see captionIN FAIRMOUNT PARK
IN FAIRMOUNT PARK
When William Penn founded his Quaker town in the wilderness, he made little provision for parks, as at that time the town was so small and was so surrounded by forests that no parks were needed. But Philadelphia now possesses the largest park in the United States. This is known as Fairmount Park, which covers over three thousand acres of land. Splendid paths and driveways give access to every section of this park. On all sides one sees beautiful landscape gardening, fine old trees, and picturesque streams and bridges. Here is a great open amphitheater where concerts are given during the summer months; here are athletic fields, playgrounds,race courses, and splendid stretches of water for rowing; and here also for many years were located the immense waterworks which pumped the city's water supply from the Schuylkill River.
see captionONCE THE HOME OF WILLIAM PENN
ONCE THE HOME OF WILLIAM PENN
see captionLOOKING NORTH ON BROAD STREET
LOOKING NORTH ON BROAD STREET
Among the famous buildings in the park are Memorial Hall and Horticultural Hall. They were erected at the time of the great Centennial Exhibition, which was held in Philadelphia in 1876 to celebrate the hundredth birthday of American independence. Memorial Hall is now used as an art gallery and city museum. Horticultural Hall contains a magnificent collection of plants and botanical specimens, brought from many different countries.
Another interesting building in Fairmount Park is the little brick house which was once the home of William Penn. It is said to have been the first brick house erected in Philadelphia. It stood on a lot south of Market Street, and between Front and Second streets. Some years ago it was moved from its original site to Fairmount Park, where thousands of people now visit it. Here too, before the Revolutionary War, was the home of Robert Morris, the great American financier, who, during that war, time and again raised money to pay the soldiers of the American army.
Many statues of American heroes ornament the driveways and walks of Fairmount Park. At the Green Street entrance stands one of the finest equestrian statues of Washington in the country. The carved base, which is made of granite and decorated with bronze figures, is approached by thirteen steps, to represent the original thirteen states.
The streets of Philadelphia, while not broad, are well paved, and many of them are bordered by fine old trees. It was William Penn who named many of the streets after trees. The names of several of the streets in the oldest part of the town are recalled in the old refrain:
Market, Arch, Race, and Vine,Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine.
Market, Arch, Race, and Vine,Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine.
Market, Arch, Race, and Vine,Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine.
Philadelphia is a city of homes. Besides its splendid residential suburbs, it has miles of streets lined with neat attractive houses where live the city's busy workmen.
see captionBALLOON VIEW OF FAIRMOUNT PARK AND THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER, 1000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND
BALLOON VIEW OF FAIRMOUNT PARK AND THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER, 1000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND
see captionPHILADELPHIA'S WASHINGTON MONUMENT
PHILADELPHIA'S WASHINGTON MONUMENT
see captionTHE CITY HALL
THE CITY HALL
see captionTHE CITY-HALL STATUE OF PENN
THE CITY-HALL STATUE OF PENN
Perhaps the city hall is the most striking of the notable buildings. It is a massive structure of marble and granite and stands at the intersection of Broad and Market streets. This immense building covers four and a half acres and is built in the form of a hollow square around an open court. The most attractive feature of the building is the great tower surmounted by an immense statue of William Penn. This lofty tower is nearly 548 feet high and is 90 feet square at its base. It is 67 feet higher than the great Pyramid of Egypt and nearly twice as high as the dome of the Capitol at Washington. The Washington Monument exceeds it inheight by but a few feet. The great statue of Penn is as tall as an ordinary three-story house and weighs over 26 tons. It is cast of bronze and was made of 47 pieces so skillfully put together that the closest inspection can scarcely discover the seams. Around the head is a circle of electric lights throwing their brilliant illumination a distance of 30 miles. To one gazing upwards, the light seems a halo of glory about the head of the beloved founder of the city.
