Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

Day 15: We explore Boston for a second day

A sunny day with more focused sightseeing. We visit churches, see Boston Common, walk the Freedom Trail and dine in style!
Tuesday 15th October 2024
We both awoke early. As soon as we saw that the sun was shining and the sky was blue, we got dressed quickly, determined to make the most of a lovely day. We found a nice looking place, Cafe Landwer, which was close to the hotel and by 8:30am, we had ordered our breakfast.
 
The menu was extensive, but all we wanted was something modest and light. This was what Geoff got...
 
...and this was Bruce's choice. Small portions don't seem to be an option!
 
Bruce also ordered a small glass of orange juice and a small cup of coffee. He was glad that he hadn't ordered the larger versions; the coffee cup was almost as big as his head!
 
 
Almost next door to the cafe is the Old South Church, completed in 1873 and designed in the Gothic Revival style. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 for its architectural significance as one of the finest High Victorian Gothic churches in New England. It is home to one of the oldest religious communities in the United States.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Across the road from the church is the Boston Public Library, McKim Building, which is the main branch of the Boston Public Library. The building was described, when it opened in 1895, as a "palace for the people" and contains the library's research collection, exhibition rooms, and administrative offices. We didn't go inside.
 
Trinity Church is in the foreground. We came back later and paid to go inside for a visit. The skyscraper is the John Hancock Tower, completed in 1976, and which has held the title as the tallest building in New England ever since.
 
 
The Berkeley Building, at the corner of Boylston and Berkeley Streets. Not to be confused with the old John Hancock Building a block away, which is also known as the Berkeley Building, this building was completed in 1905 and is an excellent surviving example of Beaux-Arts architecture in Boston. Over a century later, the building is still in good condition, with even the original 1905 storefronts still intact.
 
 
In the foreground is "RH Boston - The Gallery at the historic museum of natural history". Beyond that is the Church of the Covenant, completed in 1867.
 
There was quite a noisy picket going on outside the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Later on, we witnessed more demonstrations outside a few other hotels.
 
Arlington Street Church is a Unitarian Universalist church, completed in 1861. On 17th May, 2004, the church was the site of the first state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in the United States.
 
We arrived at Boston Common, the oldest park in the United States, covering 50 acres. The Freedom Trail starts here. The trail is roughly 2.5 miles long and passes 16 locations of significant historical interest. It is marked by a red line on the pavement (sidewalk) and ends at the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Statue of Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909), who was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister.
 
The Parkman Bandstand is used today for concerts, rallies, and speeches.
 
 
 
 
The Embrace is a bronze sculpture by Hank Willis Thomas, installed in December 2022. It commemorates Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and depicts four intertwined arms representing the hug they shared after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
 
 
 
 
 
The Parkman Plaza features three bronze statues of men representing Learning, Industry, and Religion, each of which are set on granite bases.
 
 
 
 
The Massachusetts State House can be seen just beyond the Common.
 
Park Street Church, an active and historic evangelical congregational church, was founded in 1809 and is one of the stops on the Freedom Trail.
 
 
 
The Massachusetts State House is the state capitol and seat of government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. The building houses the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature) and the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts.
 
 
King's Chapel, completed in 1754, is one of the finest designs of the colonial architect Peter Harrison and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, because of its architectural significance.
 
Another noisy protest going on outside a different hotel.
 
Boston's Old City Hall was home to its city council from 1865 to 1969.
 
 
 
 
The Old South Meeting House, built in 1729, is a historic Congregational Church building located on the corner of Milk and Washington Streets in the Downtown Crossing area of the city. It was the organising point for the Boston Tea Party on 16th December 1773. At least five thousand colonists gathered here, the largest building in Boston at the time.
 
 
Peeking through the other skyscrapers in the city is the Custom House Tower, completed in 1915 and located in McKinley Square, in the Financial District neighborhood. Since 1997, it has housed a timeshare hotel.
 
If there was one building we were definitely expecting to see in Boston, it is this one, the Old Statehouse, also known as the Old Provincial State House. Built in 1713, it was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court until 1798. It is located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. It is also one of the landmarks on the Freedom Trail. It now serves as a history museum.
 
 
 
Faneuil Hall is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront. It was opened in 1742.
 
We went inside, where there were several stores selling stuff of no interest to us. The upstairs was closed, so we walked straight through the building at ground floor level...
 
...emerging out of the back of the building.
 
Behind Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, which, along with North Market and South Market are historic granite buildings commonly called Faneuil Hall Marketplace. (Somewhat confusingly, Faneuil Hall is separate and not a part of Faneuil Hall Marketplace).
 
Once again, it was possible to walk all of the way through the building. Food stalls on either side had displays that looked very tempting. (It was far too early for us though!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The gleaming State Street building and the adjacent tower block appear to dominate views from many part of the city.
 
The North End neighbourhood is the city's oldest residential community, having been inhabited since it was colonized in the 1630s. It is only covers 0.36 square miles, yet it has nearly one hundred establishments and a variety of tourist attractions. It is known for its Italian American population and Italian restaurants.
 
 
 
We felt compelled to visit Mike's Pastry, which sells cannoli (amongst many other things) with every conceivable flavoured filling. It was still too early for us (especially after the large breakfast earlier) so we didn't buy anything, but it was good to just see what was on offer.
 
