Old North Church in Boston
1939
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
This print of the Old North Church in Boston, MA, is included in a series of images depicting historic buildings made for the Federal Art Project by Stanley Scott. All of the sites depicted are in Boston, with the exception of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The buildings depicted are King’s Chapel, the Old State House, the Old West Church, Park Street Church, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, the Old South Meeting House, the Paul Revere House, the Old North Church, the Massachusetts State House, and the Boston Public Library.
Old North Church is memorably tied with Paul Revere and the beginning of the American Revolution. Paul Revere is remembered as the lone hero who alerted colonists that “the British are coming.” However, William Dawes also rode out to warn that the Regulars (not “the British”) were on the move. Revere also arranged for signal lanterns to be lit in the Old North Church belfry, shown in this 1939 linocut. One light if the Regulars took a land route, two by water. It was the latter. When both riders were captured en route to Concord, their alarm was already racing across New England.
Old North Church is memorably tied with Paul Revere and the beginning of the American Revolution. Paul Revere is remembered as the lone hero who alerted colonists that “the British are coming.” However, William Dawes also rode out to warn that the Regulars (not “the British”) were on the move. Revere also arranged for signal lanterns to be lit in the Old North Church belfry, shown in this 1939 linocut. One light if the Regulars took a land route, two by water. It was the latter. When both riders were captured en route to Concord, their alarm was already racing across New England.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Work Projects Administration.
National Archives Identifier: 6219851
Full Citation: Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts by Stanley Scott; 1939; Images of Historic Buildings, 1939 - 1939; Records of the Work Projects Administration, Record Group 69; National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/old-north-church-boston, January 12, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