Philadelphia has many fine schools, both public and private. The two most noted educational institutions are the University of Pennsylvania and Girard College. The University of Pennsylvania was founded largely through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin. It now occupies more than fifty buildings west of the Schuylkill River and is widely known as a center of learning.
see captionPHILADELPHIA TO-DAY
PHILADELPHIA TO-DAY
Girard College was the gift of Stephen Girard, who, from a humble cabin boy, became one of Philadelphia's richest benefactors. The college is a charitable institution devoted to the education of orphan boys, who are admittedto it between the ages of six and ten. Girard left almost his entire fortune of over $7,000,000 for the establishment of this great educational home for poor boys. Two millions of this sum were for the erection of the buildings alone.
see captionTHE UNITED STATES MINT
THE UNITED STATES MINT
Other prominent educational institutions are the Penn Charter School, chartered by William Penn; the Academy of Fine Arts; The Drexel Institute for the promotion of art, science, and industry; the School of Industrial Art; the School of Design for Women; and several medical colleges which are among the most noted in the country.
see captionOLD CHRIST CHURCH
OLD CHRIST CHURCH
When the United States became an independent nation it was necessary to have a coinage system of its own. In 1792 a mint was established in Philadelphia to coin money for the United States government. All of ourmoney is not now made in Philadelphia. The paper currency is made in Washington, and there are mints for the coinage of gold, silver, and copper in San Francisco, Denver, and New Orleans as well as in Philadelphia.
A visit to the Philadelphia mint is most interesting. Visitors are conducted through the many rooms of this great money factory and are shown the successive processes through which the gold, silver, nickel, and copper must pass before it becomes money.
see captionINDEPENDENCE HALL
INDEPENDENCE HALL
We first see the metal in the form of bars or bricks. In another room we find men at work melting the gold and mixing with it copper and other metals to strengthen it. Coins of pure gold would wear away very rapidly, and so these other metals are added. The prepared metal is cast into long strips, about the width and thickness of the desired coins. In still another room these strips are fed into a machine which punches out round pieces of the size and weight required. These disks are then carefully weighedand inspected, after which they are taken to the coining room to receive the impression of figures and letters which indicates their value. One by one the blank disks are dropped between two steel dies. The upper die bears the picture and lettering which is to appear upon the face of the coin, and the lower, that which is to appear on the reverse side. As the disk lies between them the two dies come together, exerting an enormous pressure upon the cold metal. The pressure is then removed, and the bright disk drops from the machine, stamped with the impression which has changed this piece of metal into a coin of the United States. All coins are made in much the same way.
see captionTHE LIBERTY BELL
THE LIBERTY BELL
In our brief visit we see many wonderful machines for counting, weighing, and sorting the thousands of coins which are daily produced in this busy place. At every step we are impressed with the great precautions taken to safeguard the precious materials handled.
The old parts of Philadelphia are even more interesting than the mint, because of their historic associations. Within the distance of a few squares one may visitfamous buildings whose very names send thrills of pride through the heart of every good American.
Old Christ Church, whose communion service was given by England's Queen Anne in 1708, is perhaps the most noted of Philadelphia's historic churches. In this old church Benjamin Franklin worshiped for many years, and when he died he was buried in its quaint churchyard. And here too George Washington and John Adams worshiped when Philadelphia was the capital city.
see captionTHE HOME OF BETSY ROSS
THE HOME OF BETSY ROSS
Carpenters' Hall and Independence Hall ought to be known and remembered by every boy and girl in America. When the Massachusetts colonists held the Boston Tea Party, England undertook to punish Massachusetts by closing her chief port. This meant ruin to Boston. All the English colonists in America were so aroused that they determined to call a meeting of representatives from each colony, to consider the wisest course of action and how to help Massachusetts. It was in Carpenters' Hall that this first Continental Congress met, in September, 1774. The building was erected in 1770 as a meeting place for the house carpenters of Philadelphia—hence its name.
On Chestnut Street stands the old statehouse, which is called Independence Hall because it was the birthplace of our liberty. Here it was that, when all hope of peace between the colonies and England had been given up, the colonial representatives met in 1776 in the Continental Congress and adopted the Declaration of Independence, which declared that England's American colonies should henceforth be free and independent. While the members of Congress discussed the Declaration and its adoption, throngs packed the streets outside, impatiently waiting to know the result. At last the great bell rang out—the signal of the joyous news that the Declaration of Independence had been adopted.
Independence Hall was built to be used as a statehouse for the colony of Pennsylvania. The old building has been kept as nearly as possible in its original conditionand is now considered “A National Monument to the Birth of the Republic.” This sacred spot is under the supervision of the Sons of the American Revolution and is used as the home of many historic relics. Among these may be found the Liberty Bell, which hung in the tower of the statehouse for many years. It was later removed from the tower and placed on exhibition in the building. It has made many journeys to exhibitions in various cities, such as New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, Charleston, Boston, St. Louis, and San Francisco. The old bell is now shown in a glass case at the main entrance to Independence Hall.
see captionTHE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG
THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG
On Arch Street, not far from Independence Hall, is the little house where it is claimed the first American flag was made by Betsy Ross.
