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Photo: User:Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Founded as an Anglican congregation in 1686, the first King's Chapel was built of wood around 1688. Today's stone building dates from 1754 and was built encasing the original wooden structure. Once complete, the wooden frame was disassembled and removed through the stone windows. The beams were shipped off to Lunenburg and reused in a new church. The church bell was forged in England and hung high in the belfry during 1772. Cracked in 1814, it was recast by Paul Revere and would be the largest—and final—bell ever to make its way out of his foundry. The bell is still rung during church services today.
King's Chapel is an independent Unitarian congregation in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association and describes itself as "Unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was for a time after the American Revolution called the "Stone Chapel", an 18th-century structure at the corner of Tremont Street and School Street. The chapel building, completed in 1754, is one of the finest designs of the noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its architectural significance. The congregation has worshipped according to a Unitarian version of the Book of Common Prayer since 1785, currently in its ninth edition.
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Predating King's Chapel, this cemetery was founded in 1630, and is the oldest in Boston. Notable figures buried here include: John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts, Mary Chilton the first European woman to step ashore in New England, and Elizabeth Pain, whose headstone supposedly inspired the book The Scarlet Letter.
Old City Hall, unlike the current city hall, is undeniably beautiful. This Second Empire style building was built in 1865 and served as Boston's City Hall until 1969. It has since been converted to office space and also houses an expensive steak house. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and is a much touted example of adaptive re-use in architecture.
Walk up these oddly placed steps just as British Royal Governors would have done 300 years ago. At one time they led up to a sumptuous governor's mansion, although George Washington put a stop to that in 1775. Today you'll find the Marliave's al fresco dining patio awaiting you in summer, and an unsightly dumpster or two when it's cold. Check the plaques for more information.
Two statues commemorate the 1845 Irish Famine, depicting a starving Irish family on their knees, and a well fed family walking away. The natural rise of the land here is used to great effect by the sculptor. As you walk up or down from the statues, it's easy to empathize with the predicament of either family. The physical pain of starvation and the emotional pain of leaving loved ones behind are each masterfully rendered in bronze.
Built in 1729, this church has been an important meeting place for centuries. Famous today due to events during 1773, when colonists used the space to organize what would become known as the Boston Tea Party. Almost destroyed by the fire of 1872, Bostonians saved the structure and it's now an important stop on the Freedom Trail.
Get off the Freedom Trail for a second and spend a minute reading plaques in this narrow alley. Beneath your feet once flowed clean spring water used by the residents of Boston for hundreds of years. The lane runs parallel to Water Street so you know it's for real. Several other notes relating to Boston's history adorn adjacent building walls, if you're interested. Use caution during the evening, however, as the homeless sometimes use this semi-protected area as a campsite.