Spanish/American War Cannons

On the Massachusetts State House front lawn, you may notice a cannon near the West Entrance.

Prior to September 11, 2001, people could walk up and look at the cannon, but the lawn is closed to the general public and only the John F. Kennedy monument is available to see on the tour.

This cannon is from the Spanish/American War. It was taken in 1896 by the American forces in battles in Cuba. This cannon was officially assigned to Massachusetts by the Navy Department on July 24, 1901.

Today the closest you can to the cannon is via Joy Place, which is one of the side streets next to the state house.

Beacon Hill Monument

Walking around the outside of the Massachusetts State House, you may see a column monument with an Eagle on the top, this is the Beacon Hill Monument. There's plenty of history behind this monument.

The Beacon Hill Monument is there to remember an actual beacon that stood on the same spot since April 1635.

Fun Facts about the Beacon Hill Monument

On March 4, 1634, the Massachusetts General Court ordered the beacon to warn Bostonians of impending danger. The court order was for the time period between April 1st and October 1st.

It was placed on this particular site as it was the highest point in the city. At the time, the hill was named Centry Hill.

The area, "Beacon Hill" was named after the Beacon.

The original Beacon, which was basically a boat mast held up by board on the base, was there from 1635 to 1789. (It was taken down between 1775 and 1776.)

In 1789, a storm blew down the Beacon. Instead of replacing the beacon, local residents favorited putting a more permanent monument.

Charles Bulfinch created a plain Doric column monument with an eagle on top. The column was 60-feet in height built with brick and covered with stucco. There was a large wooden eagle at the top. There were four tablets. Two of the tablets were inscribed with important events in the history of the Revolutionary war.

The tablets were authored by Honorable Thomas Dawes, who was a Supreme Court judge in Boston.

By 1810 Boston was in a deep recession and they sold the land where the monument was on to Samuel Spean and John Hancock. The "Old Beacon Hill Monument" was taken down by Atherton Haugh Steven on July 9, 1811. The surrounding hill was dug up.

The wooden effigy of the eagle is over the President chair in the Senate Chamber. The tablets were stored in the State House.

In 1865, the Massachusetts legislature authorized the Beacon Hill monument to be rebuilt. It was dedicated on June 17, 1899. The monument is exactly the same as the 1810 version, and the tablets were put back on the monument.

Wooden Eagle in the Senate Chamber.

Tablets Texts

Blue Bikes

Boston might be "America’s Walking City" but there’s nothing like a great bike ride.

Throughout Boston and Cambridge you will find bike stands where you can rent a bike for a ride. For $2.50 you can get a quick ride any place in the Boston area.

Note: There's a $101 security deposit, per bike, that will be placed on your credit card. Deposit is returned when the bike is back in the dock.

Fun Facts about the Bikes

Started on Earth Day in 2011 as Hubway. It started with 61 stations and 610 bicycles. Today there are 325 stations and 2, 500+ bikes.

In March 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shields announced a six-year marking arrangement with Hubway and the bikes were renamed Bluebikes - along with the website: bluebikes.com.

The furthest north bike station is at the Glendale Street Park in Malden.

The furthest west station bike station at Watertown Square in Watertown.

The furthest south station bike station at the Mattapan T Stop in Mattapan.

There is a bike station at Encore Hotel and Casino, Fenway Park, USS Constitution, and within walking distance to the Bunker Hill Monument.

$99 for unlimited. 45-minute rides. So if you work in the Back Bay, you can take a bike and ride to the North End to get some ice cream at lunch every day.

It’s a 2-hour bike ride from the Old North Church to the Old North Bridge in Concord. (21 miles) What a great way to see the historic route that Paul Revere took.

Boston Bars Closing

I haven’t been in Boston since March 12th. This is true for most people that commute to Boston for work. Most Bostonians have been working from home during the pandemic. It's uncertain when we would be going back to our offices.

Pandemic has Been Bad for Restaurants

COVID-19 has impacted Boston small business a lot. A walk down Boylston Street and you’ll find some business are now gone.

Here’s a tweet from BostonTweet that pretty much explains the situation in Boston.

