Freedom Trail Essentials

Welcome to Boston, and to Boston Common, the oldest city park in the United States. It covers about 50 acres, bounded by Tremont, Park, Beacon, Charles and Boylston streets. The story of this land starts with William Blaxton, an English clergyman who was the first European to own it and who lived here alone on the Shawmut Peninsula for about five years. In 1634 he sold most of his land to Governor John Winthrop, who paid for it with a one-time tax of six shillings per resident.

Those 44 acres became the town common. In the 1630s families grazed their cows here, and there were so many that the pasture was overgrazed. By 1646 the town limited grazing to 70 cows at a time, and cows weren't formally banned until 1830. Just to the west is the Boston Public Garden.

Today, this is where many visitors begin the Freedom Trail, and so will we.

This is the Massachusetts State House, the seat of the state government, home to the legislature and the governor's office. It was designed by Charles Bulfinch and completed in January 1798, at more than five times its budget. It's one of the oldest state capitols still in use, and it's considered a masterpiece of Federal-style architecture. Paul Revere presided over the laying of its cornerstone on July 4, 1795, as head of the Massachusetts Masons.

Look up at the dome. It started out as wood, and it leaked, so in 1802 Revere's own copper company covered it with copper. Over time it was painted gray, then light yellow, and in 1874 it was gilded with gold leaf. During World War II, the dome was painted gray again so it wouldn't reflect light during blackouts.

It was re-gilded in 1969. Before this building, the state government met at the Old State House, which we'll visit soon.