Boston Things to Do Tips by Hopkid

Black Heritage Trail Black Heritage Trail Review

For a good part of the 19th century, Beacon Hill was home to a promiment group of African Americans and abolitionists. A wonderfully educational walking tour has been mapped out and is operated by the National Park Service. Although the trail starts at the Shaw Memorial, the base for the trail is the Museum of Afro-American History, housed in what was originally the Abiel Smith School, the first schoolhouse built specifically for the education of African American children, built in 1834. A museum store operated by the National Park Service and the adjacent African Meeting House (1805) are part of the museum complex. Go to the museum store to get a National Park Service pamphlet describing the trail complete with a map. Give yourself at least 3 hours to enjoy the museum and take the walking tour. If the weather is nice, strolling through quiet Beacon Hill and learning a bit of history is a great way to spend a couple of hours. We found it to be very educational, and it didn't hurt that it was a beautiful spring day!

Address: 46 Joy Street

Directions: In Beacon Hill north of Beacon Street

Phone: 617.742.5415

North End-Old Town Boston North End Review

The North End has some of the oldest buildings still standing in Boston. Among the highlights are Paul Revere's home and the Old North Church from where the signal was sent letting the revolutionaries know that the British troops were advancing via the water. There are some charming areas with cobblestone streets and squares. The North End also became the focus of European immigrants during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The area is now best known for it's collection of Italian shops and restaurants. Be sure to get a cannoli at Modern or Mike's Pastry shops. Heck, get one at both!

The North End doesn't have any T stations but it's just across the bridge that spans I-93 from the Haymarket station. A better idea may be to get off at the Government Center station and ealk across City Hall Plaza, past City Hall and then the Holocaust Memorial. through the hustle and bustle of Haymarket and then across the Hanover Street bridge that will take you directly onto the main commercial street in the North End.

Directions: Take the T to the Haymarket station and walk over the New Chardon or New Sudbury Street bridge that cross I-93.

Lewis Hayden House

A stop on the Black Freedom Trail, the house near the corner of Phillips and Grove Streets was the home to Lewis Hayden, a staunch supported of abolition and tireless fighter for the freedom of all African-Americans. Born a slave himself, he escaped to Boston and became a leader of Boston's African-American community. Hayden and his wife operated a boarding house out of their home and also used it as a stop on the Underground Railroad. It was rumored that Hayden kept a stash of gunpowder under the front porch and threatened to ignite it if slave catchers came to kidnap the fugitive slaves that often sought refuge there. Hayden also fought for women's rights and helped found the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Address: 66 Phillips Street

Charles Street Meeting House

Asher Benjamin designed this federal building which was built in 1807 as served as the Third Baptist Church. The church's racial segregation policy was challenged in 1835 by Thomas Gilbert who brought his African-American friends to sit with him in his front row pew. The firestorm that resulted led to the founding of the Free Baptist Church which was the first racially integrated church in the U.S.

In the mid-1800s, the Meeting House provided a forum from which the likes of Sojourner Truth, Fredrick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Tubman preached for the abolition of slavery.

Address: 70 Charles Street

Directions: In Beacon Hill at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Charles Streets

Louisa May Alcott Home

Louisa May Alcott is one of the best-known and among the first successful women writers in U.S. history. She was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1832 and is best known for writing, in 1868, Little Women, the story of a group of sisters growing up in Civil War (1861-1865) New England. She and her family lived in this home at No. 10 Louisburg Square after her rise to fame. She also died here just two days after the funeral of her father.

The home is privately owned and there is no opportunity to go in for a look unless you want to try your luck and knock on the door.

Address: 10 Louisburg Square

Directions: In Beacon Hill north of Mt. Vernon and south of Pinckney Streets.

Louisburg Square

This pretty square with a private park surrounded by cobblestoned streets and 19th century brick townhomes is the most prestigious residential address is Boston. The park is private and owned by those who own homes surrounding it. Italian marble statues of Astrides and Columbus can be found at either end and can be viewed from outside the park. Louisa May Alcott used to live at No. 10 while Senator John Kerry and his wife live on the northern corner of the square.

Directions: In Beacon Hill between Mt. Vernon and Pinckney Streets east of W. Seadar Street.

Stroll through Beacon Hill Beacon Hill & Charles Street Review

Beacon Hill is undoubtedly one of the most affleuntial addresses in all of Boston, currently home to Senator and former presidential candidate, John Kerry. However it was settled in the early 19th century by free African-Americans who led early civil rights battles and had a hand in the abolition of slavery in the mid-1800s. It was one of the northern stops on the infamous Underground Railroad by which slaves escaped from the south to be free in the north. It is now the home to many beautiful brick townhomes and tree-lined streets.

Take a stroll through the residential streets on a spring day and relax. Be sure to walk down one of the most scenic streets, cobblestoned Acorn Street and stop to admire the townhomes surrounding Louisburg Square including a former residence of American author Louisa May Alcott and the current residence of the aforementioned senator. Visit the Museum of African American History and get a self-guided walking map of the Black Freedom Trail. End your walk amongst the shops and restaurants along Charles Street.

Directions: Area bounded by: Storrow Dr., Cambridge St., Beacon St., Bowdoin St.

Website: http://www.beaconhillonline.com/

Phillips School

This building at the NW corner of Pinckney and Anderson Streets was the first racially integrated public grammar school in Boston. It was formerly known as the Boston English High School. It's been converted into condominiums.

Directions: NW corner of Pinckney and Anderson Streets in Beacon Hill

Museum of Afro-American History

Housed in what was the first schoolhouse built to educate African-American children (in 1834 as the Abiel Smith School), the Museum of Afro-American History focuses on preserving the history of African Americans from the time the arrived on the shores of North American and through the 19th century. It's a fascinating look at African-American communities and how they functioned amidst extreme racial prejudice. They are currently fronting a renovation of the nearby African Meeting House, the oldest African meeting house in the U.S. In combination with the Black Heritage Trail, it's an eye-opening look on a chapter of U.S. history that I certainly didn't know about beforehand. Very educational and worthwhile!

Address: 46 Joy Street

Directions: In Beacon Hill north of Beacon Street

Phone: 617.725.0022

Website: http://www.afroammuseum.org

Shaw Memorial

Robert Gould Shaw was a Boston native and the commander of the first all African-American infantry unit that fought for the Union Army during the Civil War (1861-1865). Shaw the the 54th Massachusetts were the focus of the movie Glory starring Matthew Broderick as Shaw and also starring Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. Located directly across Beacon Street from the State House, the bronze bas-relief was sculpted by Augustus St. Gaudens. Be sure to read the inscription on the Boston Common side of the memorial.

Address: South side of Beacon Street near Park Street

Directions: In Boston Common directly across Beacon Street from the State House