We began with the old State House built in 1713. This building served as a meeting house. Long ago, the Declaration of Independence was read to Bostonians from the balcony of this building. It now appears as a tiny building in the midst of several sky scrapers:
Next was Faneuil Hall which was an old marketplace. It still serves as a marketplace today:
We then wound around through the narrow streets of what is now and has been for a while the Italian District in north Boston.
I believe this was once a primary residential area of colonial Boston since roughly 85% of modern Boston was created by landfill. We ate lunch in an Italian restaurant with a view of Paul Revere's house just out the window.
Paul Revere's house (not sure why a truck was allowed to park on the street out front)
Not far from Paul Revere's house was the old North Church where lanterns were hung in the steeple to note if the British were coming by land or by sea. This is the church referred to when Paul Revere made his famous ride before the battle of Lexington (a town just a few miles west of Boston - the place where the Revolutionary War began as British soldiers fired upon colonial militia).
a statue of Paul Revere in a courtyard behind the church across the street
The old North Church was built in 1723 and still has church services today. It's interesting how families had their own "boxes" within the church . . . not sure I like that idea. The kids found a pew where Theodore Roosevelt - practically a modern day president by comparison to the early days - once sat. They slid across the seats so that they could say they sat where he once sat.
From the old North Church, we ventured up a hill and over a bridge to the old Charlestown section of town. This is where the U.S Constitution battleship (circa 1796) is docked. It was used in the war of 1812 where it earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" because cannonballs simply deflected off of its sides. It has been maintained in remarkable condition for such an old ship.
Up the hill from this shipyard is the Bunker Hill memorial on Breed's Hill.
This hill marks the legendary battle of Bunker Hill where the first planned battle of the war took place. Lexington had been somewhat of a skirmish since British and colonial troops happened upon each other. In Lexington, the colonials had resolved themselves not to fire unless fired upon so that they would not be the instigators of war. The colonials were in fact fired upon which began the war.
Bunker Hill marked the first real engagement with the colonial army occupying the hill and the British army determined to dislodge them. The British did in fact take the hill after three attempts but suffered almost 3 times more casualties. The colonials had limited ammunition but fought valiantly before retreating. While the British could boast of victory, it proved that the colonials were to be taken seriously and likely galvanized their resolve to fight on. Troops from many other states began showing up in Boston very soon thereafter including George Washington from Virginia.
We had already walked quite a long way to get to the top of this hill, but just as a mountain climber must climb a mountain because it is there, we were determined to walk up the 294 steps of the memorial. I also bribed them with the promise of a future souvenir, so Francey walked all 294 steps herself - huzzah! We were rewarded with a great view of Boston and a family picture at the top.
Afterward, we walked back down to the shipyard and found ourselves confronting a little revolution of our own. The kids were tired and didn't seem to be appreciating history quite as much as Donna and I were. We took the trolley back toward our hotel. We had a little R&R followed by dinner at the mall. The kids closed out the night by hitting the pool. All three girls have been sleeping in a full size bed for three nights running which has caused a little infighting at bedtime . . . but not tonight. They're exhausted!
We leave tomorrow for Bar Harbor, Maine but plan to see a little of Cambridge across the Charles River before we leave town.
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