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ADAMS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-770-1175
1250 Hancock St., Quincy, eight miles south of Boston, 617-770-1175. Take the “T” to the Quincy Center stop on the Red Line. Visitor Center open daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tickets: $5; children (under 16) free. This oft-overlooked historical gem offers insight into the lives of U.S. presidents John Adams and son John Quincy Adams. Tour the birthplaces of both presidents, as well as “The Old House,” which was home to five generations of the Adams family.
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ARNOLD ARBORETUM
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-524-1718
125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, 617-524-1718. Grounds open year-round dawn to dusk. Free admission. Visitor Center open Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Sat 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun noon–4 p.m. This 265-acre tree sanctuary designed by Emerald Necklace architect Frederick Law Olmsted opened in 1872. Now a National Historic Landmark, the arboretum and its gardens contain more than 7,000 varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers for your perusal. Special event: through Dec 5—Images from 2005–2008: Photographs by Ann Greaney-Williams, free.
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BOSTON ATHENAEUM
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-227-0270
10 Beacon St., 617-227-0270. Mon 8:30 a.m.–8 p.m., Tue–Fri ’til 5:30 p.m., Sat 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Art & Architecture tours: Tue & Thu at 3 p.m. Reservations required. One of the oldest and most distinguished private libraries in the United States, the Athenaeum was founded in 1807. For nearly half a century, it was the unchallenged center of intellectual life in Boston, and by 1851 it had become one of the five largest libraries in the country. Special event: Dec 13 at 10 a.m.—Children’s Day in the Gallery: Make Your Own Museum, tickets: $5 per child, reservations requested.
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BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN
Category: Sights of Interest
bordered by Arlington, Charles, Beacon and Boylston streets. Open daily dawn to dusk. Established in 1837, the Public Garden is the nation’s first public botanical garden. Its 24 acres are filled with scenic and diverse greenery, as well as sculptures, including one that commemorates the popular children’s book Make Way for Ducklings. Other fixtures include the Lagoon—home to the famed Swan Boats from April through September—and the world’s smallest suspension bridge.
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-536-5400
700 Boylston St., Copley Square, 617-536-5400. Mon–Thu 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri & Sat ’til 5 p.m., Sun 1–5 p.m. Free admission. Art & Architecture tours Mon at 2:30 p.m., Tue & Thu at 6 p.m., Fri & Sat at 11 a.m. The first publicly supported municipal library in the world hosts one million visitors a year, who come to view this architectural masterpiece and its collection of more than five million books. Film festivals, exhibits and children’s programs run throughout the year.
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BUNKER HILL PAVILION
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-242-5641
Boston National Historical Park Visitors Center, Charlestown, 617-242-5641. Located yards from the USS Constitution. Visitor center and bookstore open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Visitors can climb the nearby Bunker Hill Monument, a 221-foot granite obelisk, or visit the Bunker Hill Museum. Check out “Whites of Their Eyes,” a dramatic multimedia presentation of the Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the first major battles of the Revolution. Tickets: $4; seniors & students $3; children (4–12) $2.
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CUSTOM HOUSE TOWER
Category: Sights of Interest
3 McKinley Square, 617-310-6300. Observation deck open Mon–Thu at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Fri & Sat at 4 p.m. Free historical tours: Tue at 10 a.m. Tours may be cancelled due to weather conditions, call ahead. Boston’s first skyscraper, the Custom House, stands high over Boston Harbor as one of the city’s most impressive landmarks. Crowned by its distinctive clock tower and restored with modern luxuries, the building epitomizes the preservation of Boston’s historic architecture. Today, the Marriott Corporation operates this landmark.
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THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST
Category: Sights of Interest
175 Huntington Ave., 617-450-2000. Free tours of The Mother Church Tue noon–4 p.m., Wed 1–4 p.m., Thu–Sat noon–5 p.m. and Sun 11 a.m.–3 p.m., every half hour. Services: Sun at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Wed at noon and 7:30 p.m. Spanish language services: Sun at noon, Wed at 6 p.m. The original Mother Church built in 1894 is at the heart of the Christian Science Center, situated on 14 acres in the Back Bay. The Romanesque structure is made from New Hampshire granite with stained glass windows illustrating Biblical events.
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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-524-0128
95 Forest Hills Ave., Jamaica Plain, 617-524-0128. Open daily from dawn to dusk. Created in 1848, this cemetery serves as the final resting place of Eugene O’Neill, Anne Sexton, E.E. Cummings, William Lloyd Garrison and former Boston Celtic Reggie Lewis. The 275 acres of twisting paths also contain sculptural treasures, an arboretum, a “library” of life stories and an open-air museum. Special event: Dec 7 at 2 p.m.—Spoken Word Poetry Slam, tickets: $5.
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HARRISON GRAY OTIS HOUSE
Category: Sights of Interest
Telephone : 617-227-3956
141 Cambridge St., 617-227-3957. Wed–Sun 11 a.m.–4:30 p.m., tours every half hour. Admission: $8; seniors $7; students & children (5–18) $4; children (under 5), Historic New England members and Boston residents free; $24 maximum per family. Built in 1796 for Harrison Gray Otis and his wife, this grand mansion is an example of high-style Federal elegance. Tours offer insight into the social, business and family life of the post-Revolution American elite.
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