On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to the public for the first time in Boston, from the Old State House, at 1PM. Colonel Thomas Crafts was the reader.
Tag Archives: boston skyline photo
Old North Church skyline photo
Steeple of Old North church, at sunrise. British Honduran merchants who traded frequently in Boston donated the Old North’s first steeple, with weathervane by Shem Drowne. (photo © Steve Dunwell)
Paul Revere ride photo Freedom Trail
Celebrating Paul Revere’s midnight ride on April 18th, 1775, this statue stands near Old North Church in Boston’s North End. Patriot’s Day, and the Boston Marathon, take place on the monday closest to the 18th.
Old State House photo, Boston, MA
Boston’s oldest public building, erected in 1713 overlooking Long Wharf, replaced an old wooden Town House dating from 1658. After the Great fire of 1711, the town financed a brick building with a room for the Elder’s meeting, a library, an arsenal, and an arcaded farmers’ market “for the country people that come with theire provisions…to sitt dry and warme both in colde raine and durty weather.” It became the hub of the colony’s trade.
Paul Revere House photo, Boston, MA
Built in 1681, this is the oldest residence extant in Boston. Paul Revere, prospering as a silversmith, bought it for 214 pounds in 1770. The Revere’s bedroom probably occupied the front of the second floor. Other rooms in the rear of the house and on the third floor provided space for the many children borne by Revere’s two wives.
Boston Massacre site photo
On March 5, 1770, troops occupying Boston to enforce the new British taxes fired into a mob of about sixty rowdy Bostonians, wounding eight and killing five. This circle marks the spot of the Boston Massacre, just in front of the Old State House. Crispus Attucks, an African-american, was among the first to die.
Boston Tea Party woodcut image
December 16, 1773 – A great crowd gathered at the Old South Meeting House to hear speeches protesting new taxes on imports, including tea. Shouting “Boston harbor a tea party tonight,” they went down to the nearby docks. Thinly disguised as “Mohawks”, fifty men boarded three East India ships – Dartmouth, Beaver and Eleanor. Breaking open 342 chests of imported tea, they dumped the lot into the harbor. The “Intolerable Acts” soon followed as punishment.
Boston Massacre site photo
On March 5, 1770, troops occupying Boston to enforce the new British taxes fired into a mob of about sixty rowdy Bostonians, wounding eight and killing five. This circle marks the spot of the Boston Massacre, just in front of the Old State House.
Granary Burying Ground photo
The Old Granary Granary contains the earliest casualties of rebellion. Victims of the Boston Massacre and the Battle of Bunker Hill lie here, alongside Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and James Otis.
Old South Meeting House – aerial photo 1860
First successful aerial photograph in the US, by J. W. Black, Oct 13, 1860. Ambrotype print from a wet-plate negative. Old South Meeting House is at the middle left. More detail on this image, and my “same view” photograph made Oct 13, 2012 in the next post. Original print at Boston Public Library