For ten years, from 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. In this city Washington and Adams were inaugurated for their second term as president and vice-president, and here Adams was inaugurated president in 1797.
Philadelphia to-day is a great city: great in industry, great in commerce, and great in near-by resources. Every street of the old part of the town is rich in historic memories. William Penn dreamed of a magnificent city, and the City of Brotherly Love is worthy of her founder's dream.
PHILADELPHIAFACTS TO REMEMBERPopulation (1910), over 1,500,000 (1,549,008).Third city in rank according to population.Place of great historic interest:Founded by William Penn.Home of Benjamin Franklin.First Continental Congress met here in 1774.Declaration of Independence signed here in 1776.Capital of the nation from 1790 to 1800.First United States mint located here.A great industrial and commercial center.Ranks third in the country as a manufacturing city.Principal industries:Leads the world in the making of woolen carpets.Has the largest locomotive works in the United States.Manufactures woolen and worsted goods.Ranks high in printing and publishing, the refining of sugar, and shipbuilding.Deep-water communication with the sea.
PHILADELPHIAFACTS TO REMEMBER
Population (1910), over 1,500,000 (1,549,008).
Third city in rank according to population.
Place of great historic interest:
A great industrial and commercial center.
Ranks third in the country as a manufacturing city.
Principal industries:
Deep-water communication with the sea.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY
1. When, how, and by whom was the site of Philadelphia acquired?
2. Compare the city of 1683 with that of to-day.
3. How does Philadelphia rank in size and manufactures among the great cities of the United States?
4. Name several advantages which have helped to make the city a great industrial and commercial center.
5. What are the leading exports of the city?
6. Name some of the important industries of Philadelphia.
7. Tell what you can of Philadelphia's great iron and steel works.
8. Tell something of the history and the present importance of printing in Philadelphia.
9. Give some interesting facts about the city's great park.
10. State briefly some of the things which may be seen in a visit to the mint.
11. What events of great historical interest have taken place in Carpenters' Hall and Independence Hall?
St_Louis
Soon after Thomas Jefferson became president of the United States, he bought from France the land known as Louisiana for $15,000,000. This sum seemed a great deal of money for a young nation to pay out, but the Louisiana Purchase covered nearly 900,000 square miles and extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. So when one stops to think that the United States secured the absolute control of the Mississippi and more than doubled its former area at a price less than three cents an acre, it is easier to understand why Jefferson bought than why France sold.
When Louisiana became part of the United States in 1803, St. Louis was a straggling frontier village, frequented mostly by boatmen and trappers. It had been established as a trading post back in 1764 by a party of French trappers from New Orleans, and had, from the first, monopolized the fur trade of the upper Mississippi and Missouri River country. Here hunters and trappers brought the spoils of distant forests. Here the surrounding tribes of Indians came to trade with the friendlyFrench. Here countless open boats were loaded with skins and furs and then floated down the Mississippi.
see captionLOUISIANA PURCHASE
LOUISIANA PURCHASE
Notwithstanding this flourishing trade, the growth of the settlement was slow. In 1803 the population numbered less than one thousand, made up of French trappers and hunters, a few other Europeans and Americans, and a considerable number of Indians, half-breeds, and negro slaves.
But as soon as Louisiana belonged to the United States, a new era began in the West. Emigrants from the Eastern states poured over the Appalachian Mountains. St. Louis lay right in the path of this overland east-to-west travel. From here Lewis and Clark started, in 1804, on their famous exploring trip of nearly two years and a half, up the Missouri River, to find out for the country whatLouisiana was like. It was here that emigrants headed for the Oregon country stopped to make final preparations and lay in supplies. The remote trading post of the eighteenth century was suddenly transformed into a wide-awake bustling town.
see captionMISSISSIPPI RIVER BOATS
MISSISSIPPI RIVER BOATS
Furs were now no longer the only article of trade. The newly settled Mississippi valley was producing larger crops each year. Because of the poor roads, overland transportation to the markets on the Atlantic was out of the question, and trade was dependent on the great inland waterways. Early in the century, keel boats and barges carried the products of field and forest down the Mississippi. Then came the arrival of the first steamboat, the real beginning of St. Louis' great prosperity, workingwonders for this inland commerce whose growth kept pace with the marvelous development of the rich Middle West.
see captionST. LOUIS AND HER ILLINOIS SUBURBS
ST. LOUIS AND HER ILLINOIS SUBURBS
St. Louis, lying on the west bank of the Mississippi, between the mouths of the Ohio and Missouri rivers and not far from the Illinois, became the natural center of this north-and-south river traffic. By 1860 it was the most important shipping point west of the Alleghenies.
see captionTHE MUNICIPAL COURT BUILDING
THE MUNICIPAL COURT BUILDING
Meanwhile railroad building had begun in the West. Ground was broken in 1850 for St. Louis' first railway, the Missouri Pacific. Other roads were begun during the next two years. In a short time the whole country was covered with a network of railroads, and a change in the methods of transportation followed. The steamboats were unable to compete with their new rivals in speed—a tremendous advantage in carrying passengers and perishable freight—and their former importance quickly grew less.
St. Louis lost nothing by the change. Many of the cross-continent railroads, following the old pioneer trails,met here. To-day more than twenty-five railroads enter the city, connecting it with the remotest parts of the United States as well as with Canada and Mexico.
see captionTHE CITY HALL
THE CITY HALL
St. Louis now has about 700,000 inhabitants and occupies nearly 65 square miles of land, which slopes gradually from the water's edge to the plateau that stretches for miles beyond the western limits of the city. The city is laid out in broad straight streets, crossing each other at right angles wherever possible and numbered north and south from Market Street.
The shopping district lies mainly between Broadway,—the fifth street from the river,—Twelfth Street, Pine Street, and Franklin Avenue. The financial center is on Fourth Street and Broadway, while Washington Avenue,between Fourth and Eighteenth streets, is one of the greatest “wholesale rows” in the West.
Besides its public schools—which include a teachers' college—and private schools, St. Louis has two higher institutions of learning, Washington University and St. Louis University.
Among the most important public buildings in the business section are the municipal court building, the city hall, the courthouse, and the public library.
see captionTHE NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY
THE NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY
The St. Louis Union Station, used by all railroads entering the city, is one of the largest and finest stations in the world. Pneumatic tubes connect it with the post office and the customhouse, while underground driveways and passages for handling bulky freight, express, and mail matter radiate from it in all directions.
see captionTHE UNION STATION
THE UNION STATION
Almost directly west of the business section, on the outskirts of the city, lies Forest Park, the largest of St. Louis' many recreation grounds. It covers more thanthirteen hundred acres of field and forest land, left largely in a natural state. Here is the City Art Museum, which was part of the Art Palace of the world's fair held in St. Louis in 1904 to celebrate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase.
The beautiful Missouri Botanical Garden, generally known as Shaw's Garden, is open for the use of the public. Compton Hill Reservoir Park, on the South Side, though small, is one of the finest in the city. Its water tower and basins are a part of the municipal water system, costing more than $30,000,000. The city water is pumped from the Mississippi River and purified as it passes into great settling basins.
Though St. Louis' attractive houses are found almost everywhere outside the strictly business quarters, the real residence section has gradually been growing toward Forest Park, and many of the city's business men have built homes in the suburbs beyond the western limits of the city. One of these suburbs, University City, bids fair to become America's most beautiful residence town.
Unlike most of our large cities, St. Louis has no sharply defined factory district. Its manufacturing establishments are distributed over nearly the whole city. An important part of its manufacturing interests centers on the eastern bank of the Mississippi in the city's Illinois suburbs.
see captionTHE ART MUSEUM
THE ART MUSEUM
The industrial development of these Illinois suburbs was greatly increased by the opening of the Eads Bridge in 1874. Before this time there had been no bridge connection over the Mississippi. Passengers and freight ferries had plied regularly between St. Louis and her suburbs across the river, but there were seasons when floating ice made the river impassable, sometimes cutting off communication between the two shores for days.
