One, If By Land ~ Two, If By Sea ~ The Old North Church and More of Boston

Wednesday, March 11

High in the steeple of the Old North Church, two lanterns were placed on the eve of April 18, 1775. On behalf of his friend Paul Revere, Robert Newman sneaked out of his bedroom window and slipped over to the nearby church. As another friend, John Pulling, stood guard, he climbed the curving stairway at the back of the church and then a series of ladders to reach the steeple. The deed was done and surrounding countryside was warned of the arrival British troops by sea.

With 513, 654 bricks made in the nearby town of Medford, Ebenezer Clough and his partner built the walls of the church 2 ½ feet thick. The same congregation that met in the sanctuary for the first time on December 29, 1723 still worships there today. The high box pews, rented or purchased by parishioners warded off drafts. Today the seating is first come-first serve.

The two brass chandeliers first used on Christmas eve of the church's first year anniversary are still used to light evening services.

For more than two centuries this clock has marked the service times. The organ which was the first made in America is still in use. The case is original but the works have been replaced several times.

During the warmer months, the church allows tours into the crypts beneath the church. There are 37, which contain the graves of 1,110 people. The tour also allows one to ascend to the lower level of the bell tower of the 191 foot steeple.


As we walked around, our senses slowly absorbing the history of the ages, we were told that the building needed to be locked up for the night. We had just watched the curator, a young woman with a wealth of information, snuff out the lantern that had marked the window through which Robert Newman had slipped out of. Since we had recently adjusted out clocks for daylight savings time, the 5 o'clock hour had caught us by surprise.


Walking through Boston's Italian “North End”, we kept our eye open for a place to eat supper. We admired the cobbled streets and narrow alleys. As we passed a window we saw a small cozy table for two with high stools, waiting for us. A simple sign marked it as La Locale. Inside was a handful of tables and a bustling staff around a round, open pizza oven. The delicious smell of pizza permeated the room. Somehow we took not a single photo. Possibly because we were distracted by two mothers nearby with four very undisciplined children at a nearby table. When they finally left, I noticed that they wore private school uniforms and despite being under the age of five, they each had several ski tickets hanging from their jackets

We had been told at the Boston Commons information station that an evening out wouldn't be complete without a visit to Mike's. Though stuffed from our cheese pizza, we decided to go in and see what the fuss was about. It was amazing! Two huge lighted cases were filled with an impressive array of beautiful Italian pastries of every kind. Our selections, a Neapolitan for me and a chocolate chip cannoli for Alyssa, were placed in a box and rapidly tied with many strands of string. The string came from an overhead dispenser that looked like a balloon with a tiny hole in the bottom.

Once outside the steamy, fragrant shop, we walked partway through the city and then took the subway (known in Boston as the “T”) for a stretch to shorten our walk back. On our return, despite the lack of napkins, plates or forks, we enjoyed our treats while propped up in our beds with a cup of decaf.