Lir just announced that they too are closing for good

In the past few weeks 4 bars on Boylston have announced closures; Pour House, Whiskey's, McGreevy's & Lir. And the Cactus Club has been vacant for 6 years

Boston is in serious trouble. It will take years to recover from this pic.twitter.com/sgxIiENrQ1

— BostonTweet (@BostonTweet) September 3, 2020

Commuter Rail

The MBTA Commuter rail has taken a hard hit. At one point the number of daily commuters was down 80%. The numbers have come back up slightly since April, but still way down from February.

The MBTA has put together a 2-year budget plan, due to the COVID-19 crisis. This means that they anticipate that ridership will be down for a long time.

The sad thing is within that two year time, leases will come up for renewal and some companies may take advantage of that and downside their Boston offices.

Provincetown Ferry

If you are looking for a getaway from the busy city life. You can take a ferry ride to Provincetown and spend the day at one of the best beaches on Cape Cod.

Since 1974, the Boston Harbor Cruises has offered a Ferry ride to Provincetown.

For most trips, it takes 90-minutes to go from Boston to Provincetown. The first ferry out of Boston is at 9 am and the last ferry back to Boston is at 8:30 pm.

The Provincetown Ferry is located at the Long Wharf dock, near the Boston Marriott Long Wharf.

What a way to spend a day - breakfast at Faneuil Hall and enjoying an early lobster dinner in Provincetown. (Try the Baked Stuff Lobster at the Lobster Pot.)

In June and July, you can watch the sunset as you head back to Boston. By August the sun will be setting a bit early on your journey back to Boston.

There is a snack bar on board - they only accept cash. You can end the day with a margarita and recall the fun day around Provincetown.

Current Pricing

• Adults: $47- each way
• Child: $34.50 - each way

For 2-Adults and one child it cost $257 round trip.

Boston Art Sphere

Five Fun Facts

Located on 100 High Street, Boston Massachusetts.

These were created by Lars-Erik Fisk.

Completed and Installed on April 13, 2015 - Opening Day Fenway Park.

The Green Monster Sphere is located inside and features #27 at bat (Carlton Fisk). I can't tell which Yankee game this scoreboard is representing. I thought it might be the 1978 American League East tiebreaker, but the Red Sox scored their first hit in the 2nd inning.

Lars-Erik has a "Pizza Ball" on Eagle Street in North Adams. Other sphere artwork are displayed around Burlington, Vermont and at Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

Paul Revere Statue

One of the most popular shots in Boston is the Paul Revere Statue in the North End. Tourist from around the world come and learn about Paul Revere's history.

This view of the Paul Revere Mall with the Paul Revere statue is one of the most popular photo spots along the Freedom Trail.

This view of the Paul Revere Mall with the Paul Revere statue is one of the most popular photo spots along the Freedom Trail.

Fun Facts about the Paul Reveue Statue

The statue was created in 1886 by Cyrus Dallin.

The statue won first prize against other notable designers - Daniel Chester French (Concord Minuteman) and Thomas Ball (George Washington Equestrian Statue in the Public Gardens).

However it took 54 years for the City of Boston to buy and install it.

The clay model of the statue was completed in 1935 After that the statue was on display in the Caproni Galleries on Washington Street and for a while it was exhibited on the Esplanade.

The delays for Boston to purchase it was "for one reason or another." Some people say the delays were intentional because Cyrus Dallin was only 22-years old at the time he won against other famous designers.

Officially set up on the Paul Revere Mall on Thursday, September 19, 1940. The dedication ceremony was on the following Sunday, September 22nd at 2:30 pm.

Speakers at the dedication ceremony included Joseph F. O'Connell, Henry L. Shattuck, and Raymond Kelly. The great-great-great-grandson of Paul Revere was at the ceremony. About 10,000 people were at the ceremony.

The statue cost nearly a half-million dollars. The funding was controlled by the George White Fund

The statue is known as heroic, which basically means it is about one and half life-size.

Orginally some people suggested putting the statue in Copley square, at the foot of Mount Vernon Street - looking west towards Lexington and Concord. Another location some suggested was at the statehouse on the opposite side of the equestrian statue of General Hooker.

The statue base is Milford granite. It comes from Dennis F. McLaughlin. He won the bid at $7,930

Locals still call the Paul Revere Mall the original name: “The Prado." The official name was changed when the Paul Revere Statue was dedicated.

