Summary: "Old North" played an important part in the American Revolution by acting as a signal (via two lanterns hung in its steeple) of British troop movement. Constructed in 1723 in what is now Boston's Italian North End, it is Boston's oldest church.

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," reads one of the many engraved plaques found in the peaceful courtyards outside Boston's oldest standing church. This particular plaque hangs in honor of Robert Newman, a lesser-known Patriot but one of major significance to the American Revolution. It was from the steeple of the Old North Church that Newman hung two lanterns on April 18, 1775. These two lanterns were part of a pre- arranged signal warning that British soldiers were taking the water route to Concord, where fighting began the following day (had only one lantern been lit, it would have indicated that the British would be arriving by a land route). "Old North" (officially known as Christ Church in Boston) has served Boston from its colonial period, through the fight for independence, and is home today to an Episcopalian congregation.

Points of Interest
The first thing you will notice upon entering the Old North Church is its "box-pew" style, a grid-like layout of square pews with benches on three sides and an entryway on the fourth. Box pews were designed for practicality when the Church was built in 1723; parishioners often brought along foot-warming metal boxes containing hot coals in the winter and huddled within the pews' high walls to keep out the cold. Examples of the original foot-warmers are on display at the Church.

Other items of note inside the building include two overhead brass chandeliers delivered from Bristol, England in 1724, a clock built in 1726 that the church believes to be the oldest working clock of its kind, a double manual organ with 1,500 pipes, and a white spindled staircase leading to the pulpit.

Visitors to the Church may find themselves sitting in the same place as many famous Americans including Theodore Roosevelt, who attended services in December 1912, and Paul Revere's oldest son, who once was a member. A striking red velvet pew named "The Bay Pew" was set aside for a British company's representatives during their visits to Boston.

Before your visit, you might consider familiarizing yourself with the Old North Church's history and poins of interest via their online tour.

Getting There
If you are following the Freedom Trail, the Old North Church is the 13th site, between Faneuil Hall and Copp's Hill Burying Ground. The Trail's red path guides visitors through the small and busy streets of the North End and provides the easiest way to find the Church. When leaving from Faneuil Hall, walk through Haymarket (an open-air produce and fish market on weekends) and pass through a small pedestrian tunnel running underneath the expressway, which opens directly across from Salem Street. The Church is a few blocks down Salem St. toward the waterfront.

By subway, the Old North Church is located closest to the Haymarket and North Station MBTA stops on the Orange and Green lines, but is no more than a ten-minute walk from the Government Center stop on the Blue line. Please see the MBTA web site for connections and schedule and fare information. We recommend that you take the subway if visiting the downtown area; however, there are parking garages located throughout the city that offer reduced weekend rates. Drivers should note that navigating a car through the North End can be particularly difficult because many of the streets are one-way and quite narrow. Also, you should note that most on-street parking spots are reserved for North End residents only.

Other Churches Nearby
To those interested in the North End's historic houses of worship, we suggest a visit to St. Leonard's Church and Garden at 14 North Bennett Street and/or St. Stephen's Church on the Corner of Clark and Hanover Streets. St. Leonard's (phone 617-523-2110) is a Roman Catholic church offering some services in Italian and St. Stephen's (phone 617-523-1230), also a Catholic church, offers services daily.

by Allyson Krieger

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