2008 Tours & Lectures

• Art Deco

  Art Deco is said to be one of the few architectural styles recognizable by most Americans. Boston can claim examples of Art Deco rivaling New York's finest. Walk through Boston's financial district to see examples of Art Deco in government, business, theater, religious, and retail buildings.

• Ashmont Hill

  Explore a wonderful area of Dorchester, a town even older than Boston. Ashmont Hill was the site of several Colonial estates eventually giving way to lovely Victorian homes in this 19th century garden suburb.

  See one of the finest Gothic Revival churches ever built in the United States and the neighborhood Mayor John Honey Fitz Fitzgerald and daughter Rose Kennedy once called home.

• Bay Village

  Visit one of Boston's hidden neighborhoods; a miniature, garden-filled area that has maintained its residential charm amidst the surrounding city.

  Developed in the 1820s and 1830s by craftsman who worked on the more elegant homes of Beacon Hill. Later inhabited by the actors and musicians of the Theatre District, learn of the deadly Cocoanut Grove fire, the Prohibition-era Speakeasies, and how to raise a street.

• Beacon Hill

  From the State House through the historic streets of elegant row houses, experience examples of architect Charles Bulfinch and his followers.

• Beacon Hill With a BOO!

  Beacon Hill With a BOO! is the Halloween walking tour of Beacon Hill featuring the murders, executions, ghosts and politicians of this seemingly quaint neighborhood.

• Bells, Bridges and Locks

  Discover the things that move in, around, and over the Charles River Basin. From the Boston Garden along the Bulfinch Triangle, over the Charles, and to U.S.S. Constitution, you will experience the art, technology, and nature of this historic area.

  Examine Boston's new cable-stayed landmark, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, the locks of the Charles River Dam, and the revitalization of the lower basin.

• Boston By Little Feet

  The Boston By Little Feet is a walking tour of the Freedom Trail geared for children.

• Boston Underfoot

  Trace the evolution of Boston from a small peninsula through to the Big Dig. Walking from Boston's oldest alleys, to the modern Greenway, and a ride on the subway, your guide will present the engineering of a city.

• Captain Kidd's Treasure Hunt

  A short self-guided tour for buccaneers of all ages. Each participant receives clues on a pirate's treasure map leading to a trove of architectural and historical gems.

  The tour is self-guided at your own pace. Simply purchase the map during one of the available times.

• Charlestown: Where Boston Began

  Charlestown was the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony before the Puritans crossed over to Boston in 1630. In 1775, Paul Revere crossed over to Charlestown to begin his famous Midnight Ride, the colonists stood up to the British army at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Charlestown was burned to the ground.

  Tour this urban village founded in 1628 that focuses on the early Puritan settlement, the Bunker Hill monument, and many of its distinguished citizens which have included John Harvard and Samuel Morse.

• Colonial Boston

  1630-1776. The settling of the Shawmut Peninsula by the Puritans and their development of a successful mercantile economy produced a densely populated town of Colonial and Georgian homes, buildings and churches.

  Field Trip: Historic Downtown Area

• Contemporary Boston

  1900-present. Follow the progression of 20th and 21st century architecture through the modern and post-modern office buildings, government buildings, condos, skyscrapers, convention centers and hotels of Boston.

  Field Trip: Government Center & the financial district

• The Dark Side of Boston

  Created as a companion tour for our Halloween's Beacon Hill With a BOO!, this tour presents the darker side of Boston.

  On this tour you will hear about the dangers of Richmond Street, the scourges of smallpox and influenza, the vandalization of the Royal Governor's House, the Molasses Flood, the infamous Brink's Job, and a touch of organized crime, all against the backdrop of Boston's oldest neighborhood.

• Federal Boston

  1785-1820. Charles Bulfinch emerges as the architectural leader of the Federal style with important contributions such as the Massachusetts State House, the Tontine Crescent and the Colonnade. Beacon Hill develops as a neighborhood for the affluent featuring many of Bulfinch's works and that of his followers.

  Field Trip: Beacon Hill

• Final Footwork
  For guides-in-training. Written exam followed by a demonstration tour.
• Footloose on the Freedom Trail

  Footloose on the Freedom Trail is a 3 hour walking tour of the entire Freedom Trail from the State House to the U.S.S. Constitution offered every Independence Day. The tour winds among Boston's parades and celebrations and includes the honoring of Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere at the Granary Burying Ground, and the reading of the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House.

  If you can't figure out which event to attend on the morning of the Fourth, get a taste of everything with Boston By Foot.

• French Influence in Boston

  Had Samuel de Champlain settled the Shawmut Peninsula, would we be speaking French today? Without the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1598 and the renewed persecution of the French Huguenots, would we have Faneuil Hall? Had the Marquis de Lafayette not bent King Louis' ear on the noble cause of freedom, would our Revolutionary War have had a different outcome?

  Come along with us and learn more about the French contributions to our history and society in Boston as we walk the Freedom Trail.

• Front Page News: Exploring 20th Century Boston

  This 5-hour walking tour walks through the 20th century newspaper headlines of Boston. See the places where the famous and infamous events took place that shaped a city and impacted a nation.

• The Greenway & Beyond

  Explore the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway on this 2-hour special walking tour offered by Boston By Foot. The Greenway is Boston's new centerpiece of the Big Dig's urban restoration. From North Station to Chinatown, the Greenway is breathing new life into the downtown neighborhoods once blighted by an elevated highway.

• The Greenway: Dewey Square Parks to the Chinatown Park

  Explore the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. This walking tour begins under the grand arch of Rowes Wharf now revealed after the removal of the Central Artery overhead.

