Audio
TEXT: Exploring Historic Boston
Transcript
TEXT: Exploring Historic Boston: In the 1870s, imbued with the spirit of the nation’s centennial, Bostonians began saving colonial and Revolutionary era buildings that were critical in the struggle against British rule. A century later, in 1974, Congress ensured the continuity of this effort and the preservation of important parts of America’s heritage by creating Boston National Historical Park. Today the park is an association of sites ranging from steepled churches, grand meeting halls, and battlegrounds to America’s oldest commissioned warship. The park is distinctive, mixing historic buildings and landscapes owned by the city, the state, the federal government, and private organizations. Only three sites are owned by the federal government—the Charlestown Navy Yard, Bunker Hill Monument, and Dorchester Heights Monument. Except for the Dorchester Heights Monument in South Boston, all of Boston National Historical Park’s historic sites are part of Boston’s Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a 2 and a half mile walking trail of 16 colonial, Revolutionary, and federal sites in downtown Boston and Charlestown that tells the story in four principal chapters (mentioned on the other side of this brochure) of the people, places, and events that sparked the American Revolution against England and highlights Boston’s role in laying the foundation for a new nation. The Freedom Trail originated in 1951 when Old North Church sexton Bob Winn proposed to reporter Bill Schofield the creation of a trail to help visitors find Boston’s historic sites and to boost tourism. Schofield promoted the idea in his newspaper columns. In June 1951, with the support of Mayor John B. Hynes and the Chamber of Commerce, the city placed signs painted with a colonial rider directing visitors to 12 historic sites from the State House to Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Over the years the Freedom Trail has expanded and evolved. Today it is recognized as both a National Recreation Trail and a National Millennium Trail. It extends from Boston Common to the Charlestown Navy Yard and Bunker Hill and is marked by a line of contrasting bricks, red paint, and distinctive signage. A wide variety of private and public organizations oversee the welfare of the trail, including the city of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the National Park Service, and the Freedom Trail Foundation. Together these organizations have made the trail into an exciting, historical adventure and a vital part of Boston’s and the nation’s heritage. More than 1.5 million people walk the trail every year, discovering the Revolutionary past embedded in a major modern urban environment.
Description
Text providing context for visitors who will be exploring Boston.
Duration
2 minutes, 51 seconds
Credit
UniDescription/Gould and Pollock
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