Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Joe Daniel Price | Getty
the historic Old State House.
With blood-sugar levels soaring, I delved into Paul Revere’s simple shingle-clad
house, built in 1680 and bought by the famed silversmith and patriot 90 years later.
Today it’s a true time machine, a treasure trove of period furnishings (even Revere’s
wallpaper), giving a palpable sense of Boston life centuries ago.
Turning northwest on to his namesake mall, I was confronted with the spire of the
Old North Church. I pictured its spindly tower in 1723, when it was first raised on a
promontory at that time surrounded by the waters of the Charles River. And again
on that night half a century later, when Revere’s two lanterns hung from the steeple
alerted his patriot comrades in Charlestown of the British plans. I envisioned its
view of the bloody battle at Bunker Hill across the river two months after Revere’s
ride, and of ‘Old Ironside’ – USS Constitution – being constructed in Hartt’s
shipyard nearby two decades later.
There, on the water’s edge, I ended my journey of the imagination, having
covered just 2½ miles (4km), but over two-and-a-half centuries of drama. PB
BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL