Boston was never on my 'bucket list' of must-see places. I figured it was another large American city with little interest to me except that it was the site of the Boston Marathon. I was glad to be proven wrong. In our wanderings, I learned a little history but mostly I soaked in the city's vibes and its friendly people.
Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a name harkening back to its being a colony of Britain. Originally called Three Hills, Boston was renamed in 1630 by Puritan settlers after a town in Lincolnshire, England. Fresh water drew them to the Charles River which runs through the city. As the town grew, the hills were used to fill in the marshy areas so only their names exist today, like Beacon Hill.
We arrived on Friday evening after an uneventful flight with a stopover in Toronto. The Westin Boston Harbourfront was twenty minutes from the airport via a tunnel under the harbour. There was an Irish pub (Irish immigrated to Boston during the Potato Famine) in the hotel that had good reviews so we tried it. MJ O'Connors was quiet and the food was excellent. We enjoyed grilled cod ( 2 inches/ 5cm thick) cooked to perfection and served with potatoes, spinach and lobster. Glen declared the banana bread pudding 'to die for'. The local beer was Samuel Adams Brewery, of course, so I indulged in their Brick Red Ale which came in a what I called a 'girlie' glass. Glen had Smithwicks, his favourite Irish beer (they've been brewing beer since 1710), but switched to Brick Red after tasting mine.
At one time, Boston was renown for its breweries but gradually they all folded. The Boston Beer Company, founded in 1828, lasted until 1957. But, the city saw a revival of craft brews begun in 1984 by Jim Koch who created Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Harpoon Brewery (I'll write about this later) began a year later and now 72 breweries call Boston home.
Koch is a 6th generation brewer but he came to the business via Harvard University. His grandfather had to give up their brewery in St. Louis, Missouri during Prohibition but kept the recipes. Jim's father chose his favourite one for the new brewery. Koch named the beer after one of America's founding fathers (patriots), Samuel Adams, whose business was making malt for beer (popular belief is he was a brewer, too but this isn't so).
Saturday morning, we discovered how expensive it is to eat in Boston when we were told the breakfast buffet was $24 (not including tax) each (that's $30 CDN). We ate at Starbucks which was across the lobby from the buffet and saved ourselves $30.
My plan for Saturday was to walk to Old North Church (see photo) to get two letterboxes hidden nearby. My maps really didn't give me a good idea of distances so we headed out to explore as far as we could go. Glen told me with his new orthotics, he could walk for miles which we did. Boston has many nicknames: "The Cradle of Liberty" (because its role in the American Revolution), "Beantown" (refers to baked beans made with molasses, a favourite when the city traded with the West Indies), and "America's Walking City" (the city is compact). We discovered that it was a great city for walking.
The Westin is part of the Boston Convention Centre complex built in the Seaport District of South Boston. Surrounding it are old warehouses that now house up-scale condos and lofts. We crossed the Summer Street Bridge over Fort Point Channel and spotted The Boston Tea Party Museum in the middle of Congress Street Bridge. We walked toward this as I had joked I would sprinkle tea into the harbour when I arrived. We didn't go in but discovered the Harborwalk there. Begun in 1984 (must have been an exciting year for Boston), it meanders along the waterfront using piers and access roads as its path, thus avoiding most of the car traffic.
We passed the New England Aquarium and took a detour through Columbus Park (Christopher of 1492 fame) with its Rose Kennedy rose garden. All the wharfs had names like Rowes, India, Central, Long, Commercial, Lewis, Clark, Sargents, Union, Battery, and Constitution. Some we explored, some we just looked at. At Hanover Street, we headed inland to Old North Church passing a monument to Paul Revere. That's when we realized the significance of the church. Its steeple was where the lanterns flashed warnings to the patriots.
Built in 1723, Old North Church is still a viable congregation with the official name of Christ Church, an Episcopal (Anglican) denomination. In 1775, Paul Revere asked the sexton, Robert Newman, and Captain John Pulling to signal, using lanterns, the patriots across the Charles River of the British Army's movements. "One if by land, Two if by Sea" described the two different routes the enemy would take to move inland. There were 30 riders who would deliver the message should Paul Revere be captured (he escaped Boston by rowing across the river before doing his famous ride). His fellow patriot, William Dawes, also rode (via Boston Neck) to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock they were in danger. The poem, Paul Revere's Ride by Henry W. Longfellow commemorates this event.
A feature of the church that appealed to Glen were the pew boxes, each sporting a brass plate informing us who had owned them. Apparently each family decorated their own box and the closer to the altar, the wealthier the family. Glen remarked that his mom would have loved the assigned seating as she didn't like others sitting in 'their' pew.
The letterbox we sought was close to the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. If you've read my past blogs, you know I have an affinity for graveyards. So I was thrilled to explore this one before finding the box. Some of the graves were so eroded, all writing had been washed from their surface. Founded in 1659, it was the city's second graveyard and is the final resting place of Robert Newman, the sexton.
It was noon (we'd been walking for 2 hours) when we left the church so we headed back to the harbour front where we'd spotted a restaurant we thought we'd enjoy. We followed part of the Freedom Trail (red brick path in the sidewalk) past Paul Revere's house. Built in 1680, it's the oldest house in the city of Boston and I almost walked passed it. I did notice it had a hitching post which I thought unusual but it was only when a tour guide said it was Paul's house, I realized its significance.
By the time we reached Joe's American Bar and Grill, we were hot, hungry, thirsty, and tired of walking. The wait for their huge patio on the wharf was 15 minutes but they seated us inside right away. First up was beer, of course. We ordered two pints of Yeugling Lager. Established in 1829, it is the oldest, working brewery in America (see my blog entry, Golfing in Florida where I explore the history of this beer.) Glen enjoyed an ahi tuna burger whereas I had a blackened fish sandwich.
We returned to the hotel via Congress Street which lead us through a highway system with no access to our hotel. Finally, I spotted a bridge that, according to our maps, lead to the convention centre. It had an interesting statue to Polish Partisans of World War II.
We took it easy for the rest of the afternoon and walked no further than MJ O'Connor pub for supper. I had a velvety clam chowder and an appetizer pizza. Glen had meatloaf with mashed potatoes. When my pizza came it was the size of a dinner plate--an entrée in Canada.
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