The Black Heritage Trail

Bei einem Besuch in Boston geht man üblicherweise über den «Freedom Trail» und schreitet dabei die wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten ab. Durch Zufall haben wir den uns bisher unbekannten «Black Heritage Trail» entdeckt.
Dieser Black Heritage Trail führt an Sehenswürdigkeiten vorbei, die von historischer Bedeutung für die schwarze Bevölkerung sind, die zwischen dem 18. und 19. Jahrhundert dort gelebt haben. Nachfolgend ein kleiner Auszug:
— Robert Gould Shaw and 54^th Regiment Memorial
— George Middleton House
— The Phillips School
— John J. Smith House
— Charles Street Meeting House
— Lewis and Harriet Hayden House
— John Coburn House
— Smith Court Residences
— Abiel Smith School
— The African Meeting House
— 54. Regiment Memorial
Eineinhalb Meilen geht man durch Beacon Hill und kommt an gepflegten Häusern vorbei. Die Häuser sind wie in Hamburg meist aus roten Backsteinen und man hat nicht das Gefühl in den USA zu sein. Die hübsch mit Pflanzen gestalteten Balkonkästen fand ich sehr ansprechend. Da diesen Trail offensichtlich kaum einer kennt, waren wir fast alleine unterwegs.
Geführte Touren werden vom Museum of African American History angeboten. Das Museum hatten wir aber ausgelassen, da wir unsere Kinder zu einem Besuch nicht motivieren konnten.
Wer abseits des üblichen Touristenrummels einen gemütlichen Spaziergang machen möchte, ist hier gut aufgehoben. Eine wirklich empfehlenswerte Tour.

After lunch at NeptuneOyster, took the subway to BostonCommon to join the free 1 hr BlackHeritageTrail tour on a gorgeous sunny day which started at the RobertGouldShawMemorial. There were just 4 ppl and it was an hour of discovery for most of us — I knew a little background as I had been to the Museum of African American History, which is a must visit and this trail is a perfect complement to it. Also got to see the gorgeous BeaconHill streets with one of the houses still standing&occupied from the 18^th century. Will not say anything more than that tis a must do!

I was really disappointed in this trail. I was under the impression that we couldn’t be part of a guided tour unless we had a group (true, right?) so we tried to walk the tour on our own. Problem? There are very few signs explaining the stops of interest. Yeah, we found the approximate location of the George Middleton House, but couldn’t figure out which house exactly it was, or find a plaque or sign or anything explaining its importance. Most of the trail was like this and I was pretty bummed.
Once we found the museum and African meeting house we really enjoyed it. There was a great video that gave a lot of information and a wonderful art exhibit. My advice is if you can’t get the park ranger to give you the tour then just go to the museum.

It probably would have done us some good if we took the tour with a park ranger, but my friend Jess and I did a decent job of pointing out all the sites with our little map. The trail is in the very lovely Beacon Hill neighborhood, so that in itself is enjoyable if you love architecture. It’s amazing for a Cali girl like me to see places still intact from the time of the Underground Railroad. A place to see and learn where and how free blacks and former slaves established themselves in a major city. Start at the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. Quite an impressive image.

The Black Heritage Trail is a hidden gem in Boston. I highly recommend it if you are faced with a beautiful sunny day and a hankering to learn a little history about our fine city. The tour, which lasts about 1.5 hours, meets in front of the State House, near the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. A National Park Service ranger will be your guide. Ours was very enthusiastic about the topic and had been doing the tour for 7+ years. He was also pretty surprised to see a group of 20+ people show up in the middle of March!
You start at the memorial, learning about the history of black soldiers in the revolutionary war. You then meander through Beacon Hill, noting homes of famous abolitionists and the Abiel Smith School. Beacon Hill is a beautiful neighborhood to walk through, rich in history. The Black Heritage Trail highlights the pre-​Civil War free black neighborhood that was once present here, as well as the abolitionist movement that was so active.
The tour is free — bonus! And it’s pretty inspiring to learn about the revolutionaries that lived, worked and walked these streets during a time of great change in our country. Put on your walking shoes and check it out!