According to city expenditures documents, to get the Paul Revere Mall up and running, it cost: $382,390.48 for the Land and Construction, the Tablets on the walls cost $16,293.26 and the statue cost $37,424.91.

Quote from the Dedication

Henry L. Shattuck, the orator of the day, said this at the Dedication:

Parody Poem

Mr. Dallin had a sense of humor of the whole ordeal of getting the statue in the proper place. He wrote a parody on Longfellow's famous poem. This is what the sculptor wrote to Mayor Maurice J. Tobin:

“Listen. my children and you shall hear Of the ignoble failure of Boston to rear
The greatest creation of my long career. 
The Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere.
A citizens’ committee of well-known men 
Selected my model from a competition of ten.
On July the fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five.
The committee of which no one now is alive
Made a contract with me all legally signed
To erect in Copley Souare my designed
To honor the hero whose cry of alarm
Aroused every Middlesex village and farm
For the country folk to be up and to arm
Alas! no statue now graces Copley Square
’T is enough to make even an angel swear
But being only human I refuse to despair.
And J hope that means will be found somewhere
So after the lapse of many a year
Due honor be paid to Paul Revere.”
--Cyrus E. Dalbn.

Finding the Statue

The statue is located at the Paul Revere Mall in the North End of Boston. It's located just off of Hanover Street.

Appeal to the Great Spirit Statue

In front of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is a statue of an Indian on a horse. This equestrian statue is called the "Appeal to the Great Spirit."

Description of the Art:

Interesting Facts about the Statue

Created by Cyrus Edward Dallin who also did the equestrian figure of Paul Revere in Boston's North End.

The statue was created in Paris for the 1909 Paris Salon - an art show in Paris France. It won a a gold medal.

It cost $12,000 ($333,442.67 in 2019) to secure the art work for Boston. A special fun was setup to raise the money.

The Boston Park Commission wanted the statue was to be placed at the corner of Boylston and Charlesgate West - otherwise known as Gaston Square.

On January 23, 1912, it was installed outside the main entrance to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The pedestal was designed by Charles Howard Walker.

Some call have called it, "One of the best known equestrian statues in the world."

Cyrus Edward Dallin died on November 14, 1944. He is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Cyrus Dallin Art Museum

You can learn a lot more about Cyrus Dallin work at the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum in Arlington, Massachusetts. (The museum is currently closed because of COVID-19)

Public tours cost $5 per person requested donation.

Boston 2024

On January 8, 2015, the City of Boston won the right to represent the United States Olympic Committee recommendation hosting city for the 2024 Olympics.

This came a surprise to many as Los Angels seemed to be the favorite city, considering they hosted the summer games before and have the facilities in place.

Not everyone in Boston was happy about being selected as a potential hosting city. About six months later the City requested to be removed from the United States Olympics committee recommendations.

If you look around Boston, you may still see some signs of the push to bring the Olympics to Boston. This sticker was recently spotted on a window on Columbus Ave.

What Happened?

One of the reasons that Boston withdrew from being a hosted city was because of the underestimate of cost to transform the City from an ordinary city to a world-class Olympic hosting city.

Some Key Points

• While the Mayor of Boston gave it a lot of support, the newly elected Massachusetts Governor - Charlie Baker had some doubts about how it would get pulled off.
• The winter of 2015 was brutal on public transportation in the Boston area. The city was hit with record snowfall and caused serious delays for many days. Some experts felt that the MBTA would need to have a serious upgrade in order to host the Olympic Games. A quick fix was not a realistic option.
• An independent audit was requested by the Baker Administration and found that many expenses were underestimated by millions of dollars.
• The public opinion in Boston started to go down once people understood the cost of the project and the magnetite of the change. In six months the public support for the bid went from 51% to only 40%. (wbur poll)

Martin Park

One of the youngest victims in the 2013 Boston's Marathon bombing was 8-year old Martin Richards. In 2019, a special children's playgound opened as a special tribute to him.

Five Things I Learned

Offical name is Martin's Park at Smith Family Waterfront.

The park opening day was on June 15, 2019 - 2,252 days after the 2013 Boston Marathon.

The park cost $13 million to plan and build. Most of the money came from private donations. The city did contribute some funds but it was a "standard" contribution.

The park is about one acre.

There is a stone leftover from the Boston Public Library renovation.

