Doing something new every week in 2017 #15: Boston — liberty & tea

Boston waterfront

To me, Boston epitomised the very best of the United States — the birthplace of liberty, a financial hub of old money and who can forget Harvard, arguably the best university in the world.

Having spent just under a week in Boston, I can say that it was all of these things more. Here are my highlights from being in Boston for the very first time:

Harvard, Cambridge

Our first stop was Harvard University in Cambridge, just outside of Boston. Harvard has a beautiful campus — lots of white and orange brick buildings nested between the trees.

Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusett

One surprising thing about Harvard, was that it also houses the only Le Corbusier designed building in America — Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. Granted, it was a collaboration between Le Corbusier and Chilean architect Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, but many of Corbuiser’s Five Points was evident in the interior of the building.

Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts by Le Corbusier and Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, 1962

Boston Tea Party

I had heard a lot about the Boston Tea Party before the trip, but the whole story about the movement really only came to life when we visited the Boston Tea Party & Ship Museum.

The museum experience was very interactive with reenactments, holograms and historical relics from the event of 1773, where 342 tea chests (like the one below) belonging to the British East India Company were thrown from ships by Americans posing as Mohawk Indians. And just like that, liberty was born!

It is well worth a visit and it certainly gave us a glimpse into why the Tea Party movement has become such a strong political voice in the U.S.

A tea chest with the British East India Company logo on the outside

The birth of the American Revolution

The Boston Tea Party of 1773 marked the beginning of the American Revolution. Over the next decade, Boston became the backdrop for many significant political events such as the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which eventually led to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

Today, visitors to the city can walk the Freedom Trail, which takes you to many of the politically significant locations around Boston, including the Old State House, the backdrop to the Boston Massacre of 1770, the Granary Burying Ground and the Boston Common.

The Old State House, the backdrop to the Boston Massacre of 1770

Boston’s historic Granary Burying Ground is the resting place of Benjamin Franklin’s family

Boston Common, the starting point of the Freedom Trail

Coming up next: Salem (MA) — hysteria and witch trials

#15 of 52 new ways to challenge yourself in 2017 | Last week: GoT concert