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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Nearby, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

This vaguely reminds me of a television "test pattern" back in the 1950's. I don't think broadcasters use that anymore - instead of a blank screen, now they show infomercials and sell odd items to insomniacs. This image is really the ceiling of the main rotunda of the Quincy Market building decorated for the holiday season.




Street performers near the Quincy Market  are extraordinarily talented and must audition for the the prime busker locations. There are very few that make the grade.



On the first day of winter in nearby Christopher Columbus Park, it was unseasonably warm (in the upper 50's F), the snow melting and mushy underfoot.


Regardless the weather, the city is alive with the constant movement of visitors and locals alike - taking great delight in the wonders of Boston. If you like cities, it is a pretty spectacular one  in my humble opinion - and I've visited a few cities in my lifetime.

The building above, the Old State House, reputed to be the oldest surviving public building in Boston, was built in 1713 for the government offices of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Today, it is dwarfed by more modern structures.

Official proclamations were read from the balcony. In front of the balcony was the site of the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing five. On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was first read in Boston from this balcony. Now, each July 4th you can gather to hear a reenactment reading. The original golden lion and unicorns, symbols of royal authority, were taken down from the roof and burned in a great bonfire that day.


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