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Boston Skyline (in 1990)
Map of original Boston Peninsula and Boston Common (shaded), as well as the current shore line.
Boston Back Bay (see map above) Brownstones
Boutique retail shopping in the Back Bay neighborhood (below).
Beacon Hill - A traditionally upper class neighborhood on the north side of the Boston Common. The white trolley is a tourist bus.
The
Cheers Pub* on Beacon Hill - Founded in 1969 as the Bull & Finch Pub,
Cheers Beacon Hill became the original inspiration for the setting of the TV
show Cheers. In fact, the year that the Cheers show premiered on television
(1982) Boston Magazine chose the Bull & Finch Pub as the “Best Neighborhood
Bar” in Boston.
The Boston Common is known to be one of the oldest public parks in the country. The park is almost 50 acres in size. The "Common" has been used for many different purposes throughout its long history. Until 1830, cattle grazed the Common, and until 1817, public hangings took place here. British troops camped on Boston Common prior to the Revolution and left from here to face colonial resistance at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775.
Old State House in Boston - Also known as Boston's "Towne House", the Old State House dates back to 1713. It was the center of all political life and debate in colonial Boston. On July 18, 1776, citizens gathered in the street to hear the Declaration of Independence read from the building's balcony, the first public reading in Massachusetts. The Royal Governor presided here until the new State House was built on Beacon Hill in 1798.
Boston has the largest concentration of higher education institutions in the US
Harvard University
The Bunker Hill Monument (below) stands tall at 221 feet. It stands on Breed's Hill, the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution, fought on June 17, 1775. Important to the British occupation of Boston was control of the high ground near the harbor. When colonial forces chose to fortify Charlestown (the neighborhood below this monument), they bypassed the more dominant "Bunker Hill" and dug in on Breed's Hill which was lower and closer to the water. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" is the legendary order attributed to Colonel William Prescott to make sure that each shot would count. The poorly trained and ill prepared colonial forces repelled two major assaults by the British Army before retreating. Almost half of the British soldiers were either killed or injured. Although the colonists lost the battle, their bravery and strong showing against the British encouraged them to fight on.
Boston Chinatown
Boston Eateries - Two on Bowdin Street
In 1933 the 21st amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, repealing the 18th amendment which was the prohibition against alcohol consumption. This restaurant and pub is located near the Boston Common.
The Fill-A-Buster Restaurant
Infrared image of Cape Cod with Boston in the upper left and the islands of Martha's Vineyard (left) and Nantucket below (black = water; red = vegetation; white = clouds)
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The west coast of Cape Cod - Much of the central part of Cape Cod is a large sand plateau, which waves and wind continually erode, just as new sand is added by the offshore current.
Fishing and swimming on the Atlantic side (east coast) of Cape Cod
Nauset Marsh - looking east at the Coast Guard Station from about where the [You Are Here] marker is on the map below.
North is to the left on this map.
View from the Coast Guard Station looking south at the sandspit and the inlet to Nauset Harbor.
Video of the scene above - mpeg (optional)
April through August is the nesting season for endangered beach-nesting shorebirds, including the Tern and Piping Clover. During this time nests are identified and surrounded by wire fences for protection. Pets and kite-flying are prohibited on beaches with nesting birds, and some beaches are closed to public access.
Wellfleet, Massachusetts - located in about the middle of the upper arm of the Cape.
Seafood shop in Wellfleet.
Small-scale family fishing still takes place in Wellfleet, as does sports fishing (below).
Lobster is the feast of choice throughout the Cape.
A 6.5 lb lobster (below) that was just delivered to the marine supply shop (above).
It takes a big pot to hold three 6+ lb. lobsters. As soon as they turn red (like this) they are ready to be eaten.
Provincetown -- aka "P-Town" -- at the tip of Cape Cod
The Pilgrims Monument in Provincetown, MA (below). This monument commemorates the arrival of the Mayflower ship from Plymouth, England, which made its first landfall in the Provincetown Harbor on November 11,1620 after 67 days at sea (see map above). While anchored in Plymouth Harbor, the Pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, which declared a democratic commonwealth in which members were "...straightly tied to all care for each other's good and of the whole by everyone." This is considered the first democratic document written in America.
After about a month at Provincetown Harbor, the Mayflower sailed across Cape Cod Bay and established Plymouth, MA, as the first permanent European settlement in the northeastern US.
The Pilgrims Monument was built from 1907 to 1910, and is 77 meters high (252 ft, 7.5 in) high. The Provincetown Town Hall is to the left of the photo above. (Tents are set up to celebrate a Portuguese Festival in Provincetown -- one of the many ethnic groups of New England.)
The view from the top of the Pilgrims Monument of Provincetown, looking south at Cape Cod Bay.
The view looking north with the Atlantic Ocean beyond the distant sand dunes.
The Tourist Strip in Provincetown along the water's edge. "P-Town" is a major weekend destination for the greater Boston metropolitan area. Traffic can be bumper-to-bumper on the highway running up the Cape. (The flag of Portugal is hanging this day, along with the American flag, for a Portuguese Festival weekend.)
Night time in P-Town.
The "Spank the Monkey" fine jewelry store, and "Shop Therapy" exotica -- part of P-town's wilder side.
P-Town at Night Video mpeg (optional)
The Highland Lighthouse* - The Atlantic Coast of Cape Cod is strewn with wrecked ships of the colonial era. To help ships sailing up the coast of New England, George Washington authorized construction of the Highland Lighthouse in 1796. It was completed in 1797 on a cliff 183 feet above sea level and became the first lighthouse on the Cape. The current structure (below) replaced the old one in 1857. The grey-shingled building was the lighthouse keepers house. The Highland Lighthouse currently belongs to the National Park Service and still serves as an aid to ship navigation.
The first lighthouse was built 500 feet from the sea cliff. By 1990 the current lighthouse stood a mere 100 feet from the cliff (see upper left in the photo below). In an effort to save this historic lighthouse, the Truro Historical Society spearheaded an effort which, along with national Park Service, state, and Coast Guard funding, raised $1.5 million to move the lighthouse and keeper's house. Over an 18 day period in July 1996 the entire structure was moved 450 feet to a new position that was 570 feet from the cliff edge.
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Infrared image of Vermont and New Hampshire area in the Fall (black = water; red = vegetation; white = clouds; yellow=trees turning yellow color)
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Rocky Beach north of Boston
Ice off the Newfoundland, Canada -- being brought south toward New England by the Labrador Current
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Mystic, Connecticut - coastal tourist town
Original Spirit of America painting on display in the coastal town of Marblehead, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts' witch statue; Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Massachusetts
Road cut showing underlying granite in Vermont
Statue commemorating granite mining in Lowell, Massachusetts
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Factories and canals of Lowell, Massachusetts - a National Historic Park - New England was one of the earliest industrial revolution regions of the US
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Industrial Development of Lowell, Massachusetts
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Bridge over manmade industrial canal in Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell Canal System on the Merrimack River, also showing factories fed by canal waters
Mills run by water driven water wheel, as used in early factories of the eastern US
Dam on a Lowell canal - used to divert water for water-run factories
Lowell factory, water can still be seen coming out of the bottom of the building - though none use water power today.
Older factory worker dormitory housing in Manchester, New Hampshire
Asian food market in Lowell - a historic city of immigrants
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Traditional New England Village in Vermont
Village on the Connecticut River in the Green Mountains
Lake Champlain in Summer; Adirondacks to the left; White Mountains with clouds to the right; St. Lawrence river at the top left. (black = water; red = vegetation; white = clouds)
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Customs building on Lake Champlain for ships coming from Canada.
Lake Champlain Lowland farms