 
 
 
Still in the North End, The Paul Revere House, built c.1680, was the colonial home of American Patriot and Founding Father Paul Revere during the time of the American Revolution. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1961.
 
 
 
Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The building (formely the Methodist Seamen's Bethel) was purchased by the Saint Mark Society, a group of Italian immigrants in 1884 and was named Sacred Heart by Archbishop Williams in 1888. It is now part of St. Leonard's Parish, and is staffed by the Franciscan Fathers.
 
 
We walked along Paul Revere Mall, which features an equestrian statue of Paul Revere.
 
Seen on Paul Revere Mall... it looked like it ought to be used as the subject of a caption contest!
 
The Old North Church (officially, Christ Church in the City of Boston), is an Episcopal mission church located in the North End neighborhood. Built in 1723, it is the oldest standing church building in Boston and a National Historic Landmark. It is famous for its role in Paul Revere's midnight ride on 18th April 1775. On that night, the church's sexton, Robert Newman hung two lanterns in the church's steeple, which alerted Revere and the other riders to British military movements prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first engagements of the American Revolutionary War.
 
 
We had almost forgotten that we were never too far from water in this city and then, suddenly, we were here, walking along the northern edge of the North End, overlooking the Charles River.
 
The Freedom Trail continued over the bridge to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Unfortunately, we weren't paying attention to our map at this point, so we missed it and remained on this side of the bridge. We were also getting a bit tired by now, having already walked approximately 20,000 steps since we set out. We really needed to start making our way back and find somewhere to have some light refreshment.
 
 
 
A view of the traffic on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.
 
 
We were now in the West End neighbourhood. The Old West Church is a historic United Methodist Church, built in 1806 to designs by architect Asher Benjamin and is considered one of his finest works.
 
Close to the Old West Church is the First Harrison Gray Otis House museum. Built in 1795–96, it was the first of three houses designed by Charles Bulfinch and built for Massachusetts politician Harrison Gray Otis. It is notable as one of the earliest three-story brick houses that came to represent the Federal style of architecture and its interiors show the influence of Robert Adam. The house is now the headquarters of Historic New England, a regional preservation organization, and is open year-round for tours.
 
 
Back in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood, we wandered through some interesting residential areas.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We arrived back at Boston Common.
 
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Boston Common is dedicated to soldiers and sailors of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who died in the American Civil War.
 
 
Boston Public Garden is adjacent to Boston Common. The Boy and Bird Fountain, with the Equestrian Statue of George Washington in the background.
 
Another view of the Church of the Covenant, completed in 1867.
 
After being on our feet for several hours, we returned to the Cafe Landwer for a drink and were surprised to bump into Judy and Kevin who were among the few people from the cruise who had stayed on for some extra time in Boston. They took this photo. We exchanged contact details because they were due to fly back home on the same flight as us tomorrow and we agreed to share a taxi to the airport. They had just visited the Trinity Church nearby and recommended that we do the same, so that's where we went next.
 
 
Trinity Church, completed in 1877, is located in the Back Bay neighbourhood, quite close to our hotel. Within the Anglican tradition, it is considered a Broad Church parish. It is situated in Copley Square, which was undergoing quite a lot of maintenance work while we were there, which was rather a pity because it detracted from the exterior of the building.
 
 
 
The interior murals cover over 2,000 square metres and were completed entirely by American artists.
 
The church's windows were originally clear glass at consecration in 1877 (with one exception), but soon major windows were added. Four windows were designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed by the studio of William Morris, which of course, we found very interesting because of his connections to London. Another four windows were exceptional commissions by John La Farge, and revolutionized window glass with their layering of opalescent glass. The Suter window (donated by Hales W. Suter) was painted by Charles Mills.
 
 
 
 
The stained glass is "David's Charge to Solomon", installed in 1882 by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris.
 
A rather better image of the one above (not ours).
 
 
 
Zoomed in from the right-hand window above. It was high up and quite difficult to photograph, but this is another example of a window designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed by William Morris (from Merton, London) in 1882.
 
 
 
 
We both agreed that we needed a rest, so we walked slowly back to our hotel.
 
 
 
The late afternoon view from our room.
 
Earlier, after consulting our list of recommended restaurants, we found a potentially good French restaurant near Boston Common, so we booked a table. We left the hotel a bit early to give us time to find the place and, of course, we found it very easily, so we killed time with an early evening stroll in the area around the restaurant. We seemed to be in the theatre and college section of town, judging by the number of theatres, colleges and student accommodations we saw.
 
 
 
The entrance to the Bistro du Midi looked elegant and inviting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Geoff ordered "Bouillabaisse du Midi" with lobster, scallop, shrimp, calamari, mussels and clams. He loved it!
 
 
Bruce chose the "Freebird Farm Chicken" with green garlic, sunflower risotto, plums and chicken jus. He too, was very happy with his choice.
 
We enjoyed our meal immensely, although it wasn't exactly cheap, especially after adding a 20% tip on top, which was the middle one suggested on the payment slip; we suspected they were hoping for 25% or more!
 
More late night views from the room. It had been a truly memorable day. Our plan for tomorrow would include more friendship and relaxation and less culture overload!
 
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble