Deck cannons of “USS Constitution”, with snow. “Old Ironsides” carried several types of cannons. The 24-pound long guns had a range of 1200 yards.
Tag Archives: Park Street Church
Old South Meeting House photo
In 1729 master builder Joshua Blanchard completed the new brick structure of Old South, replacing a simple two-story cedar structure on the site and creating the largest space for public meetings of any Boston building. Here the Tea Party was begun.
Park Street Church photo
The Park Street Congregational Church replaced the Town granary on the Common’s eastern corner in 1809. Peter Banner designed this brick Georgian structure with a 217-foot steeple, inspired by the latest London architecture.
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.
Kings Chapel photo
King’s Chapel, the center for Anglican worship, was completed in 1754. Designed by Peter Harrison with four-foot-thick walls of Quincy granite, it was the first stone church in the Province.
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.
Faneuil Hall postcard photo
Donated by Peter Faneuil in 1742, rebuilt after a fire in 1761, then enlarged in 1805, Faneuil Hall served as market and meeting place – the “Acropolis of Boston,” a marketplace of ideas and resistance. Later known as the “Cradle of Liberty.”
USS Constitution photo
USS Constitution turn-around on July 4th. Tugboats pull the ship out every year on Independence Day and turn her around to equalize weathering. Boston Towboat donates their tugboat time and charges $1 for service.
Old Corner Bookstore photo
Ideas have flourished at this site since 1636 when William Hutchinson occupied it and his wife Anne held religious meetings that led to her excommunication. Thomas Crease constructed this brick shop with second-floor living quarters and a deep gambrel roof in 1711. Ten bookstores have used this building since 1828. It became known as “Parnassus Corner” under publisher William Ticknor.