Old North Church Reviews (Boston, Massachusetts)

One if by land, two if by sea.

Owasso, Oklahoma

July 23, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo I have heard the story of Paul Revere and the Old North Church in Boston, MA since I was a small child. I knew the story of how Paul Revere was given two lanterns high in the church steeple as a message that the English was coming by sea instead of ...Read more I have heard the story of Paul Revere and the Old North Church in Boston, MA since I was a small child. I knew the story of how Paul Revere was given two lanterns high in the church steeple as a message that the English was coming by sea instead of the thought land attack. This night in 1775 began the American Revolution. The church came to life again in the movie National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. So when we stopped to see a few sights in Boston on our way to the airport, I told my husband I wanted to see this church. We asked a woman in military dress how far the church was and if we could walk or should we drive. "It’s not too far, just a short walk probably under a mile". So off we started to walk across the Boston Harbor Bridge, passing the Boston Gardens arena, and across many lanes of traffic. I could tell we were getting close to the historical part of town so I was getting excited until I realized that the historic part of town in all up hill.

We passed an old cemetery where we were told many famous people were buried. We climbed that steep hill until I thought I would fall back down, or die trying. After what felt like hours, we finally arrived at the Old North Church, also known as Christ Church in the City of Boston. It was built in 1723 and is the oldest standing church today in Boston. The inside of the church is magnificent with its pew boxes, linear alter, and the chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings. This church was the King’s church and of those wealthy people who were loyal to the King of England and were usually placed in high positions in the royal government. The king even sent silver to the church for use in the services and a bible.

Today you are able to sit in any of the pew boxes but in the 1700’s these boxes were sold to families. The closer up front or in the middle isle cost more money. Once a box was yours, you could decorate it however you wished. So many of the names I have never heard but I also knew that anywhere I sat, I was sitting where history was made all those years ago.

There are still church services held there today. So the church has been maintained well throughout the years. The is no entrance fee but they do have a donation box if you so choose.
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From journals A Bewitching Time in Massachusetts, Day in Boston

Behind the Scenes Tour Old North Church

by zabelle

Portland, Connecticut

December 4, 2008

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Best of IgoUgo Offered on the hour every afternoon during the summer this is a 60-minute chance to see what regular visitors don’t have access to. Collin was our tour guide and he was enthusiastic and made our tour very enjoyable.We took our granddaughter Amie ...Read more Offered on the hour every afternoon during the summer this is a 60-minute chance to see what regular visitors don’t have access to. Collin was our tour guide and he was enthusiastic and made our tour very enjoyable.

We took our granddaughter Amie with us and we wanted to give her a little history of Boston.

You purchase your tickets at the gift shop next door to the church. The cost is $8 for adult and $4 for children up to 16 years old. You met your guide in the St Francis Garden, which is right behind the store.

One thing you need to know before you even considering taking this tour is that it requires a lot of stair climbing, it is not handicap accessible and it takes a good bit of stamina to climb the steep and narrow stairs to the bell ringing room.

The first stop on the tour requires climbing one steep set of stairs. It is the gallery around the upper level of the church. It houses the organ as well as seating on both sides. These are basically the cheap seats. The wealthy members of the church would have paid to sit in the lower level. Servants, African Americans both freed and slaves and poor persons would have been seated in the gallery. Actually, you have a very nice view of the church from the gallery.

We would have gone to the bell ringing room next but the bell ringers were rehearing so instead we went to the crypt.

The first thing we visited in the crypt is a columbarium. They have dedicated a whole section of the crypt to the burial of ashes. We then headed into the bowels of the church, and bowels it is, if you are claustrophobic or germaphobic don’t go on this tour. This is not some romanticized crypt this is a low ceilinged, basement with cemented over crypts in the walls all the way around. Many of them are not marked. The reason they are cemented is to keep the bodies from being removed and replaced with new bodies.

Old North Church was not a Congregational Church it was an Anglican Church. It was the parish church of General Gage and it was from the tower here that he watched the battle of Bunker Hill play out. The tower was the highest spot in Boston at the time of the Revolution, which is also, why it was used to signal the riders.

The last stop on the tour was the bell ringer’s room. These are not song bells these are sound bells. There are eight bells of different sizes and sounds. It is up two very narrow, winding and steep staircases. Up is bad, down is even worse.

I highly recommend this tour for anyone who is interested enough in the Old North Church to want to do something beyond just sitting and listen to the 15-minute talk that happens in the regular body of the church.
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From journal Sharing Beantown with Amie

Old North Church

by bledpub

Waco, Kentucky

May 10, 2008

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One of the most famous things about the Old North Church is the hanging of the two lanterns back in 1775. The two lanterns informed the patriots in Charlestown that the Brits were leaving Boston by water. (“One if by land, two if by sea.”) On April ...Read more

From journal Boston!

Old North Church

by notso62

Boston, Massachusetts

October 23, 2005

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Best of IgoUgo The Old North Church on Salem Street in the North End seems unassuming enough-- its brick exterior and white steeple are by no means extraordinary. What makes this an historical landmark on the freedom trail is the fact that it was here that two ...Read more

From journal Boston: Adventures in the North End

Patriotic Band at the Old North Church

by kjlouden

, West Virginia

September 5, 2002

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A lover of antique churches, I admired the Old North Church inside and out. Inside, rich wood and pure white walls were pretty much what I had expected, only a little more "satisfying" than I had imagined. Not much to surprise me until a ...Read more

From journal Boston’s Impromptu Serenade

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Behind the Scenes Tour Old North Church

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One if by land, two if by sea.

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