//
Photo: Unknown artistUnknown artist, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Post Office Square is a tranquil oasis in the middle of Downtown. In the late 1980s, a decrepit parking garage was torn down and a public park was created on the site, funded by a privately operated parking garage underground. A hub of activity during the day, office workers take their lunch beneath the trees, while yoga classes and other activities make use of the open greenspace. The square is not very crowded in the evening and on weekends, but you may run into a wedding photography shoot.
Post Office Square in Boston, Massachusetts, is a square located in the financial district at the intersection of Milk, Congress, Pearl and Water Streets. It was named in 1874 after the United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury which fronted it, now replaced by the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
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.
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.
Construction financed by the King of England in 1713, this was the longtime seat of government in Boston, and remains its oldest public building. The Boston Massacre took place just in front of the State House, and in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians from the balcony. Saved from demolition in 1882, the building has housed numerous tenants and seen many faithful restorations over the years. For example the lion and unicorn statues—symbols of the monarchy—were replaced after being burned during a period of revolutionary zeal in 1776. Every 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence is read aloud once more from the same balcony.
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.