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Like a narrator in a historic novel, Paul Revere always managed to show up for the action: he dumped tea into Boston Harbor, printed Colonial money on his presses, soldiered against the British, and later in life, sold hardware to the Navy for Old Ironsides.
And, oh yes, he made his famous ride to Lexington.
Until I moved to the Boston area, I knew of Paul Revere only through the Longfellow poem and, quite frankly, thought of him as somewhat of a buffoon, someone who got famous on the cheap.
But I was wrong. Revere was a highly visible and respected Boston figure, the finest silversmith in the colonies, and later in life, one of the young country's most successful industrialists.
Unlike Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and other Harvard-educated Revolutionary leaders, Revere was a doer rather than a thinker. A courageous and energetic man -- uncomplicated, good-natured and largely self-taught -- Revere comes closer to the myth of how we Americans see ourselves than do the upper-class signers of the Declaration of Independence. When you visit Boston, you'll find Revere's presence everywhere.
First, pick up a free map from the National Park Service Center near the Old State House. From there it's a 20-minute walk to Revere's restored house, the oldest in Boston, located at 19 North Square in the busy North End. Revere bought the place in 1770 with 25% down and a mortgage of 160 pounds. It's a tidy, peaked-roof cottage of gray clapboard and diamond-paned windows. The four dim, but cozy rooms, contain period furniture and dishes, two massive stone fireplaces with dangling iron pots, and Paul's pistols. The house had a third story in Revere's day, but nevertheless, you'll wonder where he put all the children. He had 16 by two wives. Admission $2.
From here, it is a 10-minute walk to the most famous of Revere landmarks, the Old North Church (193 Salem St.). Instead of the rustic wood building you might expect, the church is a lofty structure, solid and brick, as if built for its grand place in history. Atop a hill, the church, with its high belfry, was the obvious place to swing signal lanterns ("One, if by land, and two if by sea").
The interior...