Boston; Portrait of A City
Katharine Knowles (Photographer) Barre, Massachusetts: Barre Publishers, 1964. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. 112 pages. Illustrated endpapers. Illustrations. Paperclip impression on a couple of pages. Clear plastic dust wrapper soles some wear and soiling. Illustrated cover has wear on edges and corners. Walter Muir Whitehill (1905 – 1978) was an American writer, historian, medievalist, and the Director and Librarian of the Boston Athenaeum from 1946 to 1973. He was also editor for publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts from 1946 to 1978. From 1951 to 1972 Whitehill was a professor at Harvard University. The younger Whitehill received his AB and AM degrees from Harvard in 1926 and 1929. Shortly after this he married Jane Revere Coolidge, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and eldest daughter of Julian Coolidge. He then went to England where he received a Ph.D. from the University of London. In 1932 he did in Santiago de Compostela the first full transcription of the medieval Codex Calixtinus. Whitehill was selected to deliver an important televised address about the history and development of Boston on the occasion of the Bicentennial Celebration of the United States. On July 11, 1976, he spoke at the Old State House in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, the Mayor of Boston, the Governor of Massachusetts, and a large audience. The text of his address was printed in a publication by the Bostonian Society, which operates the Old State House on behalf of the National Park Service. He delivered the commencement address in 1974 at the College of William and Mary. Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in America, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from the English town of the same name. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution and the nation's founding, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the siege of Boston. Upon American independence from Great Britain, the city continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture. The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through land reclamation and municipal annexation. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year. Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park (Boston Common, 1634), first public or state school (Boston Latin School, 1635), first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897), and first large public library (Boston Public Library, 1848). Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: Boston, Pictorial Works, Landmarks, Public Garden, State House, Boston Common, Beacon Hill, Commonwealth Avenue, Oriental Tea, Symphony Hall
[Book #86177]
Price: $45.00