Scenes from the View-Master packet Boston, Massachusetts (A726).
Packet Cover
Booklet Cover
From the 16-page booklet:
“BOSTONTOWN OF OLD RENOWN”
Boston is the birthplace of American freedom and the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The city was founded in 1630 by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Company. They were a people of healthy stock, keen foresight and upstanding character. Financially secure, they arrived in congregations under the leadership of their ministers and established a theocratic government. By 1640 there were about 20,000 people in the Bay Company, and they named their new settlement Boston, after a town in Lincolnshire, England.
Born in the true spirit of independence and sparked by the Revolution, Boston has grown to encompass a vast 1,062 square miles, with a metropolitan population of 2,590,040. She possesses a proud and sedate past, steeped in tradition, history, and legend; no longer concerned with witchcraft, her interests are wide and diverse.
A city of culture and education, she boasts 5 museums, 224 libraries and 200 schools, including some of the country’s foremost universities and colleges. An eastern seaboard manufacturing center, Boston’s port facilities provide shipping vital to its industrial development.
Scene 2
Paul Revere Statue
and
Old North Church
Steeple of Old North Church looms above Paul Revere
From the 16-page booklet:
PAUL REVERE STATUE
AND OLD NORTH CHURCH
In the shadow of the steeple of the Old North Church, lies the historic Paul Revere Mall, with its remarkable equestrian statue (by Cyrus Dallin) of the man who made his famous ride to warn of the Redcoat’s advance on Lexington and Concord (April 18, 1775).
It was in this church’s steeple that the lanterns were hung, “one if by land—two if by sea”; and in looking at this magnificent setting, one can almost hear the pounding of the horses’ hoofs and the anxiety of Paul Revere’s voice as he shouted the famous: “To arms! To arms! . . . The British are coming! The British are coming!”
Scene 3
Paul Revere House
Paul Revere’s home houses mementos of his time
From the 16-page booklet:
PAUL REVERE HOUSE
The Paul Revere House at 19 North Square is one of Boston’s most stirring antiques—and its only seventeenth century wood structure. Built in 1660, it was occupied by Paul Revere from 1770 to 1800. Inside, with its immense fireplaces and antiquated wallpaper, are treasured mementoes of his time: his cane, a lantern, and a pair of flintlock pistols. It was from this doorway that he went forth on his memorable ride.
Scene 5
Tremont Street Mall
Old Park Street Church and Tremont Street Mall
From the 16-page booklet:
TREMONT STREET MALL & PARK STREET CHURCH
Park Street Church on the wide and shaded Tremont Street Mall was erected in 1810 on the site of a granary where the sails of the U.S. Frigate Constitution were made. The church was known as “Brimstone Corner” because of the quantities of brimstone stored in its basement during the trying days of the War of 1812.
Scene 9
Public Gardens
Swan boats in Public Gardens near Boston Common
From the 16-page booklet:
SWAN BOATS IN THE PUBLIC GARDENS
An island of tranquility surrounded by a large bustling city, the famous Public Gardens—across Charles Street from Boston Common—offers the visitor peace and a variety of beauty with its lovely formal flower beds and many rare trees. This beauty is enhanced by an artificial pond of irregular shape, which is adorned with graceful swan boats offering people of all ages relaxing rides. The boats are propelled by the feet of a boatman who sits to the rear. Each winter, when the pond freezes, ice skating and impromptu hockey games fill the scene.
Set among the colorful flowers and shrubs, Thomas Ball’s equestrian statue of George Washington overlooks Boston. Also in the park is a monument to the discovery of ether.
Scene 10
Old Trinity Church
Trinity Church built 1877 and John Hancock Building
From the 16-page booklet:
TRINITY CHURCH AND JOHN HANCOCK BUILDING
Standing in Copley Square, the inspiring Trinity Church (Episcopal) is a notable example of ecclesiastic architecture. It was built in 1877, and within its cloister are stones carried across the Atlantic from old Saint Botolph’s Church in Boston, England. Saint Botolph is the patron saint of the city of Boston.
In the background stands the John Hancock Building, rising 26 stories, with an observation deck 348 feet above the street. From this vantage point, the visitor has a panoramic view of the city. Of equal interest in this building is the Hancock Room with its authentic eighteenth-century furnishings and historic exhibits of the Revolutionary era.
Scene 11
John Hancock Building at Night
Prudential Tower looms above Copley Square
From the 16-page booklet:
SKYLINE WEST FROM JOHN HANCOCK LIFE BUILDING (PRUDENTIAL CENTER)
From the observation deck of the John Hancock building, looking west toward the scarlet sunset, one cannot help but wonder as he surveys the dark and glittering city below, if the far-thinking Puritans ever envisioned such a sight. Not artificially lit, surely, for Thomas Edison had not yet made that startling discovery. But could they have imagined: the rivers caught and harnessed for power, the winding cow trails now super highways, and the massive steel and concrete buildings jutting into the skyline?
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