The Beauty of Beacon Hill
December 1, 2006
The Native Americans referred to what is now Boston as “Shawmut,” but the first Europeans in the area called it “Trimountaine.” The “three mountains” forming the large hill were Mount Vernon, Beacon Hill, and Pemberton (also called Cotton) Hill. By 1890, all three hills had been at least partially razed to fill in coves and enlarge the city. In fact, if you want to stand on parts of the Beacon, Copp’s, and Pemberton hills at the same time, go to North Station. Though the Pemberton and Mount Vernon hills were completely demolished, Beacon Hill was only partly diminished in height. The settlers later changed the name Trimountaine to Boston after their native village back in England, but the original name is still connected with the city. Tremont Street runs along one side of Boston Common and marks the southernmost edge of the Beacon Hill neighborhood, Boston’s oldest and well worth exploring for its historical sights.
The original owner and settler of Beacon Hill was William Blaxton, who arrived there in 1625. An English priest seeking relief from overly strict Anglican bishops, Blaxton had landed in America two years earlier at Weymouth, Massachusetts. A group of Puritans led by John Winthrop arrived in 1629 and settled in nearby Charlestown. Once Blaxton heard of their difficulties in obtaining drinking water, he kindly invited them to live on his land the following year. The Puritans bought the land, leaving him 50 acres for his own estate. Braxton turned around and sold it right back to them — the pious Puritans reminded him a little too much of the strict clergymen back in England he had fled. So, he shipped off to Blackstone (what is now called Rhode Island) instead.
Beacon Hill is bounded on the south side by Boston Common, the oldest park in America. It was established as a common cow pasture in 1634, and was used for this purpose up until the 1830s. The Common is still a popular public gathering place. In the spring, tourists and locals lounge on benches under blossoming fruit trees while tossing tidbits to the already-plump squirrels frolicking in the grass. In the summer, the same benches provide welcome relief from the midday sun or a comfortable spot from which to listen to free concerts and Shakespeare plays. The Frog Pond becomes a wading pool for children in the summer as well. Once the temperature drops and the holidays come, it is then frozen over for public skating.
Boston Common is bordered on the eastern side by Park Street, a former cow path. On the corner is Park Street Church, whose basement was used during the War of 1812 to store brimstone and gunpowder. This fact, combined with both the self-styled preachers on the Common and the actual preachers in the church giving sermons, gave the spot the nickname of “Brimstone Corner.” The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison preached against slavery for the first time in the church as well. Park Street Church also witnessed the first singing of “My Country Tis of Thee” on July 4, 1831.
Park Street leads up the hill to the New State House (current Massachusetts State House). The original Beacon Hill nearly always had a tall wooden mast on its summit. The top of the beacon, when lit, warned the townspeople of danger. Because of this, Park Street used to be known as Centry (Sentry) Street. After the Revolutionary War, a tall Doric column topped by an eagle was erected on its peak. When John Hancock’s heirs sold their land to fill in the Mill Pond (over by Causeway Street), the monument was taken down as the hill was decreased in height.
Oliver Wendell Holmes famously declared, “Boston State House is the hub of the solar system. You couldn’t pry that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation straightened for a crowbar.” In fact, cartographers calculate distances to Boston by using distances to the State House’s golden dome. Completed in 1798, the building is the oldest on Beacon Hill. Charles Bulfinch designed it, and John Hancock laid the first stone on land that had formerly been his private cow pasture. It has been enlarged four times, most recently from 1914-1917 when new wings were added. The facade was at one time painted yellow-gold, and twice painted white, but the paint was stripped and the building returned to its original appearance in 1927.
The dome has been altered over the years as well. Initially wooden, it was clad in copper in 1802, and gilded in 1874. At times, however, the dome has been painted. During WWII, it was painted gray so as to be less conspicuous to enemy ships. The dome is topped with a golden pinecone, a symbol of the state of Maine, which used to be owned by Massachusetts. The State House is open to visitors, free of charge. Tours are available once you get past the metal detectors. Another sight worth viewing is The Hall of Flags, decorated with transparencies of flags (the State House has over 400 in its collection) and murals. The skylight above features stained glass seals of the 13 original colonies. The House of Representatives on the third floor contains the famous “sacred cod,” a five-foot long wooden carving of a codfish that hangs in the chamber pointing towards the party currently in power. It represents the fishing industry, and its formerly bountiful mascot, the cod, that once formed the backbone of the state’s economy. The current codfish is the third carving. The first burned in a fire in 1747, and the second during the Revolutionary War. A group of Harvard students from the Harvard Lampoon magazine stole the current cod in 1933, but returned it after the ensuing uproar.
The narrow, cobbled streets of Beacon Hill have housed many famous names of the past and present. Many of these are Boston Brahmins — old Massachusetts families that have been here for generations. (Perhaps you’ve heard the rhyme, “So this is dear old Boston, the home of the bean and cod, where Lowells talk only to Cabots, and the Cabots talk only to God”?) Descended from the Puritans, the Brahmins maintained many of their ancestors’ values yet also supported the arts and social movements, and contributed to scientific and educational change. The Brahmins were among the first and strongest supporters of abolition.
Many of these “First Families of Massachusetts” lived on Beacon Street, which separates the Common from the State House. The poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. referred to it as, “The sunny street which holds the sifted few.” Painter John Singleton Copley, patriot and merchant John Hancock, writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Federalist leader Harrison Gray Otis, and Colonel William Prescott were some of its other famous residents as well. The Boston Athenaeum, its name referencing Boston’s nickname as the “Athens of America,” is also on Beacon Street and functions as a library, museum, and art gallery. Though “Cheers” is on this street as well, near the Public Garden, it’s actually called the Bull and Finch (a play on Bulfinch) and looks nothing like the TV bar inside.
Another famous street is Mount Vernon. Charles Bulfinch, Daniel Webster, and members of MTV’s The Real World Boston cast all resided here. The narrow, steeply sloped Acorn Street is supposedly the most photographed and picturesque street in the country. Elizabeth Peabody opened the first English-language kindergarten over on Pinckney Street. Nearby Chestnut Street features several large brownstones designed by Charles Bulfinch. In fact, many of the streets on Beacon Hill have arboreal names - Chestnut, Walnut, Cedar, Acorn, Myrtle, Lime, Grove, Garden, Spruce, Branch, etc.
My favorite address on the hill, however, is Louisburg (pronounced Lewis) Square. Bounded by Mount Vernon and Pinckney Street and filled with Greek Revival style red brick houses, the square was named after a 1745 battle against the French. Little Women author, Louisa May Alcott, and her family lived at number 10 for eight years. The middle of the square contains a wrought iron fenced green, decorated with statues of Columbus and Aristides the Just donated by a Greek merchant in 1850. Only residents have access to the green. The square’s most famous residents these days are John and Theresa Heinz Kerry, who live in a townhouse at one end.
Perhaps the best way to end a long day spent exploring the historical sights of Beacon Hill is to meander over to Charles Street and onto the pedestrian walkway on Longfellow Bridge. The sun’s last rays setting on the city provide a perfect photo opportunity, with Boston’s newest neighborhood, Back Bay, just across the water, and Boston’s oldest neighborhood, Beacon Hill, just behind.