This monumental French Second Empire building occupies a historic spot. Out front, a plaque commemorates the site of the country's first public school, Boston Latin, founded in 1635 and still operational in Fenway. The hopscotch sidewalk mosaic, City Carpet, marks the site where Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Bulfinch were educated.

Statues of Benjamin Franklin, founding father, and Josiah Quincy, second mayor of Boston, stand inside the courtyard. They are accompanied by a life-size replica of a donkey, symbol of the Democratic Party. (‘Why the donkey?’ you wonder. Read the plaque to find out.) Two bronze footprints ‘stand in opposition.’

Transportation

  • bostont: State

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Boston attractions

1. King's Chapel & Burying Ground

0.01 MILES

Puritan Bostonians were not pleased when the original Anglican church was erected on this site in 1688. The granite chapel standing today – built in 1754 …

2. Old Corner Bookstore

0.07 MILES

In the 19th century, this historic house was leased to a bookseller, Carter & Hendlee. This was the first of nine bookstores and publishing companies that…

3. Old South Meeting House

0.09 MILES

‘No tax on tea!’ That was the decision on December 16, 1773, when 5000 angry colonists gathered here to protest British taxes, leading to the Boston Tea…

4. Steaming Kettle

0.1 MILES

The steaming kettle on Sears Crescent has been a Boston landmark since 1873, when it was hung over the door of the Oriental Tea Co at 57 Court St. The…

5. John Adams Courthouse

0.11 MILES

Peek inside the impressive courthouse on Pemberton Sq, which is home of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the oldest appellate court in the…

6. Granary Burying Ground

0.11 MILES

Dating from 1660, this atmospheric atoll is crammed with historic headstones, many with evocative (and creepy) carvings. This is the final resting place…

7. Boston Athenaeum

0.12 MILES

Founded in 1807, the Boston Athenaeum is an old and distinguished private library, having hosted the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne…

8. Old State House

0.13 MILES

Dating from 1713, the Old State House is Boston’s oldest surviving public building, where the Massachusetts Assembly used to debate the issues of the day…

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