Fall 2024 Field Trip to the Freedom Trail, Boston
On Saturday, September 28th, the Preservation Studies Program walked Boston’s Freedom Trail, treating the city our university calls home as an outdoor classroom. Approaching this tourist route, though, we looked at the various historical sites through a critical lens and observed how they ran the gamut as approaches to preservation, rather than focusing on the specific historical narratives each site is designed to tell in the 21st century. The group was guided by current Preservation Studies student Rachel Burdette (also an employee at Boston National Historical Park/National Park Service) with interim director Ian Stevenson in support, beginning at Boston Common and ending at Old North Church.
At each stop, the group considered how the site contributed to our understanding of preservation. Some sites featured prominently in the history of preservation in the United States on the national level, such as nineteenth-century preservation successes at Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House, and Old South Meeting House that shaped advocacy tactics. Other sites, such as the Paul Revere House and Old State House, reflect nineteenth century impulses to “scrape” buildings back to endearing periods of significance and erase later uses for patriotic reasons. Still others, such as the Old City Hall and the Old Corner Bookstore, reflect modern adaptive use approaches. At Old Corner Bookstore, owned by Historic Boston Inc., the group was treated to a presentation by that organization’s Executive Director Kathy Kottaridis (program alum ‘88) and colleague Lisa Lewis about its ongoing redevelopment projects in Boston that utilize historic tax credits. In addition to buildings, on the tour the group explored the role of landscape in preservation, such as at Old Granary Burying Ground, the Paul Revere Mall, Boston Common, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, including the role of public monuments in these spaces.
Two sites in particular addressed modern preservation challenges. At Faneuil Hall, Rachel Burdette gave an expert presentation about ongoing threats to historic properties, including conservation efforts to restore the building’s interior wall furnishings but also the impending sea level rise associated with climate change that coastal cities like Boston will increasingly confront. At Old North Church, Visitor Experience Manager Julius James introduced the group to the tangible aspects of studying old buildings and the concerted efforts sometimes required for their upkeep. Here, the group was even able to climb up part of the bell tower, venture underneath the church into the crypt, and see an ongoing restoration project to uncover carvings in the church’s vaulted ceiling.
The group concluded its tour with a delicious take-out Italian lunch from Dino’s Cafe in the North End, which they ate at the Paul Revere Mall, and discussed their findings. For many new members of the BU Community, and the Preservation Studies Program, this was their first venture out into Boston’s most historic landmarks. The excursion was a great opportunity to learn about Boston’s rich history, see into some of the misconceptions of the past, and understand the importance of the role of preservation in the narrative of history and understanding how and whose stories get remembered.