The Eads Bridge is 6220 feet long and is so built that the railroad tracks cross it on a level lower than the carriage drives and foot paths. With its completion, communication between opposite sides of the river became as easy as between different parts of the city.
see captionTHE EADS BRIDGE
THE EADS BRIDGE
Other bridges have since been built. In 1890 the Merchants Bridge, used solely by railroads, was built acrossthe Mississippi three miles to the north of Eads Bridge, and now there is the McKinley Bridge between the two. In addition to these the city is building a bridge which, when completed, will be open to traffic without toll charges.
see captionSHAW'S GARDEN
SHAW'S GARDEN
see captionA PUBLIC BATH
A PUBLIC BATH
Among the Illinois suburbs thus brought into closer touch with the western side of the river are East St. Louis,—a growing city of about 75,000,—Venice, Madison, Granite City, and Belleville. Being principally manufacturing communities, these cities contribute in no small degree to St. Louis' importance as an industrial center.
see captionA MISSOURI COAL MINE
A MISSOURI COAL MINE
St. Louis' importance, however, is mainly due to the city's favorable location at the heart of one of the world's richest river valleys. The vast natural resources of the Middle West are at her command. Raw materials of every kind aboundalmost at her door. Missouri ranks high as an agricultural and mining state. Its position in the great corn belt makes hog raising a highly profitable industry. The prairies to the north furnish extensive grazing areas for cattle. The Ozark Mountains to the southwest afford excellent pasturage for sheep and yield lumber as well as great quantities of lead, zinc, and other minerals. In addition, the state has large deposits of soft coal, while only the Mississippi separates St. Louis from the unlimited supply of the Illinois coal fields. As a result, the cost of manufacturing is low and the city's many and varied industries thrive. Chief among these is the manufacture of boots and shoes. Though this business is comparatively young in the West, St. Louis already ranks among the three leading footwear-producing citiesof the country, turning out over $50,000,000 worth of boots and shoes yearly. Most of these are of the heavier type made for country trade, but the output of finer footwear is steadily increasing.
see captionMAKING SHOES
MAKING SHOES
Next in importance are the tobacco, meat-packing, and malt-liquor industries. St. Louis is one of the leading cities in the country in the manufacture of tobacco. The meat-packing establishments, including those in East St. Louis, hold fourth place among America's great packing centers. Its mammoth breweries lead the country in the output of beer. Flour mills, foundries, and sugar refineries also do an immense business. Street and railroad cars, stoves of all kinds, paints, oils, and white lead are made in scores of factories, while hundreds of other industries flourish in the city, making it one of the greatest workshops in the United States.
see captionMULES IN A STOCKYARD
MULES IN A STOCKYARD
Important as St. Louis is as a manufacturing city, it is even more noted as a distributing center, its location making it the natural commercial metropolis of the Mississippi valley. It markets not only its own manufactures but products which represent every section of the country. The vast territory to the west and southwest depends almost entirely on St. Louis for its supply of dry goods and groceries. Other staples are boots and shoes, tobacco, hardware, timber, cotton, breadstuffs, cattle, and hogs.
In the handling of furs St. Louis leads the cities of the world. She also holds a high place among the great grain markets. In this country her annual receipts of corn, wheat, and oats are exceeded only by those of Chicago and Minneapolis. Shipments of grain and breadstuffs to Central and South America, Cuba, Great Britain, and Germany constitute the city's leading exports.
As a live-stock market it is no less important. The National Stockyards, located on the Illinois side of the river, contain several hundred acres. Though packing houses and slaughtering houses occupy some of this land, the main part is covered with sheds, pens, and enclosures for the reception and sale of live animals. Millions of cattle, hogs, and sheep are handled here every year. St. Louis also buys and sells hundreds of thousands of horses and mules, being the largest market for draft animals in the world.
Just as the frontier trading post of the eighteenth century grew into the thriving river port of the nineteenth, so the river port of the nineteenth century has developed into one of the leading railroad and commercial centers of the twentieth. And the fourth city of America in size is now St. Louis.
ST. LOUISFACTS TO REMEMBERPopulation (1910), nearly 700,000 (687,029).Fourth city according to population.Well located; center of the Mississippi valley, between the mouths of the Missouri and Ohio rivers.Important shipping point by rail and water.A great railroad center.The leading market in the world for furs and draft animals.One of the greatest boot-and-shoe-manufacturing centers.One of the chief markets in the United States for grain, flour, and live stock.
ST. LOUISFACTS TO REMEMBER
Population (1910), nearly 700,000 (687,029).
Fourth city according to population.
Well located; center of the Mississippi valley, between the mouths of the Missouri and Ohio rivers.
