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Quite easy to visit 364 days of the year, this is the endpoint for one of the largest and most prestigious marathons in the world. The Boston Marathon has been held every year since 1897, making it the world's oldest. On race day, streets are barricaded and lined with bleacher seating, and first aid tents spring up like mushrooms in Copley Square. If you like, pay your respects to the victims of the ghastly 2013 terrorist attacks here, but there is no permanent memorial at this site.
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. First held in 1897, the event was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events. It is one of eight World Marathon Majors. Its course runs from Hopkinton in southern Middlesex County to Boylston Street, near Copley Square, in Boston. The World Marathon Majors is a series that includes the Sydney, Tokyo, Cape Town, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City marathons. Points from these races determine annual series champions among elite competitors, enhancing international competition and prestige.
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An independent geographic research and education center including an exhibition gallery that features changing thematic exhibitions, a public learning center with research books, and a reading room for rare map research. It is ranked among the top ten in the United States its collection of over 250,000 geographic objects, the significance of its historic (pre-1900) material, its advanced digitization program, and exceptional educational programs to advance geographic literacy among students in grades K to 12.
BPL
This is the headquarters of the Boston Public Library (BPL). This branch is defined by its two buildings, the original McKim building from 1895, and the newer Boylston building, opened in 1972. They were built to similar scale and use similar materials, but the ornamentation–or lack thereof–clearly separates them. The Boylston building completed extensive renovations summer of 2016; featuring a new cafe, radio station, and other amenities for the people of Boston. Don't miss the beautifully quiet interior courtyard, a place to spend a solitary moment reflecting in the heart of the city.
Third Church
As one of the finest High Victorian Gothic churches in New England, the Old South Church is a stunning aesthetic landmark within the Back Bay. The interior is filled with sumptuous materials, musical instruments, and stained glass. After a misguided makeover in the 1950s, a painstaking restoration took place during the late 1980s. Historical members of the congregation include Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and William Dawes; Paul Revere's lesser known counterpart. (Although this building would be news to them.) Willard Sears, one of the architects responsible for this structure, also takes credit for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, another European inspired masterwork.
If you've only got the time to visit one church during your trip, make it this one. The American Institute of Architects called Trinity Church one of the "Ten Most Significant Buildings in the United States" in 1885. Today it is the only building remaining on their top ten list. Designated a National Historic Landmark, the church was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and was consecrated in 1877. Trinity Church established Richardson's reputation, birthing a new style of architecture soon adopted for a number of public buildings across the United States. Its interior murals were completed entirely by American artists.