"And this is good old Boston,
The home of the bean and the cod,Where the Lowells talk to the Cabots
And the Cabots talk only to God."
There have been a lot of changes in Boston since John Collins Bossidy toasted the city at that Holy Cross Alumni dinner in 1910.
Who would ever imagine, for example, that Boston's image as a snobby cultural center has been tempered by a national television series, "Cheers," patterned after the Bull and Finch Pub, a bar in downtown Boston that draws thousands of tourists each year?
Or that the Kennedy family has far outstripped the Lowells and the Cabots in power and influence? And the real icons of today's Boston are Larry Bird and former Celtics coach and president Red Auerbach?
In today's Boston, everybody talks to each other, making it one of the friendliest cities in the United States and one of the most interesting to visit.
Not everything in the city has changed. Boston is still a cultural center and a historic gem. It is still "home of the bean and the cod." The famous Boston-baked beans, introduced by the Puritans who prepared the dish on Saturday night to spend less time in the kitchen on Sunday, are served in the finest restaurants. And the seafood of Boston is legendary.
Culture and history are the city's fortes. Consider this:
- There are more than 64 colleges and universities within the Greater Boston area, including Boston College, Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Northeastern, to name a few.
- Boston has a wide array of outstanding and diverse museums, including the 125-year-old Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, Children's Museum, Computer Museum, Museum of Transportation and the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
- The Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops are a few of the world-class performance groups located in the city. An active theater district regularly offers Broadway and pre-Broadway shows. If the show bombs in Boston it stands little chance of making it in the Big Apple.
- The U.S.S. Constitution, commonly known as "Old Ironsides," is the world's oldest commissioned ship, launched Oct. 21, 1797. U.S. Navy sailors from nearby Charlestown Navy Yard conduct free tours of the ship.
- The three-mile "Freedom Trail" guides walkers past 16 of the American Revolution's most historically significant sites, including the Bunker Hill Monument; Paul Revere's house; the Old North Church, famous for "one if by land and two if by sea;" the old state house; the Old South Meeting House where the Boston Tea Party was planned and the Boston Tea Party ship and museum.
- Faneuil Hall, cradle of liberty. Just behind Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, a long narrow market hall, carefully restored with its original 19th century granite and its neighboring North and South markets. Hundreds of boutiques, restaurants, food stalls and push carts fill the area.
Wick Costello, 31, of Lincoln, Neb., a conventioneer who came to Boston to learn more about MacIntosh computers, said he ended up learning a few things about American history as well.
"This city is incredibly beautiful," he said. "It's the atmosphere. It's the old churches and graveyards and the buildings where so much of our Revolutionary War history began. And the people are super friendly."
Louise Wood, 22, of Nottingham, England, agreed with Costello that Boston's atmosphere makes it a unique city. Interviewed at the Bull and Finch Pub, Wood said she was amazed at how easy it is to make friends in Boston.
Boston is a city surrounded by water. The Atlantic ocean frames the city on two sides and the Charles River runs around the back of the city.
That doesn't bother tourist promoters in the city who have come up with a novel way for visitors to get around. Boston Duck Tours carries tourists through the streets of the city in World War II amphibious vehicles. After touring the streets the "duck" and its 25 passengers splash into the Charles River for a breathtaking river cruise and view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines.
Boston also has a guided bicycle tour. And a two-hour evening tour of Boston Harbor aboard the 80-foot schooner, "Liberty" and trolley tours, all reasonably priced.
But the best way to get around Boston is on foot.
Boston has been called one of the most "walkable cities in America." USA Today in a 1993 survey rated Boston as the safest major city in the United States for tourists.
While history, culture, and great seafood restaurants may be main draws to Boston, the city is also a magnet for sports fans.
Fenway Park is home to the American League Boston Red Sox. The Celtics of the National Basketball Association, the Bruins of the National Hockey League and the New England Patriots of the National Football League keep sports fans busy all year long.
An example of how serious Bostonians take their sports is the statue of Celtics coach Auerbach. The bigger-than-life statue of the former coach has been placed in a prominent shopping area close to Faneuil Hall.
Prim and proper Boston civic leaders questioned the propriety of honoring a living basketball coach in a city that showcases Paul Revere, Ben Franklin and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. But rank-and-file Bostonians have a way of showing who really threw the tea overboard. And Auerback sits there for all posterity, holding his unlighted cigar as he sits on the edge of a bench.
If Auerbach is honored, Larry Bird is idolized.
"The best way to start a riot in Boston," quips Bostonian Stan Tozlowski, "is to spread a rumor that Larry Bird is signing autographs at the Quincy Market."