Boston, MA
Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan settlers led by John Winthrop and quickly became the political, economic, and cultural center of colonial New England. It was here that events such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Siege of Boston ignited the movement for American independence, earning the city its title as the "Cradle of Liberty." Beyond the Revolution, Boston has continued to shape the nation through its leadership in education, medicine, literature, and innovation. For me, Boston has always been more than a historic city. Living nearby and returning countless times over the years, it has been a place where history comes alive, reminding me that the story of America can be found on nearly every street corner.
Recent Posts
Old South Meeting House
Our daughters were standing in the snow outside the Old South Meeting House on a particularly meaningful day. We had come to Boston for the annual reenactment of the meeting that led to the Boston Tea Party. Rather than simply reading about what happened on December 16, 1773, we were able to experience the story […]
Red Auerbach
This bronze statue honors Arnold “Red” Auerbach, the coach and executive who helped establish the Boston Celtics as one of the most successful franchises in professional sports. Auerbach coached the Celtics from 1950 through 1966, leading the team to nine NBA championships, including an unprecedented eight consecutive titles from 1959 through 1966. Auerbach’s influence extended […]
Haffenreffer Walk
While walking through the Boston Public Garden, I noticed this granite marker identifying Haffenreffer Walk. The inscription says that the walkway was named for Theodore Haffenreffer, 1880–1956, who served on Boston’s Board of Park Commissioners from 1930 until his death in 1956—a remarkably long period of service to the city’s parks. Haffenreffer was also part […]
Grave of the Boston Massacre Victims
We were walking Boston’s Freedom Trail after studying this period of American history with our daughters. When we entered the Granary Burying Ground, Erin knew exactly whose grave she was standing beside and why this place mattered. This was one of the great benefits of visiting historic sites as a family: the people and events […]
The Mirroscope
Among the objects that caught my attention while visiting the Gibson House Museum in Boston was this unusual piece of photographic equipment. At first glance, with its large projecting lens and boxlike body, I assumed it was an early camera. Looking more closely, however, I discovered that it worked in exactly the opposite direction. It […]
John Singleton Copley
Walking through Boston, I came across this plaque marking the site where the home of John Singleton Copley once stood. The house itself is gone, but the plaque preserves the connection between this location and one of the most important artists of colonial America. Copley was born in Boston in 1738, although the plaque gives […]
The Third Harrison Gray Otis House
When I came across this house at 45 Beacon Street, I recognized the Otis name because I had already visited the Harrison Gray Otis House near Massachusetts General Hospital. What I didn’t realize was that the Cambridge Street house was only the beginning of the family’s story. Harrison Gray Otis eventually built three Boston houses, […]
The Swan Boats
Every April, there is a ritual in Boston that signals that spring has truly arrived. The Swan Boats return to the lagoon in the Public Garden. For generations of Boston families, a ride on the Swan Boats has been part of growing up in and around the city. This photograph of Erin and Emily brings me back […]
The Bulfinch Building
Standing within the enormous Massachusetts General Hospital campus is a building that looks almost modest compared with the medical complex that now surrounds it. The Bulfinch Building is the original home of Massachusetts General Hospital and has stood here for more than two centuries. Its classical façade, columned portico and triangular pediment provide a striking […]
Old West Church
Walking through the streets around Massachusetts General Hospital, Marty and I kept stopping to photograph buildings that caught our attention. Old West Church was one of them. Behind an iron fence on Cambridge Street stands this handsome red-brick church with its tall arched windows, clock tower and white steeple. The plaques along the fence revealed […]
The Bowdoin School
Walking through Beacon Hill, it is easy to concentrate on the neighborhood’s famous Federal-era houses. But scattered among them are buildings that tell a different part of Boston’s story. This substantial brick building on Myrtle Street was once the Bowdoin School, a public school whose history reaches back well before the building we see today. […]
Puffer’s Building
Walking through the streets around Massachusetts General Hospital, Marty and I kept coming across buildings that made us stop and look. This one immediately caught my attention. Rising above Cambridge Street, its red-brick façade is interrupted by an extraordinary three-story projecting bay covered in green-patinated metal. Across the front, worked into the metal itself, are […]
