Overview of Boston

Day 19: Boston Upper Deck Trolley Tour

Want to get an overview of a city?  Take the double decker bus.  We spent most of the day riding the bus, getting off and on at various locations and taking a Super Duck Boat ride through the harbor.  One segment of the tour was Cambridge.  We got off at Harvard Square and wandered around a bit and found the John Harvard Brewery.  Just to show you that I am delving into the early history of this region, I want to relate what I learned about the naming of Harvard University and the formation of the John Harvard
Brewery.  Newtowne college was founded in 1636 by ministers who sensed a need to educate illiterate ministers.  It was a new struggling college, unlike today where it gets billions in endowments.  John Harvard, a minister and brewer, acquired some wealth, brewing recipes, some supposedly from Shakespeare, and a library of over 300 volumes.  John Harvard worked in his father's tavern and as a minister brewed beer to help support himself.  At this time water was unsafe to drink, so beer was better than the water.  Children drank beer at the table the same as adults.  He died an early death not from cirrohis but from tuberculocus.  He gave half of his wealth and all of his library including the beer recipes to Newtowne College. The College fathers were so grateful for this contribution that they renamed the College Harvard.  About 20 years ago some farsighted folks started Harvard Brewing Company in honor of John Harvard and used some of his beer recipes for their beers (which were quite good by the way). Trinity Church was one of many historic buildings we passed by today.  It was founded in 1733, burned in the great Boston fire of 1772 and was rebuilt 1772-77.  Trinity has appeared on the architectural community's "top ten" lists of significant buildings for over 100 years, This evening we wandered to Little Italy and ate at the Antica Forno.



John Harvard Brewery



Trinity Church




On to Little Italy