native people thrived for over 12,000 years and where the 102 English colonists, “Pilgrims” landed in 1620.  No visit is complete until you climb onboard and go ‘tween decks of the full-scale replica of the Mayflower II.