North of City Sq, this shady, brick plaza leads up Town Hill. Back in the days of the earliest European settlements, a fort crowned Town Hill, which you can read about on the bronze plaques along the mall.

Before the local minister – one John Harvard – died of consumption in 1638, he donated half his £800 estate and all 300 of his books to a young Cambridge college, which saw fit to name its school after him.


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Nearby attractions

1. Great House Site

0.06 MILES

Besides being an urban plaza, the aptly named City Sq is also an archaeological site. Big Dig construction to reroute I-93 unearthed the foundation of a…

2. Bunker Hill Museum

0.22 MILES

Opposite the Bunker Hill Monument, this redbrick museum contains two floors of exhibits, including historical dioramas, a few artifacts and an impressive…

3. Bunker Hill Monument

0.27 MILES

This 220ft granite obelisk monument commemorates the turning-point battle that was fought on the surrounding hillside on June 17, 1775. Ultimately, the…

4. Charlestown Navy Yard

0.28 MILES

Besides the historic ships docked here and the museum dedicated to them, the Charlestown Navy Yard is a living monument to its own history of shipbuilding…

5. USS Constitution

0.31 MILES

‘Her sides are made of iron!’ cried a crewman upon watching a shot bounce off the thick oak hull of the USS Constitution during the War of 1812. This bit…

6. USS Constitution Museum

0.35 MILES

Head indoors to this museum for a play-by-play of the various battles of the USS Constitution, as well as its current role as the flagship of the US Navy…

7. USS Cassin Young

0.41 MILES

This 376ft WWII destroyer is one of 14 Fletcher-class destroyers built at the Charlestown Navy Yard. These were the Navy’s fastest, most versatile ships…

8. Langone Park

0.44 MILES

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, this peaceful waterside park belies the history of this site: in 1919, a huge distillery tank burst, sending forth a…