Viewing Boston and the surrounding area through tourist's eyes.

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Thanks for hanging in there with me. I haven't had time to post, but I did update the "Coming Attraction" section of my blog. Check it out when you get a change and feel free to add to it via comments.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Interesting Facts on Boston - The City We All Love

So for the last post of my class assignment - don't worry I will continue to post after today (but it probably will not be every day) - I thought I would share some of the random pieces of information.  Below are tidbits that either didn't make it into a previous post (I know they can get long so I try to edit them) or don't seem to lend itself to a solo post.

1.  A three-story parking garage, that can hold roughly 2000 cars can be found underneath Boston Common.  Drivers, you probably knew this, but as a non-driver I find this amazing.

2.  On January 15, 1919 roughly two million gallons of molasses spilled into Boston's North End destroying 10 buildings and killing 21 people.

3.  The Swan Boats are made of 30 individual custom-made pieces.  In case you are wondering, the boats were assembled this Thursday and as of Saturday are open to passengers.

4. The MFA is free on Wednesday nights.

5. The weather beacon on the top of the Old Hancock Building is still used to tell Bostonians the weather.  Think -  Steady blue, clear view.  Flashing blue, clouds are due.  Steady red, rain ahead.  Flashing red, snow instead.  (I read somewhere that flashing red in the summer means a Red Sox game is canceled - oh the horror)

6.  The nickname "Beantown" was given to the city by sailors because the smell of cooking beans would waft into the harbor.

7.  The Freedom Trail changes - not frequently, but it has.  It once ran down Spring Lane passing the site of the fresh spring that enabled puritans to settle in Boston.

8. The city of Boston finally payed England back for the tea our founding fathers dumped into the harbor (I heard this on a tour, but can't find any info online - if you know more please share)

I think I will leave the list at eight for now - I am sure there will be more as I continue to travel the city.  If you have any you wish to add, please do.

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed reading your blog a lot!As my friend (he is 30) is going to Boston the begining of may and is having difficulty in finding a nice hotel but at a reasonable price, do you have suggestions? And if not, could you tell me which site i should read? I must help him,cause he is working a lot and have no time. my email is induarte@ig.com.br

    thank you very much!!

    ReplyDelete