Touring In and Around Boston

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

This museum is actually Isabella Stewart Gardner's home. She was a collector of art in many forms, such as paintings, stain glass, carvings, dishes, rugs, furniture, tapestries and rare books that she acquired during her extensive travels all over the world. In 1990 thirteen of the pieces valued at over half a billion dollars were stolen and never recovered. There is a Netflix documentary that covers this horrible crime. Some of the pieces stolen were a number of Rembrandts, Degas and Vermeer. The empty frames have been left on the wall and await their recovery.

The home (Palace) itself was a piece of art.

A covered atrium filled the center portion of the home.

Ceiling Fresco

Stained Glass

Minute Man National Historic Park

The Park is located along Battle Road, which runs between the towns of Lexington and Concord.  The colonists were stockpiling weapons and supplies in a barn in the town of Concord. The British Army marched from Boston Harbor to capture and destroy the supplies. The Park commemorates the opening battles of America's War for independence. April 19, 1775, along this road colonialists fought the British Army for the right to self-govern.

Lexington Visitor Center and Museum

North Bridge Visitor Center in Concord

This is the overlook for the North Bridge, where "The Shot Heard Round The World" was fired.

Minute Man Statue on one side of the bridge.

North Bridge and Obelisk Monument in foreground on the other side of the bridge.

Captain Smith's Home along the road of the retreating British.

This is the Orchard House, childhood home of Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women.

Lowell National Historic Park

This National Historic Park commemorates the city of Lowell's pioneering role in the American Industrial Revolution. This early 1800's planned industrial city was designed to produce cotton on a large scale. Bales of raw cotton were brought to the ten textile mills, carded, threaded, spun, and woven into textiles on 10,000 looms. Large canals around the city were used to power these looms, but later the mills were converted to diesel power. 

The Boott Cotton Mill, is preserved as a National Historic Park.

This 1910 weave room contains 88 working historic looms.

The looms were running and producing cotton cloth. The blurred image in the picture was the shuttlecock traveling across the weave. We had to wear ear plugs because it was very noisy.

Lowell was prospering even beyond the imagining of its founders, but by the 1950's most of the mills had shut down and Lowell declined. In 1972 this mill and some neighboring buildings became part of the National Park Service. Looms were repaired and put back into mechanical order to serve as a working historical site.
 

Downtown Boston and The Freedom Trail

With the Border to Canada still closed and our time in the area running down, we decided to take a long weekend to Boston. Boston is about 260 miles southwest of Ellsworth. We made reservations for four nights at a Marriott Courtyard about 30 miles north of the downtown area. We knew we didn't want to drive and park in the downtown area. Our hotel was about 18 miles from a subway station in Riverside. Boston's rapid transportation system is the Nation's oldest, known everywhere as the "T". We bought a seven day LinkPass, which cost a couple dollars less than paying for two days unlimited travel on the subway, buses and light rail trains. This paid for itself, since we went downtown on three different days and the cost to park downtown could be as much as $35.00 a day. 

Green Line Subway Train

 

Public Garden

After checking into the hotel, we started our tour by purchasing our "T" tickets and riding the subway to the Arlington Station, downtown to the Public Garden. It was a beautiful Saturday and the gardens were filled with families enjoying the beauty and weather. This park, opened in 1837, is the oldest public botanical garden in the country.

George Washington Statue

Warships, Dry Docks, Ropewalk, and More

The next day we took the "T" to the Government Center stop to catch the #93 Bus to the Charleston Navy Yard, which is part of the Boston National Historical Park and the Freedom Trail. While at the Historic Navy Yard we toured the USS Constitution and the USS Cassin Young.

The USS Constitution, launched in 1797, is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. US Sailors are still assigned to the ship. It was constructed of seasoned live and white oak, yellow and white pine timbers and copper sheathing made by Paul Revere. 

She was called "Old Ironsides" when cannon balls from British ships seemed to bounce off her hull.

The ship tour was self-guided.

Four miles of rigging which was spun in the 1/4 mile Rope Walk Building.

She is a 44-gun frigate.

We had access to three of the decks below.

It took over 400 sailors to man this warship.

The USS Cassin Young is a Fletcher-class destroyer. 

The USS Cassin Young served in the Pacific Theather in WWII.

The Cassin had five 5 inch gun mounts.

Bunker Hill Monument off in the distance.

Quad 40mm Anti-Aircraft Guns

The USS Cassin Young was decommissioned in 1960.

Boston Harbor

One of the Navy's first Dry Docks was completed in 1833 and was first used by the USS Constitution.

Bunker Hill Monument

The 221 foot granite obelisk on Breed's Hill marks the site of one of the American Revolution's first major conflicts, The Battle of Bunker Hill.

The 294 stair climb to the top was closed due to Covid-19.

Bunker Hill National Historic Park Visitor Center

Paul Revere's Ride

Paul Revere's statue is in the square adjacent to the Old North Church where two lanterns were lit to signal to Paul Revere that the British were marching toward Concord. 

He then rode toward Lexington and Concord making that announcement.

The North Church is Boston's oldest church building, built in 1723.

This is where the warning lanterns were placed.

Paul Revere lived here between 1770 and 1800. 

One of many burying grounds along the Freedom Trail.

Paul Revere's final rest.

Boston North End - Little Italy

The Historic North End is Boston's oldest residential Neighborhood. 

We found a wonderful restaurant in the North End called Massiminos Cucina Italiana. The restaurants in Little Italy offered outdoor dining, but we chose a little table inside.

We happened to be in Little Italy during Sant'Agrippina di Mineo day, August 1. We waited while the procession marched past. She is the patron saint of thunderstorms, leprosy and evil spirits. 

State House and Boston Common

The Boston Common was established in 1634, making it the oldest public park in the Nation.

The Corner Stone of the Massachusetts State House was laid by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere in 1795.

Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Monument is across the street from the State House. It was sculpted by Augustus-St. Gaudens, whose house and studio we visited last month in New Hampshire.

Old City Hall

Boston's Old City Hall was home to its city council from 1865 to 1969. Is is now home to offices and Ruth Chris Steak House.

Old South Meeting House

Built in 1729, it was the largest building in colonial Boston. This is the site from which the Boston Tea Party was launched.

Old State House

Built in 1713, this was the seat of colonial and state governments. The Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians on July 18, 1776, from this balcony.

New buildings now reflect the old.