The Hindu Business Line : On the Boston trail

Boston to many Americans is both quaint and representative of American history and its changing culture. Uday K. Chakraborty tours the city's historical sites and its other landmarks.

A busy downtown scene.

Boston is an attractive city whose charms and subtleties will be all the more apparent if you are already familiar with places such as New York, Chicago or Las Vegas. Unlike those `All American' metropolises, Boston is the only major American city built on a human scale.

For some it epitomises `quaintness', for others `refinement' and `culture'. But, all Americans are aware of the importance of Boston for its history and as an important centre of learning and great ideas.

This, you must understand, is where it all began. It was here, at nearby Plymouth, that the Pilgrim Fathers landed in the legendary Mayflower in December 1620. Those fervent, rigorous and highly enterprising settlers created a New England in the image of their unyielding, Puritanism.

About one and half a century later, Bostonians blazed a trail of freedom from British colony to independence of America. Today the sites of Boston National Historical Park, connected by the Freedom Trail symbolise the accomplishments of that revolutionary generation.

Most of Boston's historic sites are connected by the Freedom Trail. This 4.5 km red-lined trail is a walking tour of 16 sites and structures of historic importance in Boston all through the heart of the city. Usually this tour begins at the golden domed State House and then stops at Park Street Church where the first anti-slavery speech was given. Also buried here are the victims of the Boston Massacre.

Next comes `Old South', which was built as a congregational church but where frequent meeting were held, especially in the years prior to the Revolution. The most famous meetings took place on December 16, 1773, when Bostonians met to consider the new British tax on tea.

After the meeting, a band of men disguised as Red Indians left Old South for the waterfront where they boarded three ships and dumped their cargo of tea into the harbour. The `Boston Tea Party' (as the incidence is referred to as) brought the country closer to rebellion against the British Rule.

A circle of cobblestones in the street outside Old State House marks the Boston Massacre Site where on March 5, 1770, British soldiers opened fire in panic and killed five patriots.

One of the victims was Crisp Attacks, the first black to die for the cause of American independence. The detail is significant, for it was in Boston, on July 4, 1829, that America heard its first public expression of the slavery abolitionist idea. `I shall be heard', said the speaker. And so he was, decades later, by Abraham Lincoln.

An interesting diversion on the Freedom Trail is the Old Comer Bookstall. This building was the centre of literary Boston in the 19th century. Its venerable roof has looked down on such giants of American literature as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. And, Charles Dickens also paid a passing visit.

A trip through Boston takes you past many sites such as the Beaver.

A courtesy shuttle bus to Boston Tea Party ship and museum may be boarded at the Commercial street end of Quinsy Market. Here visitors may tour a full-scale replica of the brig Beaver. In fact, they have also kept a lot of Tea Chests, which visiting tourists could throw into the sea to re-enact the historic episode.

Nearby Faneul Hall is known as the cradle of liberty, for it was here that Americans met to protest against the authority of the King of England and later to promote all those great movements that have made America what it is today; the abolition of slavery, feminism, temperance leagues, campaign against capital punishment.

The historic landmarks continue all the way to Bunker Hill, where Lafayette laid the first stones of the monument commemorating the famous battle of 17 June 1778, and the Charles Town where the world's oldest battleship, the USS Constitution, lies in anchor in the mouth of Charles River. It proved invincible during the Anglo-American War of 1812-15.

Boston is a city of the sea and by the sea. By moving on to the harbour, you will gain a new dimension to your understanding and perception of Boston. Even if you are not interested in the captain's narration of local history and legend, you can enjoy exploring the natural beauty of the harbour and island with a ship cruise. Moving into the outer harbour, the varied landscape of the harbour islands fill the horizon.

A natural retreat less than an hour's cruise from downtown Boston, the Boston Harbour Island State Park is the place for picnicking, hiking and roaming. There are some colonial forts for all to explore. On return the harbour sunset added colour and romances to our evening sightseeing cruise.

Boston exemplifies many aspects of American heritage. Its citizens are a perpetual fountain of individualism. Its scholars and statesmen have profoundly influenced the life of the city and the nation.

The city is also considered as the cerebral centre of America, when the first settlers founded the Boston Public Latin School. Its schools and universities are justly renowned, especially those in nearby Cambridge — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. These two leading institutes have a share of six US presidents, 51 Nobel laureates and 27 Pulitzer Prize winners. Set in a venerable park, the red brick and pale sandstone buildings exemplify what true temples of learning should be.

Cities, like people, change and evolve. Boston is famous for its adaptive use of old structures. The old Quinsy Market, the waterfront, and Charlestown Navy Yard have been renovated for a variety of community, commercial and leisure users. The marriage of historic preservation and economic revitalisation has created a skyline of contrast; modem skyscrapers and the Government Centre vie with the steeple of the Old North Church and clock tower of the Custom's House. Architectural and Cultural diversity is the essence of Boston.

Boston, inevitably, has seen its share of progress. The Pilgrims, I imagine, would be dismayed by some of the sights such as the fast food chains, the shopping centres and the traffic jams. But, there is still much to delight the eye and please the mind. It seems to be possible only because of the Bostonians, who have been so jealously guarding their heritage and natural splendour.

Pictures by the author

Fact file

How to get there: While it has a bustling airport, a train or bus ride from New York would allow you to enjoy the beautiful New England countryside.

Where to stay: There are a number of cheaper hotels and motels. You can book them from the airport or railway station. Tariff $50 upward for a double room accommodation.

Excursions: If you are in Boston, there is no point missing the quaint towns, sea-ports and scenic countryside of New England, specially in October and early November when riot of `fall colour', decorates the trees.

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