city_hall

Official websites use .boston.gov

A .boston.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the City of Boston.

lock

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Charlie Gibson's early 1900s Back Bay

Visit the favorite landmarks of writer and socialite Charlie Gibson.

May 5, 2019
Event Date2019-05-05T14:30:00 - 2019-05-05T16:00:00

The route meanders through the Back Bay east of Dartmouth Street. During the tour, we'll celebrate historic landmarks such as:

  • the old Museum of Natural History (now Restoration Hardware)
  • Trinity Church (where Charlie and family were congregants)
  • the Taj Hotel (originally the Ritz), where Charlie had dinner most evenings, and
  • we'll end at the park pavilion on the Common that Charlie designed in the mid 1910s when he was on the board of the City's Parks Commission.

Heritage tourism is certainly part of this tour — the Gibson House is a stop on the Literary Trail of Greater Boston.


Please note: There's a pre-tour lemonade reception in the museum's courtyard at 2 p.m. The tour starts at 2:30 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m. on the Boston Common.

May 5, 2019
Event Date2019-05-05T14:30:00 - 2019-05-05T16:00:00

South End new construction walking tour

The South End Landmark District is a case study for new construction in a historic district.

May 20, 2019
Event Date2019-05-20T18:00:00 - 2019-05-20T19:30:00

Designing new construction within a historic district doesn't have to be a minefield of process. Nor does it need to mimic the style of a district’s period of significance.

A longtime Boston Landmark commissioner and the South End Landmark District Commission staff preservationist will take you on a walking tour of the South End Landmark District, using it as a case study for new construction in a historic district, explaining what makes a building a "South End building," and demonstrating through many examples how new construction — even contemporary new construction — can best express itself as a "district" building.


Please note: wear comfortable walking shoes. There are no hills or steps during the tour, which will take place rain or shine.

May 20, 2019
Event Date2019-05-20T18:00:00 - 2019-05-20T19:30:00

Research your historic home workshop

Join us for brunch and a talk about how to research your historic home.

May 4, 2019
Event Date2019-05-04T10:30:00 - 2019-05-04T12:00:00

The morning will begin with a light brunch, coffee, and tea followed by a talk that will walk you through the process of researching the history and occupants of a building.

Sources for research materials will be presented. A break-out workshop will end the morning and you will have the opportunity to work with our researchers and ask questions about your building and the progress you have made.

May 4, 2019
Event Date2019-05-04T10:30:00 - 2019-05-04T12:00:00

Walking Tour of Stony Brook, Jamaica Plain

Explore a fascinating industrial area at the geographic heart of Boston.

May 25, 2019
Event Date2019-05-25T11:00:00 - 2019-05-25T12:00:00

Stony Brook includes 19th-century tannery and brewery buildings, the homes of early German settlers, and today’s Boston Beer Company, the brewers of Samuel Adams.

In the 1970s, a coalition of community groups joined together to block construction of the Southwest Expressway through Jamaica Plain and other Boston neighborhoods. Today, the Southwest Corridor Park that runs through the Stony Brook neighborhood stands as a testament to the power of community activism.


/*-->*/

Please note: the tour will be canceled in the case of heavy rain.

May 25, 2019
Event Date2019-05-25T11:00:00 - 2019-05-25T12:00:00

Boston City Hall lecture

Join Dr. Brian Sirman for a lecture about Boston City Hall.

May 22, 2019
Event Date2019-05-22T18:00:00 - 2019-05-22T19:30:00

When Boston City Hall opened its doors in 1969, it was meant to express the ideals of a socially conscious, forward-looking government. Many Bostonians hoped that a prominent, distinctive, modern City Hall would help reverse Boston’s reputation as a city suffering from mid-century “architectural sclerosis.”

Dr. Brian Sirman’s 2018 book, "Concrete Changes: Architecture, Politics, and the Design of City Hall," is the latest work to examine the history, creation, and reception of Boston City Hall. Dr. Sirman argues that City Hall is more than a symbol of Boston’s modernization; it acted as the catalyst for political, social, and economic changes.


/*-->*/

Please note: since our event will begin after normal business hours, you must access City Hall through the Congress Street entrance. Security will direct you to the Piemonte Room.

May 22, 2019
Event Date2019-05-22T18:00:00 - 2019-05-22T19:30:00

Chinatown History Tour

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the history of Boston's Chinatown?

May 10, 2019
  • 5:30pm - 7:00pm
    Repeats weekly on Friday, starting from May 10, 2019, until May 17, 2019
  • 2 Boylston Street
    Boston, MA 02116
  • Contact:
    Chloe Lin
  • Price:
    Price
    General Admission: $15; CHSNE Member: $12
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Chinatown/Leather District
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-05-10T17:30:00 - 2019-05-10T19:00:00

Join the Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE) on our Chinatown History Tours, a 90-minute walking tour exploring the history of Chinatown and tracking the changes the community has undergone over the decades.

This event will be a 90-minute outdoor walking tour and will cover a lot of ground. Please dress appropriately and wear comfortable shoes. CHSNE reserves the right to cancel and refund the tour in the case of extreme weather conditions.

May 10, 2019
  • 5:30pm - 7:00pm
    Repeats weekly on Friday, starting from May 10, 2019, until May 17, 2019
  • 2 Boylston Street
    Boston, MA 02116
  • Contact:
    Chloe Lin
  • Price:
    Price
    General Admission: $15; CHSNE Member: $12
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Chinatown/Leather District
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-05-10T17:30:00 - 2019-05-10T19:00:00

Chestnut Hill Reservoir landscape history

/*-->*/

Join us for "Following the Clues: A Walk Through the Landscape History of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir".

