Atlantica - 01.06.2004, Page 25

A T L A N T I C A 23
The spirited band of rebels who refused to pay
taxes to King George III were led by the tax-cut-
ting president George Bush…wait a minute,
that’s not correct. What I meant to write was that
the spirited band of rebels who gallantly fended
off the Red Coats have forever defined Boston,
not to mention given tour operators who dress
like Paul Revere the opportunity to cash in big on
the Spirit of ’76.
Despite the silly marketing of the Revolution, a
trip to Boston is not complete without a short
walking tour of the Freedom Trail. Come on, it’s
only 2.5 miles. Plus, the Freedom Trail is marked
by a red line, and you can eat and drink along the
way.
The obvious starting point is the Boston
Common where the Freedom Trail begins, coinci-
dentally, right next to the Visitor Information
Centre. Go ahead. Sign up for a paid tour with a
person decked out in revolutionary garb. Don’t
laugh. One day, like Puma shoes, the patriot-look
will come back in fashion and you’ll be lining up
outside the Armani shop on Newbury Street to
buy the wardrobe. Besides, these guides are
versed in this particular slice of US history. Their
commentary will enable you to make sense of the
sites that you’ll be frantically taking pictures of.
The guidebook lists 16 different historical sites
linked to the Freedom Trail. As one of 12 siblings,
I especially enjoy standing outside Paul Revere
House, thinking about how the man who made
the famous midnight ride from Lexington to
Concord raised his 16 children on a silversmith’s
salary.
Along the Freedom Trail, adjacent to Park
Street Church, is the Granary Burying Ground,
the final resting-place for some of the most
important fathers of the Revolution. What makes
visiting the historic cemetery so interesting is not
the gravestones marked Franklin or Hancock, but
the city setting of the potter’s field. There you are
on a night when the fog hangs low, headed for
the nearest Starbucks, when you pass by the
gravestones. It’s enough to make you feel as if
the Headless Horseman looms close
behind, waiting to gallop you off into the
darkness.
Following the Freedom Trail as it
winds its way past the glass skyscrapers
reaching for the sky, history sometimes
slips away as you marvel at the monu-
ments to modernity. The intersection of
old and new is best observed at Faneuil
Hall, built by the wealthy merchant Peter
Faneuil in 1742. Faneuil Hall is essential-
ly the house of liberty. It’s where the
colonists met in secret, planting the
seeds of revolution, and patriots like
Samuel Adams rallied Bostonians to
fight against the British. Today, Faneuil
Hall and Quincy Market, which is next
door, are filled with tourist shops, cafes,
restaurants and numerous bars. Sure,
the devotion to political thought and the
pursuit of liberty have long since
passed, but if Samuel Adams were alive
today he might enjoy his freedom by sit-
ting at the other Cheers bar, swigging
pint after pint of Sam Adams beer.
WALKING CITY
"I like Boston because it’s a big city, but
small enough to negotiate and get
around," says Anna, a 23-year old archi-
tecture student who is moving to Boston
from Washington D.C.
Standing outside the Boston
Architectural Centre, on her way to grab
lunch with her father, she excitedly says
that the easiest way to "negotiate and
get around" is by foot.
When in Boston, heed Anna’s advice.
With all the traffic and the one-way
streets going this way and that way –
but never the way you want them to –
driving in the city is an exercise in frus-
tration.
Boston
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