SNACC 45th ANNUAL MEETING
Boston, Home of Our Heritage
Linda S. Aglio, MD
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| Linda S. Aglio, MD |
There may be no better way to explore Boston than in the fall, especially when there are so many enjoyable ways to do it. In fact, the city is so packed with historic sites and monuments it’s tough to know where to start. Try some walking tours to hit the landmarks you’ve always wanted to see, along with some noteworthy spots you may not know, and be sure to end your tour with some of Boston’s best culinary stylings.
Freedom Trail
Our most famous historic walk takes in a wealth of important revolutionary sites and is a cinch to navigate: just follow the red brick path. You’ll see the graves of Samuel Adams and John Hancock in the Granary Burying Ground, plus Paul Revere’s house. If you make it all the way to the end (Bunker Hill, in Charlestown) you can avoid retracing your steps by taking a ferry from the Charleston Navy Yard to Long Wharf (opposite the aquarium) in the North End.
Black Heritage Trail
Free African-Americans living in Boston were key participants in the abolitionist movement of the 1800s. This trail winds through Beacon Hill, where you’ll pass historic homes, including the 1833 Hayden House, an important stop on the Underground Railroad. The walk ends at the Museum of African American History, set in the 1806 African Meeting House.
Irish Heritage Trail
The Irish trail celebrates the enduring impact of the large Irish-American community on the city. The trail passes through downtown and Back Bay, ending at Fenway Park, which was built by Irish immigrant Charles E. Logue. At School and Washington Streets you’ll see a moving memorial to the Irish famine, which sent tens of thousands of immigrants to Boston between 1845 and 1849.
Women’s Heritage Trail
The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail is a collection of seven tours celebrating influential Boston women. The Beacon Hill tour includes the home of author Louisa May Alcott, while the Downtown tour gives you a feminist perspective on monuments like Faneuil Hall, site of many important protests and suffrage meetings.
The Literary District
The city offers bibliophiles a varied selection of libraries, bookstores, and literary hot spots to peruse and get their academic fix. You can take a self-guided walking tour of the Boston Literary District, with stops at the city’s best bookstores and famous landmarks featured in popular novels. Check the event listings at Brookline Booksmith, Harvard Book Store, and Trident Booksellers & Cafe, which regularly offers free readings from local and international authors.
Not to be missed is the Boston Public Library’s McKim Building. It is a spectacular example of classical Beaux Arts architecture and its status as a National Historic Landmark is well deserved. Head to the second floor to marvel at the barrel-arched ceiling and oak bookcases of Bates Hall, and make sure to see the stunning murals that line the walls in the Chavannes Gallery and the Abbey Room.
If you’re a true literature nerd, the Boston Athenæum in Cambridge should be at the top of your list. Worth seeing is the remarkable fine art collection at the Athenæm; even the “anthropodermic bibliopegy,” which are books bound with human skin, a macabre practice frequently used in the 19th century when collecting and cataloguing the offenses of criminals.
Discover the Waterfront
There’s nothing more appealing on a vibrant New England days, than a stroll along Harborwalk, which hugs the Boston Harbor and passes Charlestown, the North End, Fort Point Channel and Dorchester, among other neighborhoods. To see the banks of the Charles River, head down to the Esplanade, with its views of Back Bay townhouses and Fenway on the Boston side and MIT on the Cambridge side.
See Amazing Art
The magic of theater, art, music, and film has cast its spell over historic downtown Boston with the revival of the Theater District, a lively movie scene, galleries, and concerts at lunchtime and in the evenings. We all know about the biggies—Boston Ballet, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Harvard museums. But don’t forget to explore the cutting-edge creativity generated by the city’s art schools and some of the finest gallery spaces around. Click here for more information.
Eat + Drink
While you can fill a phone book with listings of Boston’s fine restaurants and clubs, here is a small sampling to get you going in the right direction.
Sharpen your chopstick skills at Boston’s many Chinatown restaurants; don’t miss our North End’s not-so-little Italy; authentic deli lovers will find Mamaleh’s at One Kendall Square in Cambridge definitely worth the trip; and if you don’t mind waiting in airport-length lines for a taste of Neapolitan pizza, you will be vastly entertained by our most recent attraction, Eatlay. This glorious, infuriating, food tasting circus is located at the Galleria, in downtown Boston.
