Aloha to New England - Freedom Trail, Bostom Common, and Cheers!

The Freedom Trail took us to Boston's Old City Hall on School Street.  Above is the Boston son Benjamin Franklin.

Boston politics is dominated by the Democratic Party.  From its website (link),

In 1828, Andrew Jackson established the Democratic party and ran for president using the populist slogan, "Let the people rule", his opponents thought him silly and labeled him a "jackass". Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. Over the years this donkey has become the accepted symbol of the Democratic party.

Placed in front of the Democrat Donkey is the Republican footprints that "stand in opposition".  

Across the street is an architechural landmark that reminds me of a far away place.  Can you guess?

Continuing along the Freedom Trail, we visited the Granary Burying Ground.  From its website (link),

Established in 1660, some of America's most notable citizens rest here. Named for the 12,000-bushel grain storage building that was once next door, the historic cemetery has 2,300 markers. However, there is a discrepancy between the number of headstones and the number of people buried in the Granary - it is estimated there are over 5,000 Bostonians who have made the Granary their final resting place. 

The cemetery is the final resting place of Samuel Adams ...

... and Paul Revere.  

Again from the cemetery's website,

At one time the Granary was part of Boston Common, and the livestock that grazed the Common handled landscaping at the burial ground as well. During the Victorian era, the headstones were reorganized into neat rows to make way for a modern innovation of the time, the lawn mower.

Boston Common is now home of the Massachusetts State House.

Following along Tremont, we find a place where they know our name ...

... the Bull and Finch Pub, inspiration of Cheers.

We enjoyed a drink with the gang.

We walked back to the T station through the Public Garden.

Do you have a favorite garden?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, September 27, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 28.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Make Way for the Ducklings by Robert McCloskey.

Aloha to New England - Freedom Trail, Quincy Market, and Old South Meeting House

Following the Freedom Trail, we emerged from the North End into a green space that I did not recognize.   The area opened up when the "Big Dig" moved I-93 underground and the overhead expressway was removed.  We spotted another costumed tour guide enjoying the sunshine.

For lunch, we stopped by the Bell in Hand Tavern.  From its website (link),

There aren’t many historical sites where you can get a great meal and a cold beer. You’re in one of them. The Tavern has been around since 1795. A gathering place for printers and politicians, sailors and students, it quickly became the most famous alehouse in the city. What was it about the Bell that made it so popular?

Fish 'n chips 

Maybe it was Jimmy Wilson, the first owner. Everybody in Boston knew Jimmy. Not that they had much choice. You see, Jimmy was Boston’s town crier for fifty years. Good news or bad, Bostonians heard it all from Jimmy. He reported on everything from the Boston Tea Party to the birth of the nation. When he retired, he decided to open a tavern. He was proud of his former occupation and that’s why he called the place the Bell-in-Hand.

Fortified again for the Freedom Trail, we walked over to Quincy Market with the statue of Samuel Adams.

The Boston Fire Department asked us to "fill the boot" for MDA.

No sooner did we wind our way around downtown Boston ...

... that we spotted the fire truck in action across from the Old South Meeting House.

From its website (link),

One of the nation’s most important colonial sites, Old South Meeting House still stands in the heart of bustling downtown Boston today, open to the public daily as a historic site and museum. Old South Meeting House was a favorite stage in Boston’s drama of revolution, the place where colonists gathered time after time to challenge British rule in the years leading to the American Revolution. Old South Meeting House is the place where, meeting by meeting, vote by vote, a revolution began.

The Old South Meeting House sparked the Boston Tea Party.   What's your favorite tea?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash. Comments are open through Saturday, September 27, 10 pm in Baltimore.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

 

Aloha to New England - Freedom Trail, North End, Christ Church, and the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

The Freedom Trail took us to Boston's Historic North End.  From its website (link),

Boston and its North End offer a veritable surfeit of historical sites and stories: from the days of the American Revolution through the China trade period of the early 1800s, to the extraordinary tsunami of Irish, Portuguese, Jewish and Italian immigrants who flooded Boston over the last century-and-a-half. Each epoch has left an indelible impact on commerce, customs, religious traditions, politics and institutions – in sum – upon the very city and neighborhoods that we know today.

I spotted a costumed tour guide waiting for his group to finish shopping for souvenirs ...

... across from the Old North Church.  From its website (link),

Founded in 1722, Christ Church in the City of Boston, known to all as the Old North Church, is Boston’s oldest surviving church building and most visited historical site. In 1775, on the eve of Revolution, the majority of the congregation were loyal to the British King and many held official positions in the royal government, including the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, making Robert Newman’s loyalty to the Patriot cause even more extraordinary. The King gave the Old North’s its silver that was used at services and a bible.

The enduring fame of the Old North began on the evening of April 18, 1775, when the church sexton, Robert Newman, and Vestryman Capt. John Pulling, Jr. climbed the steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea across the Charles River and not by land. This fateful event ignited the American Revolution.

Upon entering the church, I was taken back by the "pew boxes".  The guide explained the Old North Church was a closed congregation - parishioners purchased the pew boxes to join the church.    The boxes could hold an entire family.

The boxes are labeled with the original owner and year of purchase.  The guide noted that most historic churches in both England and US removed the boxes for longer pews.

Behind the church is the Memorial Garden ...

... the dog tags were heartbreaking.

Do you remember  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.   Comments are open through Saturday, September 27, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 28, on SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

A tee shirt from the North End