  The tour continues through the Dewey Square Parks that offers an interesting interpretation of Boston's transportation hub and Financial District, and through to the culturally inspired landscaping of the Chinatown Park. Come and experience the present day urban planning that is knitting the city back together.

• The Greenway: North End Parks to the Wharf District Parks

  Explore the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. This walking tour includes the Bulfinch Triangle and the North End Parks designed to reunite the historic neighborhood with the city after the removal of the Central Artery overhead.

  The tour continues through the historic Wharf District, once the hub of Boston's maritime economy with the bustling Long and Central Wharves on the Boston Harbor. Come and experience the present day urban planning that is knitting the city back together among Boston's waterfont architectural treasures.

• Heart of the Freedom Trail

  Walk American history on the downtown portion of the Freedom Trail and see historic sites from the Puritan settlement through the American Revolution. Stops include Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the Old State House, King's Chapel, Old South Meeting House as well as the site of the first public school in America.

• Johnny Tremain

  Relive the adventures of Johnny Tremain in Colonial Boston based on Esther Forbes' prize-winning novel about a young boy who gets caught up in the whirlwind of events that lead up to the American Revolution.

  Visit the Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Paul Revere's House, and Old North Church. Walking the steps of Johnny tell the larger tale of America's fight for freedom.

• The Liberty Hotel

  This former jail, designed by Gridley J. Fox Bryant in 1852, once housed 350 prisoners and now offers deluxe 21st century amenities to 288 guests. Join us as architect Gary Johnson of Cambridge Seven Associates presents a slide show of the former Charles Street Jail and details of how Cambridge Seven Associates along with Ann Beha Architects renovated and restored the building into the luxurious Liberty Hotel.

• Literary Landmarks

  Enthusiasts of American literature will enjoy walking among the homes and haunts of the great Victorian writers such as Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Alcott, James, Dickens, and Longfellow.

• Literary Landmarks, Continued...

  The 19th century literary flowering on Beacon Hill provided strong roots for the growth of 20th century literature. Even as the pen gave way to the typewriter, the literary spirit continued in such notables as poet Robert Frost, historians Samuel Eliot Morison and David McCullough, and medical novelist Robin Cook.

  We'll take a look at how literary life on Beacon Hill has changed - and how it didn't - from one century through the next.

• Longwood / Cottage Farm

  See two of Brookline's most delightful neighborhoods. Longwood and Cottage Farm provide a quiet, bucolic setting apart from its urban borders. This walking tour showcases a remarkable collection of romantic English country style cottages and picturesque churches.

• Massachusetts General Hospital's Historic Ether Dome

  Visit the restored cornerstone of the hospital building Charles Bulfinch designed in 1818 and learn the early history of Massachusetts General Hospital including the legendary demise of Dr. george Parkman. Now a teaching amphitheater, more than 8,000 operations were performed in the Ether Dome during the 19th century and ether, "Medicine's greatest gift", was first demonstrated in 1846.

• North End

  Visit America's oldest neighborhood tracing its evolution from an early Puritan settlement through waves of immigrants. Now the Little Italy of Boston, this tour will also feature one of the North End's most prominent residents, Paul Revere.

• Son of Boston: A Salute to Ben Franklin

  Celebrate and learn the life of Benjamin Franklin by walking among the sites of his homes and haunts in Colonial Boston.

  In his day, Benjamin Franklin was America's greatest scientist, inventor, diplomat, humorist, statesman, and entrepreneur. Ben was born in Boston, came of age in Philadelphia, and was the darling of Paris.

  From his many inventions, creation of civic, philanthropic, and educational institutions, to his his roles in the founding of America, his legacy is immeasurable.

• South Station

  Boston's South Station opened in 1899 as the largest train station in the world and remained the busiest in the United States for many years. Originally designed by the H.H. Richardson's successor form, Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, the South Station story is another inspiring example of saving the old from demolition to help interpret the new.

  Now completely renovated for the 21st century, South Station still provides a glimpse into the past century of American history as it arrived and departed through this marvelous terminal. Come rediscover the age of the locomotive on this tour of South Station.

• Subterranean Boston

  Under the city is a dense network of pipes, conduits, sewers and tunnels that serve the utility and transportation needs of a growing city. In 1987, Boston began the largest public works project in U.S. history to submerge an aging elevated highway amidst existing roads, structures, subways, railroads, utilities, businesses and homes, and in the process transformed the downtown landscape into a shining example of 21st century urban renewal.

  Field Trip: the Big Dig, Kennedy Greenway and downtown infrastructure

• Tory Row

  In 1775, when George Washington arrived in Massachusetts, he made his headquarters in the abandoned mansions of wealthy loyalists along Brattle Street in Cambridge. Walk through one of America's finest neighborhoods and see elegant examples of early New England architecture.

  Brattle Street residents also included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Declaration signer Elbridge Gerry, cartoonist Al Capp, presidents of Harvard University, and the inventors of Fig Newtons, baking powder and Polaroid cameras.

• Victorian Back Bay

  Tour the 19th century made-land and one of America's richest collections of art & architecture. This tour features Trinity Church, the Boston Public Library, New Old South Church, and the many Victorian townhouses along streets designed after the grand boulevards of Paris.

• Victorian Boston

  1850-1900. With great influence from Paris, the Back Bay land-making project enables the wealthy moving up from the South End to build large mansions as well as providing great structures for art, learning and worship. The Victorian period ushers in a variety of architectural styles featuring the works of H.H. Richardson, C.F. McKim, and Cummings & Sears.

  Field Trip: Copley Square and Back Bay

• The Wharf District

  Explore the Wharf District on this half-hour lunchtime tour of the Greenway. See the new parks that echo Boston's maritime history in the Long Wharf and Central Wharf regions.