Are we tired of the noise and confusion of the crowded tenement district? If so, let us go to the broad streets and beautiful parks of the Back Bay, the abode of the wealthy. The Back Bay, as its name suggests, was originally the Back Cove, and where these houses now stand, the waves once danced in glee. But Boston filled in the marshes and coves and laid out fine streets on the newly made land. Here is the famous Beacon Street, and parallel to it is Boston's most beautiful thoroughfare,—Commonwealth Avenue,—two hundred and twenty feet wide, with a parkway running through the center. See the children with their nurses, playing on the grass or roller skating on the broad sidewalks, apparently no happier than the little ones of the North End.
THE NORTH END
PAUL REVERE'S HOUSE
But it is not merely its fine streets and homes that make the Back Bay the handsomest part of the city. In this section are many of Boston's finest public buildings. Come to Copley Square, the most beautiful in the city. Here stands Trinity Church,—Phillips Brooks' church,—a magnificent structure of granite with sandstone trimmings. Phillips Brooks was for a brief year the Protestant Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts. He was loved by those of all denominations. After his death the citizens of Boston united in erecting a splendid memorial, in token of their love for him and their gratitude for his services. The statue is by Augustus Saint Gaudens and is considered one of the greatest works of that great sculptor.
On Copley Square we see also the New Old South Church and the Boston Public Library.
Boston is very proud of her public library, and rightly so, for it is not only one of the finest buildings in Boston but also one of the finest libraries in the country. Look at the magnificent marble staircase, the curiously inlaid floor and ceiling of the entrance hall, the graceful statues, the wonderful paintings, and the fine courtyard with its sparkling fountain. On the floors above are the children's room with its low tables and chairs and rows upon rows of interesting books; Bates Hall, a most attractive reading room; Sargent's mystical paintings; and Edwin A. Abbey's series of paintings, which are called “The Quest of the Holy Grail.”