Important shipping point by rail and water.
A great railroad center.
The leading market in the world for furs and draft animals.
One of the greatest boot-and-shoe-manufacturing centers.
One of the chief markets in the United States for grain, flour, and live stock.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY
1. Why did Jefferson buy the country included in the Louisiana Purchase?
2. Give a brief account of the Louisiana Purchase; from whom purchased, the cost, the territory included.
3. Tell what you know of St. Louis before the Louisiana Purchase.
4. What brought about the sudden and rapid growth of St. Louis after the purchase?
5. What effect did the railroads have upon St. Louis' water transportation? Why?
6. Describe the St. Louis Union Station.
7. What three bridges were built across the Mississippi at St. Louis, and why?
8. To what does St. Louis owe her importance as an industrial center?
9. In what lines does St. Louis lead the world?
10. Name some of the products sent to St. Louis from the neighboring country.
11. What are some of her most important industries?
12. Name some of the things which St. Louis supplies to other sections of the country.
13. In what business has St. Louis held an important place from its beginning?
14. By consulting a map, find what great railroad systems run to St. Louis.
Boston
Let us take a trip to New England and visit Boston. Boston is New England's chief city in size, in population, in historic interest, and in importance. It is the capital of Massachusetts and the fifth city in size in the United States.
If we were going to visit some far-away cousins whom we had never seen, we should surely want to know something about their age, their appearance, and their habits. Would it not be just as interesting to find out these things about the city we are to see on our journey?
In the early days the Indians called the district where Boston now stands Shawmut, or “living waters.” The first white man to come to Shawmut was William Blackstone, a hermit who made his home on the slope of what is now Beacon Hill. Though Blackstone liked to be alone, he was unselfish. So when he heard that the settlers of a Puritan colony not far away were suffering for want of pure water, he went to their governor, John Winthrop, “acquainted him with the excellent spring of water that was on his land and invited him and his followers thither.” Blackstone's offer was gladly accepted. ThePuritans purchased Shawmut from the Indians and in 1630 began their new settlement, which they named Boston in honor of the English town which had been the home of some of their leading men.
see captionMAP OF BOSTON AND ITS VICINITY
MAP OF BOSTON AND ITS VICINITY
Originally Boston was a little irregular peninsula of scarcely 700 acres, entirely cut off from the mainland at high tide. It did not take the colonists long, however, to outgrow these narrow quarters. They soon filled in the marshes and coves with land from the hills. They spread out over two small islands and made them part of Boston. Then, one by one, they took in neighboring settlements. And from this start Boston has grown, until to-day it has an area of about 43 square miles and a population of nearly 700,000.
We must get a clear idea of these various districts of Boston. If not, we shall be puzzled to meet friends from Roxbury or Dorchester and hear them say that they live in Boston. There is Boston proper, the old Boston before it annexed its neighbors; East Boston, comprising two islands in the harbor which joined Boston in 1635 and 1637; then, annexed from time to time, come Roxbury, Dorchester, Charlestown,—the scene of the Battle of Bunker Hill,—West Roxbury, and Brighton; and last, Hyde Park, which, by the vote of its people and the citizens of Boston, joined the city in November, 1911. These have all kept their original names, but have given up their local governments to share Boston's larger privileges and advantages. So remember that when we meet friends from Roxbury, West Roxbury, Dorchester, Brighton, East Boston, South Boston, or Hyde Park, they are all Boston people. The children from these districts would resent itif they were not known as Boston boys and girls just as much as those who live in the very heart of the city.
see captionTHE WASHINGTON STREET TUNNEL
THE WASHINGTON STREET TUNNEL
While we have been reading all this, our boat has been drawing closer to the city, and now we must gather up our wraps and bags and be ready to start out. We see a very busy harbor, its noisy tugs drawing the sullen-looking coal barges; its graceful schooners loaded to the water's edge with lumber; and its fishing boats with their dirty sails, not attractive but doing the work that has placed Boston first in importance as a fishing port. Crowded steamers and ferryboats pass swiftly by, while huge ocean steamships may be seen poking their noses out from their docks at East Boston and South Boston or heading toward the city with their thousands of eager passengers.
