Saturday, October 11, 2008

Old North Church

After we were done eating our breakfasts at Mike's Pastry, we headed toward Old North Church. The church is open so that you can walk around and take pictures. They also had a 10 minute speech, so that we could learn some more history about it.

Outside of church.


They don't have the type of pews that we are used to seeing. They actually have boxes that families would rent - so there really was assigned seating! They were styled as boxes to help keep the heat in. The families would bring in heated bricks or rocks to put by their feet and the high walls would help keep the heat in.


When families rented a pew, they were allowed to decorate it any way they wanted. This pew still has it's original decorations.


This is the "Newman Window". When the two lanterns were hung in the steeple to warn that the British were coming, the British also saw them. They ran to the church and were pounding on the door to get in; so the person who hung the lanterns,Robert Newman had to escape out of this window, so that he wouldn't be tried for treason. In 1975, President Ford hung this "3rd Lamp" in the window to be introduced as a new signal to call the nation to renewed hope in our century.


Interior view of Old North Church.


This was Paul Revere's pew. His descendants still pays the rent on it today.


Side view of the church with the steeple.

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