While
the city of Boston is young compared to
cities like London and Paris, as far as
North American cities go it has a lot
of history. Like every city in North America,
the site that would become the future
Boston was inhabited by Aboriginals, and
was later settled by people from England
looking for a new home and a new start
on life. Officially founded in 1630, Boston
has some seriously deep roots in North
America and was doing business long before
the Revolution and the Civil War. While
other cities were little more than trading
posts for fur traders, Boston was a center
for culture and intellectualism.
Because Boston is so old it has a lot
of “firsts”. For example,
it was the first city in North America
to have an underground tramway, which
would eventually become a subway. Underneath
Boston there are hundreds of ancient and
paved over structures, some sating back
to the fire of 1879.
|
All images are for sale.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click
on BUY to purchase the posters, or ENLARGE it to help you make
up your mind.
|
|
One
of the more interesting events (or horrible,
if you were one of the people involved)
was something called the “Boston
Molasses Disaster”. It sounds a
bit like the title of a children’s
book, but it was real and terrible to
behold. The story goes something like
this: At the north end of the city there
were some huge tanks that held about 2.5
million gallons of molasses, a black sugary
substance used for cooking. The pressure
built in the tanks until they split, sending
deadly waves of tar like liquid roaring
around the city. 21 people were killed
and 150 injured, and the city was a mess
for six months. It was said that Boston
harbour was darkened for the better part
of a year.
|
|
