Amazing World - Boston, Beantown

Boston is unique in many ways. For a start it’s one of the few cities in the States where you can walk around the center (in most other places you need a car). Boston also has a lot of history and interesting architecture, and a great nightlife. Amy is here to tell us more.

by Amy Napier (American English spelling)

Freedom

The best way to get to know Boston is to follow the Freedom Trail. This is a special route that goes around the city. There is a line of red bricks on the sidewalk that marks the route. It begins on Boston Common, the city’s main park, at the Visitor Information Center, but you can start anywhere you like.

Ships, Slaves & Hills

Another interesting place to visit is Quincy Market. There are lots of shops and restaurants here. In the harbor at Charlestown Navy Yard you can see the USS Constitution, which is an old warship that is still active. It was launched in Boston in 1797, and every July 4th it sails out, fires a canon then sails back to port. Massachusetts is famous for being the first state to declare slavery illegal in 1783. There’s another trail around the city, this time with sites connected to slavery. Many slaves escaped from the southern states of the US and came to live in Boston. The trail starts in Joy Street at the Abiel Smith School, which has the Museum of Afro-American History. The trail also includes the Lewis & Harriet Hayden House, which was a stop on the famous “Underground Railway”. This was the route that escaped slaves took in order to get to the north. Slaves often hid in this house to escape from the bounty hunters.

The Waterfront

Another great area to visit in Boston is the waterfront. This is a nice area to sit and relax. You can also go on the Boston harbour cruise from Long Wharf, or visit the New England Aquarium, which has sharks, giant turtles and lots of other tropical marine life. Further along, you can see the Boston Tea Party ship. There’s a museum right next to it explaining what happened during the “Tea Party” when the Bostonians attacked the British ships (for more information see our article on page 50).

Fun

One of the best times to visit Boston is when there’s a big sporting event going on. When the Red Sox (a baseball team) play the New York Yankees, their biggest rivals, the whole city goes wild. Everyone wears their “Yankees Suck” shirts. Last Year there was even a parade around the stadium with people in their underwear carrying anti-Yankee flags.

And during the Boston Marathon, college students hand out beers to the runners who are in last place. Some marathon runners wear funny clothes such as Greek Togas or Uncle Sam costumes.

Unusual Signs

One of the most unusual sights in Boston is the “Citgo” sign. This is a large board with the words Citgo on it. It was built in 1940 and it’s one of the largest signs in New England, measuring 20 meters by 20 meters. The computer controlled neon sign has survived five hurricanes, and one attempt by the Citgo company to dismantle it in 1983. It can be seen on TV when a baseball player hits a home run at Fenway Park (a baseball stadium). And it’s really useful too: whenever a tourist asks a Bostonian for directions to Kenmore Square or Fenway Park, the easiest answer is, “Follow the Citgo sign”.

Food & Going Out

Boston’s got some great places for eating or dancing. We recommend a nice breakfast in the cafés of Beacon Hill, lunch in the food plazas of Quincy Market and dinner in one of the seafood restaurants overlooking the harbor. Some great bars and places to go out at night are Avalon, the Black Rose and the Bull & Finch Pub - the original setting for the TV show, Cheers. For some great seafood, you should try Legal Sea Foods which is a chain of seafood restaurants that are well worth a visit. Other good places to visit are Harvard University, Salem (just 30 minutes outside Boston, and the place where the famous witch trials took place), George’s Island (which is a great place for picnics, plus there are some revolutionary forts there), and the North End (which is the Italian quarter, and which is where you can see Mafiosi sitting on terrace bars drinking coffee).

History

If you’re interested in history, there are lots of interesting places to see in Boston. For a start, there’s the Old South Meeting House, which was where Samuel Adams addressed the Patriots about to carry out the Boston Tea Party in December 1773 (see our article in What a Weird World for more information on that). The Old State House is another interesting building. It was built in 1712, and it was here that they read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony on 18th July 1776. Shortly afterwards, the British left, and American became a republic. Incidentally, exactly 200 years later, Queen Elizabeth II of England appeared on that very same balcony, although this time they treated the British monarch as a friend. Outside there’s the site of the Boston Massacre, where on 5th March 1770, British soldiers fired on a crowd. Apparently the Bostonians were throwing snowballs (admittedly filled with stones) at the soldiers. Five people from Boston were killed. Inside the building there’s a museum of Boston history.

Patriots & Monarchists

The Paul Revere House is Boston’s last surviving seventeenthcentury house. Paul Revere was a Patriot and father of sixteen children. He went on the famous ride in 1775 to warn the Patriots of a British attack at the start of the American Revolution. Finally, there’s the Bunker Hill Monument. This was the site of a battle between the Patriots and the British in June 1775. The British won the battle, but they knew from then on that they couldn’t hope to win the war. There’s a small museum which has exhibits and information on the battle. So, now you know what to do in Boston.

G L O S S A R Y

a trail n a route you can walk on. This particular one goes through the city a brick n a red stone object that is rectangular in shape. It is used to build houses a sidewalk n US the side of the road where people walk. “Pavement” in British English to sail out phr vb if a ship “sails out”, it leaves a port; and if it “sails back”, it returns slavery n the system which permits people to possess other people a bounty hunter n a person who is paid to catch criminals/ slaves, etc the waterfront n a street or area of land that is next to a river or the sea a cruise n a journey in a ship the Boston Tea Party n an attack on some British ships (see our article in What a Weird World) to go wild exp to become crazy; to do insane things to suck vb inform US if you say that something “sucks”, you think that thing is very bad underwear n clothing you wear under your trousers/ skirt, etc to hand out phr vb to give to dismantle vb if you “dismantle” something, you separate it into different parts to hit a home run exp in baseball this means to hit the ball very far so you get a run, which is equivalent to points. Well, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but we’ll tell you more about baseball in a later issue a Patriot n US a person who was fighting against the British monarchy in the 18th century a snowball n a ball made of snow that people throw for sport a ride n a journey on a horse to warn vb to tell someone about a danger