Arts & Culture Event Notices

Fall Events at the Paul Revere House [Schedule]

Paul Revere House PRH
Paul Revere House – North Square

Fall brings an eclectic mix of presenters to the Revere House to share aspects of life in “Paul Revere’s Boston.” These Saturday afternoon events are free with admission to the museum: adults $3.50 seniors and college students $3.00, children ages 5-17 $1. Members and North End residents are admitted free at all times. Through October 31 the Revere House is open daily 9:30-5:15. Beginning on November 1, the museum is open daily 9:30-4:15.

PAUL REVERE’S BOSTON

Saturday events explore everyday life in early Boston.

September

7 Rachel Revere: A Revolutionary Woman, 1:00, 1:45, 2:30. Who held the Revere family together after Paul set off on his Midnight Ride? Professional storyteller Joan Gatturna takes on the role of Paul Revere’s second wife. Listen to her dramatic account of a woman’s struggle to hold home and family together in a time of war, blockades, and shortages.

14 Masterwork Conservation,* 1:00-4:00 Melissa Carr demonstrates and describes the techniques she uses to conserve antique furniture for clients like the Paul Revere House. Examples will include a chair she repaired for our site.

21 Printing Demonstration, 1:00-4:00. Not only did Revere contribute to the independence movement by engraving inflammatory political cartoons, he also printed money to pay the militia. Using similar technology R. P. Hale produces copies of his own wood block image of the Revere House on a hand-cranked press. Prints (available for sale) are only made at the Revere House.

28 Herbs in the Colonial Household, 1:00-3:00. Joanne Brown will share some of the uses for herbs grown by families like the Reveres. Find out how Rachel Revere treated illness, seasoned food, and kept away bugs, all with plants from her garden!

October

5 Little River Windsors,* 1:00-4:00. Fred & Priscilla Chellis will demonstrate the art of Windsor Chair making using period appropriate methods and tools. Enjoy a brief rest in one of their beautiful creations while you watch!

12 Captain Amasa Soper’s Company, 1:00-4:00. Costumed members of this Revolutionary War reenactment group take on the roles of farmers, printers, and tailors who volunteered to defend Boston harbor after the siege of the city ended in 1776.

19 Paper Marbling, 1:00-4:00. See how colonial craftsmen created eye-catching marbled papers. Watch as R. P. Hale floats pigments in water, swirls the colors, then transfers the designs to paper. It may look like magic but Hale will explain the very real science behind this fascinating phenomenon.

Please note: No program on October 26.

*Denotes a Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture program

THE REVERE HOUSE AT A GLANCE: On the Freedom Trail in Boston’s historic North End, the Revere House was home to patriot and silversmith Paul Revere from 1770 to 1800. Built around 1680, the Revere House is the oldest building in downtown Boston. For more information about the Revere House, visit www.paulreverehouse.org.

MUSEUM HOURS: Through April 14, the Revere House is open 9:30–4:15. From April 15 through October 31, the house is open daily 9:30–5:15. Closed on Mondays, January–March.

For more information, see PaulRevereHouse.org. Admission is waived for North End residents!

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Paul Revere Memorial Association Lecture Series
A War of Divisions: The Impact and Aftermath of the American Civil War
[All Lectures at Old South Meeting House – 310 Washington St. Boston]

September 4 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm
Freedom Rising: The Emancipation Proclamation, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment & Boston’s Black Community

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all persons enslaved in territories not then under Union control. Several months later, the 54th Massachusetts, the first northern black regiment in the Union Army, was sent to South Carolina to take part in operations against Confederate forces. Beverly Morgan-Welch, Executive Director of the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, will discuss the profound influence that Boston’s Black Community had on these events, as well as the museum’s year-long sesquicentennial commemoration of this important history.

September 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm
A Grand Tour During the Civil War: The Wheatons Go to Europe

In addition to affecting the families of soldiers, the Civil War also had a profoundly disruptive effect on business. In April 1862, Eliza Baylies Wheaton embarked for England with her husband Laban Morey Wheaton and his cousin and business partner David Emory Holman on a business trip to Europe. Kathryn Tomasek, Professor of History at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, will show how all three travelers used this trip as an opportunity for tourism in English and European cities during the second summer of the Civil War, making the best of a bad situation at home.

September 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm
The Caning: The Assault That Drove America to Civil War

On May 22, 1856, ardent pro-slavery Congressman Preston S. Brooks of South Carolina strode into the United States Senate Chamber in Washington, D.C., and beat renowned anti-slavery Senator Charles Sumner repeatedly with a gold-topped walking cane, leaving him unconscious and covered in blood. Brooks’ attack was in retaliation for a speech Sumner delivered forty-eight hours earlier, in which he vilified slaveowners in general and Brooks’ cousin, Senator Andrew Butler, in particular. Author and historian Stephen Puleo will show how this shocking and provocative event destroyed any pretense of civility between North and South, and hastened America’s slide into Civil War five years later. *Book sales and signing to follow.

September 25 from 6:30 to 7:30
Revolutionary Memory, Civil War Sacrifice: Pauline Revere Thayer and Preserving the Revere Legacy

Two of Paul Revere’s grandsons, Edward H. R. Revere and Paul Joseph Revere, were killed during the Civil War, the first at Antietam and the second at Gettysburg. Paul Revere House Executive Director Nina Zannieri will examine the Revere Family’s Civil War legacy along with its connection to Revolutionary War icon Paul Revere, focusing in particular on Revere great-granddaughter Pauline Revere Thayer’s efforts to preserve the Revere family story.

  • Free and Open to the Public
  • Sign Language interpretation is available upon request (with advance notice)
  • Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices are available
  • All Lectures Take Place at Old South Meeting House – 310 Washington Street at the corner of Milk Street in downtown Boston.
  • Accessible by MBTA. Use State or Downtown Crossing Stops.
  • For directions to Old South Meeting House, please call (617) 482-6439 or visit www.osmh.org
  • For more information about the Paul Revere Memorial Association Lecture Series please contact Patrick M. Leehey, Paul Revere House, at (617) 523-2338.
  • This series is made possible by a grant from the Lowell Institute.