Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Cradle of Liberty...

...Faneuil Hall
(you were thinking...???)

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Often referred to as the Cradle of Liberty, Faneuil Hall has served as a market-place and meeting hall since it was built in 1742.

The building became the first town hall in Boston and during the years leading up to the American Revolution the Great Hall on the second floor was the scene of many meetings where Bostonians voiced their dissent against the oppressive policies of the British Parliament. Faneuil Hall still provides a forum for debate on the issues of today.

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The town meetings held in Faneuil Hall should only have concerned themselves with local issues. In the mid 1760s, however, the discussion turned to the taxation policies of the British Empire, and Faneuil Hall became the focus of revolutionary activity in Boston

At times protest meetings held at the hall spilled over into incidents of violence in the streets. Under the leadership of James Otis, Samuel Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren and other "Sons of Liberty," debates let to opposition to the Sugar Tax of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, and other British political maneuvers. In December of 1773,sessions took place here concerning a newly arrived consignment of tea and the tax to be paid on it.

Into the 21st century, Faneuil Hall has remained an active and important place for Bostonians. In the early 19th century the three granite structures of Quincy Market were built to the east of the Hall. These, along with Faneuil Hall's market stalls, continued to be Boston's wholesale food distribution center until the 1960's.

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During the 1970's, the entire Faneuil Hall area underwent a major renewal, and today the stalls purvey food to the thousands of visitors each day.

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The meeting room at Faneuil Hall still serves the people of Boston as a public meeting place as well. National issues continue to be discussed from its stage, but more frequently, the Hall is the site of debates on community issues, high school graduations, and naturalization ceremonies for new Americans.

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Peter Faneuil's original Hall was intended to serve Bostonians as a market place for food on one level, and a market place for ideas on the second. Today this tradition continues.

Informational text provided by :

- From the National Park Service - Dept of the Interior -

Photos provided by ME !

Monday, August 20, 2012

Summer in the city ---> BOSTON

*** USS Constitution ***

to Sail for First Time since 1997

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For immediate release

(August 14, 2012 Lt. Cmdr. Paul Brawley)

"Charlestown, MA. - USS Constitution
is scheduled to set sail Aug. 19th to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory of the British frigate HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812. This underway demonstration on Guerrier Day
is the first time that she has sailed on her own since 1997..."

***

(associated press)

The underway began at approximately 10a.m. Once Constitution is at President Roads (between Deer Island and Long Island) at approximately 11:30 a.m., the crew will set up to four sails and make toward open water for about 10 minutes. After President Roads, a 21- gun salute exchange with the Massachusetts Army National Guaard's 101st Field Artillery Regiment will then be fired toward Fort Independence on Castle Island at approximately 1p.m. The 101st Field Artillery Regiment is the oldest regiment in the Army. Sails will be furled at 2:30 p.m. and crew members will depart the ship at 3p.m. Constitution will re-open for free public tours at 4p.m.

CDR Matthew J. Bonner

"I cannot think of a better way to honor those who fought in the war as well as celebrate Constitution's successes during the War of 1812 than for the ship to be under sail,"
said Cmdr. Matt Bonner, Constitution's 72nd commanding officer.

The last time Constitution sailed under her own power was to honor the ship's 200th birthday. This year's sail will honor Constitution's decisive victory over the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812, marking the first time a United States ship defeated a Royal Navy frigate at or nearly equal size. It's also the battle in which the ship earned her famous nickname

"Old Ironsides."

Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat and welcomes more than 500,000 visitors per year.

She defended the sea lanes against threats from 1797 to 1855, much like the mission of today's Navy.

America's Navy:

Keeping the sea free

for more than 200 years.

... Returning to her berth....until next time .

*****

Click here more information about USS CONSTITUTION

http://www.history.navy.mil/ussconstitution/history.html

Sunday, August 12, 2012

A Whale of a good time....

The New Bedford Whaling Museum

is a world-renowned museum that brings to life the rich history of the whaling industry and New Bedford's role as its premier port.

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Located in the heart of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the museum features interactive exhibits, including the world's largest whaling ship model: displays of fine and decorative arts, collections of cultural artifacts, rare antiquities, scrimshaw and logbooks: five whale skeletons including the rare blue and northern right.

Skeletons of the Deep

Ongoing Exhibition
The New Bedford Whaling Museum is host to four large whale skeletons, and one very special small skeleton.

Skeletons are important teaching tools for museums, science centers and aquaria. The sheer size of the skeletons inspires awe and gives a greater appreciation for their mobility. Viewing the skeletal structure allows for lessons in comparative anatomy and can forge a more personal connection with our mammal brethren. The presence of these specimens generates questions for staff and volunteers which then lead to an improved understanding of these animals and their natural history. Researchers, studying the condition of these bones, are able to determine information about the health of the animal just prior to its death.

Scrimshaw: Shipboard Art of the Whalers

This is a sumptuous “permanent” exhibition of the best, most representative, and most compelling curiosities of the museums vast scrimshaw holdings — a generous selection drawn from the world’s largest and greatest collection.

The exhibition presents the scrimshaw itself in all its unique and occupationally rooted glory. Many of the pieces are on exhibit for the first time; many others have not been on public display for decades. The exhibition also shows some of the pictorial sources of the whalers’ work; it traces such topical themes as symbolic patriotic figures, American naval prowess, portraiture, fashion plates, ethnic diversity, the Napoleonic mystique, and the whale hunt itself; it features works by English, Scottish, Azorean, Cape Verdean, African-American, Continental European, Eskimo, Pacific Islander, and Japanese practitioners; and it illustrates some of the tools and mainstream methods of engraving ivory and bone, and constructing scrimshaw at sea.

* In addition to its substantial curiosity value and intrinsic aesthetic appeal, scrimshaw provides a uniquely revealing window on the shipboard diversions, priorities, and concerns of mainstream mariners on Yankee whaleships in the Age of Sail

* Views to the Harbor *

The Museum’s

Davis Observation Deck

provides one of the best views in New Bedford – a view in which the city’s current and historic maritime heritage plays out before you, a living portrait of the city’s economic engine.

What better place, then, to explore historic views of the harbor and its activities?