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Huang Weize, Victor

6/19/10

Exploring America

Blog 3

This Friday, I went on the freedom trail in Boston. Despite the fact that the weather is a little bit hot, however, I was still excited about the trip. I have been 12 places totally, and I got very impressed about 2 places which I would like to talk about here.

The first one is the Boston common. Dating from 1634, it is one of the oldest city parks in the United States. The Boston Common consists of 50 acres of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street. Furthermore, The Central Burying Ground is found on the Boylston Street side of Boston Common. There, one can find the burial sites of the artist Gilbert Stuart and the composer William Billings. Also buried there are Samuel Sprague and his son, Charles Sprague, one of America's earliest poets. Samuel Sprague was a participant in the Boston Tea Party and fought in the Revolutionary War.

Besides, I was also appealed by Granary Burying Ground. The Burying Ground was the third cemetery established in the city of Boston and dates to the year 1660. The need for the site arose because the land set aside for the city's first cemetery, King's Chapel Burying Ground located a block east was insufficient to meet the city's growing population. Early in its existence the area was known as the South Burying Ground until 1737 at which point it took on the name of the granary building which formerly stood on the site of what is now the Park Street Church.

One of the most striking features of the Burying Ground was the row of eleven large European elms that fronted on Tremont Street. The elms were planted in1762 by Major Adina Paddock and John Ballard, and by 1856 reached ten feet in circumference. The walk under the elms was known as "Paddock's Mall." Ironically while the entrance was shaded by the large elms, the grounds itself were devoid of any trees at all until the first major improvement was undertaken in 1830 when a number of trees were planted around the grounds.

It is pity that owing to some objective reasons, I had to finish it in advance and therefore didn't visit all places. But I will continue to finish this trip if I can be offered another opportunity.