How to Do an Architectural Tour of Boston

With 350 years of history, culture and growth, Boston has some of the country's most notable and impressive architecture. From the Old North Church to I.M. Pei's Hancock Tower, there's little in the way of architectural style missing in Beantown. This compact city is easy to navigate on foot and perfect for a walking tour of its architecture.

Instructions

1. Visit Boston City Hall, designed in the Brutalist Modern style by architects Kallman, McKinnell and Knowles in 1963. Note the pre-cast concrete construction and the huge dentils that offer external shading.

2. Check out Faneuil Hall, revised in 1805 by architect Charles Bulfinch after the original 1762 structure burned. Visit the market today, which houses shops, cafes, galleries and restaurants.

3. Note two of I.M. Pei's masterpieces: Hancock place, a mirrored glass skyscraper built in 1977; and the modern-style Christian Science Center, built in 1974 of reinforced concrete. Notice the old/new juxtaposition of each structure.

4. See a stunning example of Georgian Neoclassical architecture in Charles Bulfinch's 1795 brick and masonry Massachusetts State House. Note the dome that became the archetype for state houses across the country.

5. Put the Old North Church at the top of the list of architectural landmarks to see in Boston. Visit architect William Price's classic brick church with a wooden spire where Paul Revere received the "two if by sea" signal that started his famous ride in 1775.

6. Be sure to visit Trinity Church on Copley Plaza. Note how this 1872 church, done in the Romanesque style by Henry Hobson Richardson, is reflected in the Hancock Tower.

7. See the Boston Public Library, the "first great example of civic art." Designed in 1887 by architects McKim, Mead and White, the Library was considered their crowning achievement.