Oh, yeah it was the good weekend! It was planned long before, and it was wanted even longer. I always thought about New England region as about something marvelous and very impressive. Coastline with majestic lighthouses, wind sand of the beach or rocky shores, old towns which remember secrets and history.

I made the selection between Portland, Maine, and Boston, MA. As you understood it was Boston in the end 🙂 So at Friday at the end of the day I sat on a flight from SFO to Boston and woke up on the other coast of the country. I had a plan (as always), and my plan had the Freedom Trail as the primary goal for Saturday. It goes through all interesting places (mostly), and it has the majority of the historical building near.
My hotel was near the Boston Common Park, so it was easier to start from State House



Boston (sometimes they call it Massachusetts) Freedom Trail is a set of the well-preserved historical buildings and site with the reach nationally significant history.

Park Street Church

Founded in 1809 the church was once the first landmark travelers saw approaching Boston. It became known for supporting Abolitionist causes where, on July 4, 1829, a young William Lloyd Garrison delivered his first major public speech against slavery.
And the church still active with weekly religious services.

Granary Burying Ground

And Old City Hall

Old South Meeting House

Built in 1729, Old South Meeting House a place for the Puritans to worship, and was the biggest building in the colonial Boston. On December 16, 1773, there occurred one of the most dramatic meetings in the history. Over 30 tons of taxable tea sat in the holds of three ships moored at Griffin’s Wharf, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. When the tea was unloaded, a tax would have to be paid to England. Of course, no one wanted to pay. Five thousand colonists came to Old South Meeting House to decide what was to be done with the tea. After the failure of a final attempt to have the tea sent back to England, Samuel Adams addressed the crowd, saying, “This meeting can do nothing more to save the country.” With this words, 340 crates of tea were dumped into the harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

Old Corner Bookstore

Boston Old State House

Built in 1713 to house the colony’s government, the Old State House saw:
– the speech of the James Otis that ignited the colonists’ rebellion.
– In 1768, the colony’s House of Representatives defied the royal governor and refused to rescind their call for united resistance to British taxes. British officials sent two regiments of the army to occupy Boston.
– In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston from the Old State House balcony. The building became home to the newly-formed government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Faneuil Hall

Built by wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil as a center of commerce in 1741, this is where the Sons of Liberty proclaimed their dissent against Royal oppression.

And more of the Boston

Paul Revere House

And at the same time the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston and the only home on the Freedom Trail.

And surroundings

St Stephen’s Church

Old North Church

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere met up with the sexton Robert Newman to tell him how to signal the advancement of British troops towards Lexington and Concord. Newman then met fellow Sons of Liberty Captain Pulling and Thomas Bernard. Leaving Bernard to keep watch outside, Newman opened the church, and he and Pulling climbed the stairs and ladders up eight stories to hang two lanterns for a few moments. It was long enough for patriots in Charlestown to learn that the British were advancing by boat across the Charles River.

Charlestown

The oldest neighborhood in Boston. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it was laid out in 1629 by engineer Thomas Graves, one of its early settlers, in the reign of Charles I of England and was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

USS Constitution

The USS Constitution is a well-traveled ship, having patrolled the West Indies, Brazil, and the West African coast and participated in the Barbary Wars. The ship is permanently berthed in the Charlestown Navy Yard and ventures out several times a year into Boston Harbor.

Unfortunately, during my visit, it was in the dry dock on restoration, but it cannot get in the way to explore the warship.

Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War. During this event “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” was said to have been uttered by Colonel William Prescott.


Well-known confusion about the name of the hill where the battle occurred goes back to the fight itself. Colonel William Prescott’s orders were to fortify Bunker’s Hill, but he chose Breed’s Hill instead. A detailed map of the battle prepared by British Army Lieutenant Page reversed the two hills. Whatever the original error, the conflict was always known as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The first monument on the site was an 18-foot wooden pillar with a gilt urn erected in 1794 by King Solomon’s Lodge of Masons to honor fallen patriot and mason, Dr. Joseph Warren. In 1823, a group of prominent citizens formed the Bunker Hill Monument Association to construct a more permanent and significant monument to commemorate the famous battle. The existing monument was finally completed in 1842 and dedicated on June 17, 1843, in a major national ceremony. The exhibit lodge was built in the late nineteenth century to house a statue of Dr. Warren.

Walk 294 steps to get all Boston Downtown. There is no elevator and stairs are narrow in some place. And the climb to the top is hard, but the view is impressive!

Charlestown Bridge and Charles River

To return to the downtown you need to cross Charles River by the Charlestown Bridge but even before that it’s good to stop at the Constitution Marina for the view on the river and boats… and for the view on Arena and the bridge


I liked the Charlestown bridge, especially in pairing with Converse factory. Ha-ha!