The Freedom Trail

I'd been wanting to walk the Freedom Trail for a while, so I was relieved that the weather finally cleared for my last few days on the east coast. (it had been overcast and often raining for most of my trip) I would've walked it anyway, given that I had sturdy shoes and a poncho, but I'd have had a pretty miserable time of it, and taking pictures would've been a pain.

There are a couple of reasons why I've just these few pictures. First, most of what one sees on the Trail are buildings that are notable more for their historic value than for their architecture, and I'm not a big building fan, anyway. Also, if one is, like me, both a night owl and a daydreamer, one tends to get a late start on things. Since I wanted to spend a fair amount of time photographing stuff on board the U.S.S. Constitution, and I was meeting a group of Boston sysadmins for dinner at 19:00 on the other side of town, I was in a bit of a hurry.

The city of Boston provides a nice little tour of the Freedom Trail on its website.

Boston Common "In or about the year of our Lord One thousand six hundred thirty and four the then present inhabitants of the Town of Boston of whom the Hon. John Winthrop Esq. Gov. of the Colony was chiefe did treate and agree with Mr. William Blackstone for the purchase of his Estate and rights in any Lands lying within said neck of Land called Boston, after which purchase the Town laid out a plan for a trayning field which ever since and now is used for that purpose and for the feeding of cattell."
The Granary Burial Ground I have a minor fondness for old burial grounds- this one dates back to 1660.

Not Mother Goose, but an amazing simulacrum! Seriously though, while the woman thought to be Mother Goose is not buried here, much of her family is. I took this picture primarily because of the similarity of the motifs to those used in England 100 years prior. (big surprise. still...)
The full size image is perfectly readable, and discusses the history of some of the motifs used on the 18th century stones.
These stones illustrate the text in the previous photo, though they're not the stones mentioned there.

Four children from one family. The hourglass motif just below the death's head dates back to medieval times. "Time's up!" - literally.

Boston Public Latin School
`At the corner of this site stood the first public school in America. Built in 1635, the school gave the street its name. In 1636, a subscription was raised for a free schoolmaster. In 1645 the town also stipulated that "Indians are to be taught gratis".' A modern (1983) mosaic commemorating the school done in a style resembling embroidery samplers of the period. The double row of bricks to the left is the Freedom Trail marker.

The statue of Sam Adams in front of Faneuil Hall The Big Dig - creating an underground highway to help ease Boston's traffic problems. Right now it's disrupting everything, including the Freedom Trail. The statue of Paul Revere in a park adjoining the
Old North Church (where else?)

Created by Lee Ann Goldstein on 20

	Boston Common "In or about the year of our Lord One thousand six hundred thirty and four the then present inhabitants of the Town of Boston of whom the Hon. John Winthrop Esq. Gov. of the Colony was chiefe did treate and agree with Mr. William Blackstone for the purchase of his Estate and rights in any Lands lying within said neck of Land called Boston, after which purchase the Town laid out a plan for a trayning field which ever since and now is used for that purpose and for the feeding of cattell."
	The Granary Burial Ground I have a minor fondness for old burial grounds- this one dates back to 1660.
Not Mother Goose, but an amazing simulacrum! Seriously though, while the woman thought to be Mother Goose is not buried here, much of her family is. I took this picture primarily because of the similarity of the motifs to those used in England 100 years prior. (big surprise. still...)	The full size image is perfectly readable, and discusses the history of some of the motifs used on the 18th century stones.	These stones illustrate the text in the previous photo, though they're not the stones mentioned there. Four children from one family. The hourglass motif just below the death's head dates back to medieval times. "Time's up!" - literally.

Boston Public Latin School `At the corner of this site stood the first public school in America. Built in 1635, the school gave the street its name. In 1636, a subscription was raised for a free schoolmaster. In 1645 the town also stipulated that "Indians are to be taught gratis".'	A modern (1983) mosaic commemorating the school done in a style resembling embroidery samplers of the period. The double row of bricks to the left is the Freedom Trail marker.

The statue of Sam Adams in front of Faneuil Hall	The Big Dig - creating an underground highway to help ease Boston's traffic problems. Right now it's disrupting everything, including the Freedom Trail.	The statue of Paul Revere in a park adjoining the Old North Church (where else?)