As we hurry along with our fellow travelers we must decide how best to reach our hotel. There are taxicabs and carriages for some; electric cars, both surface and elevated, for the many. Boston has excellent car and train service. The Boston Elevated Railway Company controls most of the car lines in the city as well as in the outlying towns. This makes it possible for us to ride for a nickel an average distance of at least five miles.
see captionA BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF BOSTON
A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF BOSTON
A line of elevated trains running across the city connects West Roxbury on the south with Charlestown on the north. Some of these trains pass through the Washington Street tunnel, from which numerous well-lighted, well-ventilated stations lead directly to the shopping and business section of the city. On this elevated road are two huge terminal stations, into which rush countless surface cars, bringing from all points north and south the immense crowds of suburbanites who come to Boston proper each day, to work or on pleasure bent.
Chelsea folks come to the city by ferry or by electric car, while those from East Boston have two ferry lines as well as a tunnel for cars under the harbor.
The city proper has two immense union railroad depots, the North and the South station, where hundreds of local, as well as long-distance, trains leave and arrive each day. The railroads entering Boston are the Boston & Albany, which, by means of the New York Central lines, connects with the West; the Boston & Maine, leading northward to Maine and Canada; and the New York, New Haven & Hartford, which connects by way of New York with various points in the South.
All these transportation advantages have made Boston an excellent place in which to live, as its suburbs afford the benefits of country life while yet they are within a few minutes' ride of a big city.
There are several ways in which we can see Boston. We may climb into one of the great sight-seeing autos and ride from point to point while the man with the megaphone calls our attention to the interesting landmarks and gives their history; we can engage a guide who willtake us from place to place; or we can simply follow the directions of our guide book.
see captionTHE SOUTH STATION
THE SOUTH STATION
No trip to Boston is complete without a visit to the State House, or capitol, whose gilded dome is seen glittering in the sunlight by day and sparkling with electric lights by night. It is situated on Beacon Hill, the highest point of land in the city proper. Up to 1811 one peak of the hill was as high as the gilded dome is now, and on its summit a beacon was set up as early as 1634, to warn the people in the surrounding country of approaching disaster. It seems, however, that the beacon was never used, and during the Revolution the British pulled it down and built a fort in its place.
Even if there were no gilded dome on the State House, the building itself is handsome enough to attract attention. It was designed in 1795 by Charles Bulfinch, a famous architect. The front of the building to-day is thehistoric Bulfinch front. But as Boston grew, so also did the State House, and additions were made in 1853, in 1889, and in 1915, until now we have the impressive building we are about to enter.
see captionDRILLING ON THE COMMON
DRILLING ON THE COMMON
But stop after climbing the main steps, turn around, and look at the green field before you. This is Boston Common, the famous Boston Common where the people of long ago used to pasture their cows; where the British in the early days of the Revolution set up their fortified camps during the siege of Boston; and where, at the present time, the admiring relatives of the high-school boys assemble yearly to see them go through their military drill. Situated as it is in the very heart of the city,Boston Common is the resting place, the breathing place, for thousands. It is the people's playground. Fireworks, band concerts, public speaking, all prove that its public character has never been lost, and that it is now as much of a Common as it was in 1649, when it was first laid out. By a wise clause in the city charter, this Common cannot be sold or leased without the consent of the citizens.
see captionA CORNER OF THE COMMON, SHOWING THE SHAW MEMORIAL
A CORNER OF THE COMMON, SHOWING THE SHAW MEMORIAL
The Common contains many memorials erected by a grateful people. The most conspicuous is the Army and Navy Monument, which reaches far above the trees. Directly opposite the State House is the Shaw Memorial, a wonderful bronze bas-relief by Saint Gaudens, showing the gallant Colonel Shaw and his colored regiment.
The sight of Shaw's earnest young face amid his dusky followers prepares us for entering Doric Hall in the State House, set apart as a memorial for those who died in their country's cause. We look with awe and reverence on theflags whose worn and tattered edges tell plainly of the struggles of their bearers and defenders.
see captionTHE STATE-HOUSE CODFISH
THE STATE-HOUSE CODFISH
Let us peep into the Senate chamber and into the hall of the House of Representatives with its historic codfish suspended from the ceiling, a reminder of a most humble source of Massachusetts' wealth. We will then climb to the dome and see Boston before a cold east wind sweeps suddenly in, covering the city with fog and making all misty and uncertain. As we reach the highest point, it really seems as if the fog had rolled in, but it is only a fog of smoke from the many chimneys of the city's countless factories.