May 4, 2019
  • 2:00pm - 4:00pm
  • Next to intersection of Chestnut Hill Driveway and St. Thomas More Road
    Boston, MA 02467
  • Contact:
    Jennifer Wilton
  • Price:
    Price
    FREE
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Allston
    Brighton
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-05-04T14:00:00 - 2019-05-04T16:00:00

The Chestnut Hill Reservoir was designed to be much more than a place to hold Boston's water supply. Take a walk beside it with landscape historian and Brighton-Allston Historical Society board member Jennifer Wilton and look for clues to its past landscape from original pictures and plans and the pieces that still survive.

Please note: this walk will occur rain or shine.

May 4, 2019
  • 2:00pm - 4:00pm
  • Next to intersection of Chestnut Hill Driveway and St. Thomas More Road
    Boston, MA 02467
  • Contact:
    Jennifer Wilton
  • Price:
    Price
    FREE
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Allston
    Brighton
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-05-04T14:00:00 - 2019-05-04T16:00:00

Untapped: Redefining Hiring in the New Economy

Join a discussion to explore employer success in hiring workers in Boston who don't hold a four‐year college degree.

March 27, 2019
  • 8:30am - 10:30am
  • 4 Copley Place
    Floor 2
    Boston, MA 02116
  • Contact:
    Taylor Connolly
  • Price:
    Price
    FREE
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Citywide
    Allston
    Back Bay
    Bay Village
    Beacon Hill
    Brighton
    Charlestown
    Chinatown/Leather District
    Dorchester
    Downtown
    East Boston
    Fenway/Kenmore
    Hyde Park
    Jamaica Plain
    Mattapan
    Mission Hill
    North End
    Roslindale
    Roxbury
    South Boston
    South End
    West End
    West Roxbury
  • Event Type:
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-03-27T08:30:00 - 2019-03-27T10:30:00

In 2016, Massachusetts became the first state where 50 percent of the workforce holds a four‐year college degree. In general, states with better-educated workforces have stronger economies with robust job growth and high wages. Yet, this prosperity has not been shared equally across all workers in the Commonwealth. This disparity is even greater in Boston, recently ranked first in income inequality among America’s largest 50 cities. What accounts for this continued growth in inequality across educational groups?

“Untapped: Redefining Hiring in the New Economy” seeks to examine this matter at its core. The report has been conducted by Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy and Burning Glass Technologies, and commissioned by the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development. Through an extensive analysis of worker resumes, job postings, and other data points, a new lens is applied to non‐BA workers in Greater Boston and the degree to which they align with employer demand.

Please join us as we hear from the report’s author and a panel of employers, each of whom have taken a specific approach to hiring non-BA workers in Boston. The panel will explore what actions City leaders, employers, and community institutions can take to support a more inclusive and productive workforce.

March 27, 2019
  • 8:30am - 10:30am
  • 4 Copley Place
    Floor 2
    Boston, MA 02116
  • Contact:
    Taylor Connolly
  • Price:
    Price
    FREE
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Citywide
    Allston
    Back Bay
    Bay Village
    Beacon Hill
    Brighton
    Charlestown
    Chinatown/Leather District
    Dorchester
    Downtown
    East Boston
    Fenway/Kenmore
    Hyde Park
    Jamaica Plain
    Mattapan
    Mission Hill
    North End
    Roslindale
    Roxbury
    South Boston
    South End
    West End
    West Roxbury
  • Event Type:
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-03-27T08:30:00 - 2019-03-27T10:30:00

Fort Hill Tower open to public

Fort Hill Tower is the historic Cochituate Standpipe, a water tower that once served the entire City.

May 5, 2019
Event Date2019-05-05T15:00:00 - 2019-05-05T17:00:00

Come see this rarely opened landmark. You can climb the tower for fantastic views of the entire City and hear about its history.

May 5, 2019
Event Date2019-05-05T15:00:00 - 2019-05-05T17:00:00

The final voyage of Dr. Susan Dimock in 1875

In this illustrated lecture, author and photographer Susan Wilson shares images and tales from Susan Dimock’s life and final days.

May 5, 2019
  • 2:00pm - 3:30pm
  • Meet at Forsyth Chapel in the Main Office
    Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
  • Contact:
    Alison Yong
  • Price:
    Price
    $12 day of tour; $10 advance tickets
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Jamaica Plain
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-05-05T14:00:00 - 2019-05-05T15:30:00

In May of 1875, the citizens of Boston were shocked when a shipwreck off the coast of Cornwall, England, took the life of one of their youngest and most beloved surgeons, Dr. Susan Dimock.

In this illustrated lecture, author and photographer Susan Wilson shares images and tales from Susan Dimock’s life and final days, intertwining stories from her own 2018 research trip to the Isles of Scilly, where the disaster occurred, with new discoveries about Dr. Dimock and the heartbreaking shipwreck of 1875.

Following the lecture, guests are invited to walk with Susan Wilson to Dr. Dimock’s gravesite at Forest Hills.

May 5, 2019
  • 2:00pm - 3:30pm
  • Meet at Forsyth Chapel in the Main Office
    Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
  • Contact:
    Alison Yong
  • Price:
    Price
    $12 day of tour; $10 advance tickets
  • Neighborhood:
    Neighborhood
    Jamaica Plain
  • Published Date
Event Date2019-05-05T14:00:00 - 2019-05-05T15:30:00
Subscribe to Learning and lectures
Back to top