Park Video

Juliana spending an hour at the park on a cold November day. She enjoyed the different playareas and how open it was.

Location

Located at 64 Sleeper Street on the South Boston waterfront, just steps away from the Boston Children's museum.

Captain Jeremiah O'Brien

Captain Jeremiah w was one of the key players in the American Revolutionary war. He holds the honor of being the first Revolutionary Captain to win the first Navel engagement against the British forces. This was an important event as it gave hope to the Colonial Navy forces that they could win against a strong navy.

Three months after the battle at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the first American naval battle of the American Revolution was fought off Machias, Maine. The Americans, using pitchforks and handmade weapons managed to get on the British armed warships and brought the war to the seas. The five O'Brien brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph overpowered the British and managed to kill Lt. James Moore.

This later became known as the Battle of Machias.

This Tablet is located in the Massachusetts State House in the Nurses Hall area.

Tablet Text

Five Things I Learned

Tablet was created by John Paramino, who also created other work around the Boston - including the World War 2 Memorial, Declaration of Independence Tablet and more.

The tablet was unveiled on Saturday, June 12, 1937, in a small ceremony. It was the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Machias.

Former Representative Joseph F. O'Connell gave a speech about why the tablet was important - early historians of America ignored how the Irish were a big part of the Navy.

Jeremiah O'Brien died on September 5, 1818 in Machias, Maine - while it was still part of Massachusetts. Maine didn't become a state until March 15. 1820.

Along with this tablet, there were five ships in the United States Navy has been named USS O’Brien for him and his brothers. You can tour the SS Jeremiah O'Brien at Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Parts of Joseph F. O'Connell Speech

Here are some parts of the speech that we put in the records of the First Session of Seventy-Fifth Congress:

William-Loyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) was an American Journalist and crusader. His writing focused mostly on Woman's Suffrage and civil rights and was a strong abolitionist.

On October 21, 1835, he was a victim of a mob attack after he gave an abolitionist speech. The mob plan to carry him from the Old State House to the Boston Commons. Once there they were going to tar and feather him. The Mayor and his aids were able to come to William Loyd Garrison's rescue and take him to the city jail to keep him away from the mob. He escaped the city.

Many years later the city felt really bad for the way William Garrison was treated and decided to honor him with a statue on Commonwealth Ave.

Seven Things I Learned

1. The Quincy granite pedestal is six feet high designed by John M. Wells. The entire statue weights two thousand six hundred pounds.
2. The part of the statue that shows William-Loyd Garrison sitting was created by Olin Levi Warner, best known for the bronze portals on the doors of the Library of Congress.
3. Installed on May 13, 1886, at 6 pm with about 50 people attending a very informal ceremony.
4. The statue was to be displayed on October 21, 1885 - the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Mob attack but due to unforeseen delays in the casting, the work wasn't finished until May 13, 1886.
5. The statue shows Mr. Garrison as he appeared around the age of 63. Note the overcoat that is thrown over the chair as a decorative effect.
6. The face of William Loy Garrison was taken from an actual mask that John Rogers had.
7. At the base of the statue is the words "I will be Heard" is from the anti-slavery newspaper "The Liberator"

William Loyd Garrison Statue Location

The statue is located on the Commonwealth Ave. Mall, between Dartmouth St. and Exeter Street

Lesson from William Loyd Garrison

John Stuart Mill, British Philosopher pointed out two lessons from Mr. Garrison's career:

St. Francis of Assisi Garden

Just behind the Old North Church gift shop is the St. Francis of Assisi Garden.

The Chapel of St. Francis was created to meet the needs of Italian immigrants who were members of the Waldensian Reform movement. Once the movement left the area the Old North Church used the building as a gift shop.

The garden was created as a special area to remember the Waldensian Reform movement.

Four things I Learned about the Garden

The St. Francis of Assisi statue was placed in the garden on August 17, 1902.

The St. Francis of Assisi Garden is a sitting area, whereas the 18th Century Garden is where you'll find all sorts of plants and shrubs taken care of by members of the congregation.

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and ecology, making him the perfect companion for the outdoor garden - you can find similar statues on eBay and some garden shops.

St. Francis Feast Day is October 4 = I wasn't able to find any information that the Old North Church does in the garden on that day.

