Tonight's picture was taken on August 31, 2008. That day was full house in Mattie's hospital room. Mattie's three cousins, aunt, and uncle were visiting. In addition, several of Peter's friends from Arthur Andersen came by to show their support. As they were going to do a Live Strong bike ride in Mattie's honor.
Quote of the day: Some fun facts....BOSTON IS NAMED AFTER A TOWN IN ENGLAND. REVERE BEACH WAS THE COUNTRY’S FIRST PUBLIC BEACH.
BOSTON BUILT AMERICA’S FIRST SUBWAY IN 1897. THE OLDEST PUBLIC PARK IN THE USA IS IN BOSTON. ~ trolleytours.com
Hailed as the "Cradle of American Independence," Boston is filled with historic sites. Boston was America's first great city. In the 19th century, Boston was rightly described as the "Athens of America." Today this city of 800,000 retains its vitality, combining historic districts with revitalized urban centers while remaining faithful to its venerable roots. It is a city every American should visit at least once.
We ventured on a four hour walking tour of Boston! We boarded a bus which took us to Boston Commons and then began walking. We had an amazing tour guide! Boston is a wonderfully clean, friendly, and doable city!
The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802 by Paul Revere's Revere Copper Company. Revere was the first American to roll copper successfully into sheets in a commercially viable manner.
The dome was first painted gray and then light yellow before being gilded with gold leaf in 1874. During World War II, the dome was painted gray once again, to prevent reflection during blackouts and to protect the city and building from bombing attacks. In 1997, at a cost of more than $300,000, the dome was re-gilded, in 23k gold.
The dome is topped with a gilded, wooden pine cone, symbolizing both the importance of Boston's lumber industry during early colonial times and of the state of Maine, which was a district of the Commonwealth when the Bulfinch section of the building was completed.
Stops along the trail include simple explanatory ground markers, graveyards, notable churches and buildings, and a historic naval frigate.
The Freedom Trail was conceived by local journalist William Schofield, who in 1951 suggested building a pedestrian trail to link important local landmarks. Boston mayor John Hynes decided to put Schofield's idea into action. By 1953, 40,000 people were walking the trail annually.
Mike described Adams as a spit fire and a true patriot that was instrumental in us succeeding from British rule.
Apparently Samuel Adams incited the Massacre as he claimed that the British shot this 12 year old and therefore there should be retaliation.
On February 22, 1770, Snider joined a crowd outside the house of Ebenezer Richardson in the North End. Richardson was a customs service employee who had tried to disperse a protest in front of the shop of Loyalist Theophilus Lillie. The crowd threw stones which broke Richardson's windows and struck his wife. Richardson fired a gun into the crowd, wounding Snider in the arm and the chest. The boy died that evening. Samuel Adams arranged for the funeral, which was attended by more than 2,000 people. He was buried in Granary Burying Ground; the victims of the Boston Massacre are buried near him.
Snider's killing and large public funeral fueled public outrage which reached a peak in the Boston Massacre 11 days later. Richardson was convicted of murder that spring, but then received a royal pardon and a new job within the customs service on the grounds that he had acted in self-defense. This became a major American grievance against the British government.
Back in the ’90s, Robert Webb was browsing in a Florence art store filled with statues for anyone hoping to take a piece of Italy home with them. Tucked behind a replica of Michelangelo’s David, he discovered a small bronze burro. Those other customers might have been there for Renaissance art, but not Webb: He purchased the little guy for just under $10,000, then shipped it home to Boston. He intended to present the donkey statue to the City of Boston as a gift, with the idea that it’d be a welcome distraction for young children struggling to pay attention during the Freedom Trail walking tour.
To justify the statue’s placement, he said the donkey represented the Democratic Party, a political affiliation long held by Boston’s mayors. Soon after, Webb says tenants in the City Hall building asked him where the statue’s Republican elephant counterpart would go. Rather than fly back to Florence, Webb decided to place two footsteps in front of the donkey so those who disagreed with the Democratic party could stand in opposition to it.
Mike told us that in the 1950s, Boston wanted to tear down this building in order to widen the roads. However, Chicago heard this and wanted to purchase the building... moving brick by brick to Illinois. Boston couldn't allow this to happen, and instead preserved the building. Perhaps without Chicago, this building wouldn't still be here!
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