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
Tag Archives: Old South
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.
Paul Revere House photo
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.
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.
King’s 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.
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.
Faneuil Hall vintage photo postcard
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.”
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.
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.