by Melitta J. Cutright

Boston, Massachusetts, has everything travelers look for in a city—beautiful views of a scenic river and the ocean, dozens of historical sites, world-class museums, music and theater, great shopping and outstanding restaurants. Convention goers will have the opportunity to take it all in during the 89th Lions Clubs International Convention, Friday, June 30-Tuesday, July 4, 2006. One of the most European of American cities, Boston is a relatively small city with only 750,000 people in the city proper. With more than 100 colleges and universities in the metropolitan area, it is also a young and vibrant city with 250,000 or so college students calling it home each school year. Hosting over 12 million visitors each year, the city is one of the most popular locales in the world.

Most important sites and shops are within easy walking distance (which is important since driving in Boston is challenging at best) or easily reached by Boston’s excellent subway system, run by the MBTA and known as the “T.” Hours can be spent strolling beside the Charles River, watching sailboats drifting along and rowing teams racing by, visiting the museums or wandering around the centuries-old streets and antique shops of Beacon Hill. And since the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park, the 2002, 2004 and 2005 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots play in nearby Foxboro and the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics call Boston home, there is a sporting event to attend most weeks of the year. (Click here for article on Fenway Park.)

Water, parks and dozens of outstanding historical sites dominate any visit to Boston. The Charles wends its way along the city’s northern border. A five-mile long series of ponds and parks known as the Emerald Necklace, laid out in 1895 by the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, are surrounded by acres of trees and open land. The Atlantic Ocean borders the city on the east.

In the heart of downtown Boston is the Boston Common, a 50-acre park, which dates from around 1634. Until 1830 cows grazed where visitors now laze in the summer sun or skate on the Frog Pond in winter. Across from the Common is the Boston Public Garden, which at one time was a marshy area that could be visited by boat. Now, it is filled with flowers and trees, as well as a lagoon where you can ride one of the famous Swan Boats. Among the many statues in the park are bronze ducks—Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings—that were featured in Robert McCloskey’s famous children’s book “Make Way for the Ducklings.” Across from the park on Beacon Street is the Bull & Finch pub that was the inspiration for the TV series “Cheers.”

Centuries of History Have Left Their Mark on Beacon Hill
To the north of Boston Common is Beacon Hill with its Federalist and Greek Revival mansions dating back to the early 1800s, and its narrow streets that are delightful places to walk but not to drive. Few addresses in the United States are more prestigious than those surrounding Louisburg Square, a small park lined by mansions that have housed Boston’s famous citizens from author Louisa May Alcott to Senator John Kerry.

Another jewel of Beacon Hill is the Massachusetts State House, which faces Boston Common. Its 23-karat gold dome can be seen gleaming in the sun from much of central Boston. The state house, designed by famous architect Charles Bulfinch who designed so many other buildings on Beacon Hill and at Harvard, was completed in 1798.

Also on Beacon Hill are a number of important sites in the 19th century history of African Americans in Boston. In the African Meeting House, built in 1806, William Lloyd Garrison founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832. The first primary school for black children in Boston opened here in 1834. Abolitionists, including Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Sojouner Truth and Harriet Tubman, spoke at the Charles Street Meeting House, and numerous fugitive slaves were sheltered in the houses and churches on Beacon Hill. Most of these sites can be visited on the Black Heritage Trail, a 1.5-mile trail that starts from Boston Common.

Walking the Boston Freedom Trail
The Boston Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile path that wends its way through the important historical sites of Revolutionary War Boston. Among the first stops on the trail are Boston Common and the Granary Burying Ground, where many historical figures rest, including the African-American martyr Crispus Attucks and others killed in the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere, John Hancock, the parents of Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams and many revolutionary war leaders. Farther along is the Old South Meeting House where the Liberty Boys gathered to plot the Boston Tea Party; Faneuil Hall, the site of so much pre-revolutionary oratory that it was nicknamed the Cradle of Liberty; Paul Revere’s House, restored to look as it did when he and his large family lived in this tiny house; Old North Church from which lanterns were hung to tell Revere and William Dawes from which direction the British were arriving so that they could alert the Sons of Liberty outside of Boston and Bunker Hill, the site of what was called the first battle of the American Revolution. The trail ends at the USS Constitution—Old Ironsides—the world’s oldest commissioned warship, which can be visited daily in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Allow a day to make the entire walk. Lunch can be found many places along the trail, including at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, popularly know as Quincy Market, a large and busy complex of cafes, shops and food stalls.

Museums, Shops and Great Dining Abound
The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, located just south of Boston in Dorchester, is easily reachable by the “T” and a free shuttle bus. This stark white building that overlooks the harbor tells the story of the life and presidency of the 34th president and his family who has been closely tied to Boston for many decades. Included are exhibits, photos, memorabilia such as a recreation of the Oval Office as it was when President Kennedy was in office, videos and the official papers of the presidency that ended tragically in Dallas.

Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts is a world-class museum with outstanding collections of American paintings and decorative art, as well as excellent collections of European and Asian art. Particularly outstanding are the works by American artists such as John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, Gilbert Stuart, John Singer Sargent and James McNeil Whistler. In addition, MFA houses a remarkable collection of silver produced by Paul Revere that demonstrates his craftsmanship and which alone merits a visit.

Near the Museum of Fine Arts is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a Venetian palazzo with a charming, flower-filled courtyard built by a flamboyant Bostonian who amassed an eclectic collection of works in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gardner personally decided where each piece of art should be placed and included a clause in her will stating that if any changes were made in the museum, everything must be sold and the proceeds given to Harvard. In keeping with her requirement, changes were not made for decades; no modern security system was added and the paintings were not even insured. In 1990, thieves made off with 13 uninsured paintings, including two Rembrandts worth more than $200 million, in one of the world’s greatest art heists. The paintings have never been found and their places remain stunningly empty on the museum walls. Today the museum has a modern security system, but in most other ways it has remained as it was when Gardner walked the galleries. More than 80 years after her death, a table remains set for her to take her afternoon tea.

Other outstanding museums and places to visit include the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science and the Children’s Museum. Boston and nearby towns are home to many other fine museums and historical monuments. A number of museums can also be found across the Charles River in Cambridge. (Click here for the story on Cambridge).

Nearby Places to Visit
Within about 20 miles of Boston are the Revolutionary War towns of Lexington and Concord that were home to many writers and philosophers—including Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau—and Salem, which was made famous by the witch trials as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables. Also within easy driving distance are the north shore towns of Marblehead and Gloucester, once important fishing villages but now resort communities. To the south of Boston is Plymouth, where the Mayflower landed in 1620. Farther south but still within easy driving distance is Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Cape Cod can also be reached by ferry from Boston.

Register now to attend the 89th International Convention.