Ayer Mansion

On Commonwealth Avenue, there are a lot of special homes. The Ayer Mansion is one such place that is overlooked by tourists.

Tours of the home are available on very limited bases. They are held one Saturday and one Sunday a month. Visit their website for tour dates and time.

The stain glass above the door at the Ayer Mansion

The stain glass above the door at the Ayer Mansion

Five Things I learned

• The house was built between 1899 - 1902 for patent medicine and textile entrepreneur Frederick Ayer. It was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
• The Ayer Mansion sole example of a house designed from its inception by [Louis Comfort Tiffany](http://www.biography.com/people/louis-tiffany-9507399). This is the only surviving house over which Mr. Tiffany had complete control, which allowed him to integrate themes and details both inside and outside.
• Listed on the National Historic Mansion. This is the only house on CommmonWealth Ave that is listed on the National Historic Landmark.
• When Ayer died in 1918, at the age of 95, the Boston Globe described him as New England’s richest man, and the New York Times sketched his rise from a poor shopkeeper to a titan of industry.
• There is a missing Tiffany Vase from the Ayer Mansion. It may have been missing for decades and a collector may have it without knowing that it is stolen from the Ayer Mansion. The vase is supposed to be in the hands of a Tiffany collector from the MidWest. The Ayer Mansion preservation believes the previous owner of the house took it when it was sold in 1964.

Finding The Ayer Mansion

The Ayer Mansion is located at 395 Commonwealth Ave - between Massachusetts Ave and Charles Gate East.

YouTube Tour

Someone that took the tour in 2018 recorded it. It might be interesting to watch to learn more about the house and a chance to see the inside.

Emancipation Group

There has been a lot of talks lately of a famous Lincoln Statue near the Boston Commons. This statue featured President Lincoln and a slave.

Many people think the statue is racist and suggest taking it down.

Emancipation Group Statue (Courtesy of Google Maps)

Note: I don't have a personal picture in my collection and resorted to a picture on Google Maps.

Fout Things I Lerned

The official title of the statue is: Emancipation Group

Statue was created by Thomas Ball. He created many other statues in Boston such as Equestrian Statue of George Washington, Josiah Quincy and Charles Sumner.

Statue was created in 1874

This casting of the Emancipation Group the City of Boston in 1877 by Moses Kimball of the Boston Museum.

The head of the slave is modeled from a photograph of Archer Alexander, the last slave to be recaptured in Missouri under the Fugitive Slave Act.

The original casting of the statue is in Washington DC. It was commissioned by the Freedman's Memorial Society in Washington D.C. It cost $17,000 ($389,462.51 in 2019) raised by Washington D.C. black community.

Charlotte Scott, a former slave from Marietta, Ohio, gave the initial donation of five dollars - her first earning as a freed person to help commission a statue for Lincoln.

A plaque near the statue in Washington DC reads: "Freedom's Memorial, in Grateful Memory of Abraham Lincoln: This monument was erected by the Western Sanitary Commission of St. Louis, MO, with funds contributed solely by emancipated citizens of the United States declared free by his Proclamation January 1, A.D. 1863. The first contribution was made by Charlotte Scott, a freed woman of Virginia, and consecrated by her suggestion and request on the day she heard of President Lincoln's death"

The statue in Boston was last restored by the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers.

Staute Resolve and Order

The City of Boston resolve for the statue in 1879:

Whereas, a communication has been received from Hon. Moses Kimball, in which he tenders to the City of Boston the gift of a colossal group in bronze, emblematical of Emancipation, upon conditions that it be placed upon the lot of land at the junction of Columbus Avenue, Park square and Pleasant street, and that the city will cause the area to he suitably enclosed and annually cultivated with flowering plants and shrubs; it is therefore hereby

Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council, in behalf of the citizens of Boston, be conveyed to the Hon. Moses Kimball for the public spirit displayed in his costly and substantial gift to the city, which is hereby gratefully accepted upon the conditions attached to his offer.

Ordered, That the triangular lot of land situated at the junction of Columbus avenue. Park Square and Pleasant street be and the same is hereby assigned for the location of the group.

Ordered, That the Committee on Common and Public Grounds be requested to take such action as may be necessary to cause the said lot to be put in order and enclosed with a suitable fence, in accordance with the terms of the gift.