The Old Corner Bookstore sits at the intersection of School and Washington Streets, identified by its narrow, brick facade and the weathered wooden sign that hangs above the entrance. Built in seventeen eighteen, the structure served as a…
Literary Boston Historic Sites
This self-guided walk takes you through Downtown and Beacon Hill to visit the historic libraries, publishing hubs, and private homes where 19th-century America's greatest writers shaped the nation's intellectual soul.
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1. Old Corner Bookstore
2. Omni Parker House
The Omni Parker House features a tan brick facade that stretches along School Street, marked by the steady rhythm of white-framed windows. Harvey Parker opened his hotel here in eighteen fifty-six, and it became the birthplace of the…
3. Boston Athenaeum
The Boston Athenaeum stands out on Beacon Street with its heavy, sand-colored facade and row of arched windows, a private sanctuary that guards the intellectual life of the city. Founded in eighteen oh seven, it began when a group of…
4. Nichols House Museum
The Nichols House Museum is a four-story brick townhouse defined by its Federal-style architecture and the narrow, steeply pitched roofline that distinguishes it from its neighbors. Built in eighteen oh four, the house served as the…
5. Louisburg Square
Louisburg Square features an oval park enclosed by a high iron fence, surrounded by rows of identical brick townhouses with heavy wooden doors. This private common represents the final residential development of Beacon Hill, completed in…
6. Charles Street Meeting House
The Charles Street Meeting House is a brick structure with a tall, white steeple topped by a clock that stopped ticking decades ago. Built in eighteen oh seven for the Third Baptist Church, the building served as a sanctuary for…
7. Edgar Allan Poe Statue
A life-sized bronze raven stands at the feet of a wild-haired Edgar Allan Poe, who walks toward the corner of Boylston and Charles Street with his overcoat flapping in the wind. The sculptor Stefanie Rocknak cast him as a man in motion,…