Uncommon Boston Common
Boston Common is anything but common. Dating back to 1634, the Common was originally set aside for common pasturing of live stock, and until 1817 was also the site of public hangings. Since livestock was banned from grazing in 1830, Boston Common has been a public recreation area. It's quite large (though not near as large as New York's Central Park), and on any given spring, summer, or fall day hosts a variety of bikers, roller bladers, picnic-ers, swan boat enthusiasts, and the sunning idle. Because the Common is part of a larger network of green areas in Boston, it's easy to think of it as an extension of them all; from the Esplanade where the Boston Pops performs while the world famous Boston fireworks display takes place on the Fourth of July to the Public Gardens, these green expanses, replete with lakes and gorgeous (if casual) landscaping, soothe the heart and soul of this not really a city girl.
One of my favorite outdoor activities during the winter months is ice skating at Frog Pond. During much of November and through December, the Common is aglow with Christmas lights, and skating at the Pond is accompanied by a good selection of Christmas music. If it's recently snowed, as well, you can quite easily see why Boston Common in general and Frog Pond in particular make the front of many a Christmas card. You actually feel like you are in one yourself! It's wonderful to skate around the Pond, gliding through the crisp clean air, feeling the breeze blow back your hair, listening to music and getting a bit lost in it all. My ankles tend to get tired first when I ice skate, so it's wonderful to stop, buy some hot chocolate and watch the other skaters. One of the less expensive activities in Boston, ice skating on Frog Pond is only $4 for adults, excluding skate rental.
Boston Common is the first step of the Freedom Trail; Boston's walking tour of historic sites. If you ever come to Boston, you simply must walk the Freedom Trail; it takes you through some of the best of Boston's neighborhoods, to some of its best restaurants and pubs, and provides a really interesting overview of the history of Boston, which was after all pretty significant in the development of this nation. Pass by Boston Harbor and imagine the Boston Tea Party during which the "rebels" and "rabble" who'd left England rejected taxation by dumping tea into the Harbor; wander through Paul Revere's house, preserved much as it must have been the night he rode his horse delivering the famous warning; pause in the Old State House and imagine John Hancock delivering the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence; tour the U. S. S. Constitution, and get a real feel for what Old Ironsides did and means to our country. While "Cheers" is not on the Freedom Trail, not the one where the outside shots of the television show were filmed anyway, there's a "remake" at Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall is not only the site of the Boston Massacre (seven were killed, I was somewhat surprised to learn, "massacre" sounds like more than seven to me) but is also the home of some wonderful shops, street vendors, excellent restaurants, and good pubs (many of them Irish).
Boston Common is also the site where the Christmas tree delivered each year from Nova Scotia is decorated and lit. The tree is sent each year in recognition of and as thanks for Red Cross aid sent to Nova Scotia by Boston in 1917 (following the Halifax explosion, info on Wikipedia link below) and is truly stunning. With so much to see and do, one could spend several days exploring Common attractions.
