The site of the Charlestown Navy Yard has played many roles in its nearly 250-year history. Landing site of the British Army during the Battle of Bunker Hill, then a naval facility building warships for the US Navy. National Park Service tour.

Boston's grand boulevard, Commonwealth Avenue, provides an enduringly popular stroll. The tour parallels the 19th-century filling and development of the Back Bay from its origin at Arlington Street down the seven blocks along the tree-lined, grassy Mall. See how careful effort over 150 years has preserved the "grandness" of the Avenue.

Prior registration is encouraged. Space is limited so make sure you RSVP!

The Boston Landmarks Commission organized a special tour of the 1849 Boston Custom House and 1915 clock tower during Preservation Month in May. 

The Custom House, a Boston Landmark, is located in McKinley Square, in Boston’s Financial District.

Space is limited so an RSVP is required! New this year - register for one of two tours: May 2 or May 16.

Sharpen your observation skills and study the aesthetic components of the Old North Church while celebrating the craftsmanship involved in building and creating this national icon.

Join us for a highly participatory experience examining the exterior and interior architecture, as well as three fine art pieces inside the church, including 17th century wooden Baroque angels and an altar painting by John Ritto Penniman. Visit the second floor gallery of the church, see the organ up close, and stand on the altar while you consider the visual elements within the context of the 18th and 19th centuries and contemplate the labor and skill involved. There's always more than meets the eye!

Disclaimer: This tour requires climbing and descending one flight of steep, narrow stairs to the second floor gallery of the church.

Labor took many forms for Revolutionary-era Bostonians, who conducted work in many types of locations and under a variety of social arrangements. Occupations, levels of skill, and working conditions varied considerably. Men, women, and children, free and enslaved, conducted work in households and workshops, on wharves and slipways, in ropewalks and printing shops. Join Professor Christopher Clark as he provides insights into the Atlantic world, the beginnings of the American Revolution, race and gender relations, and the origins of Boston’s subsequent urban growth through the lens of laboring people.

Registration required. Donations strongly suggested. Click the link for more information and to RSVP!

Free tours of the Fort are sponsored by the Castle Island Association, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

From its earliest beginnings 150 years ago, the Back Bay embraced major cultural institutions alongside the exclusive private homes of Boston’s elite. The Museum of Fine Arts and MIT, the first American university to confer architectural degrees, both trace their origins to the neighborhood.

In fact, its major civic space, Copley Square, was originally called Art Square until renamed in honor of the City’s celebrated painter of the colonial period. Art was not only central to the Back Bay’s identity as a fashionable district, but remains an integral part of its essence today.

The tour is conducted by William Young, of Epsilon Associates, a former staff member to the Back Bay Architectural Commission. This is a free event sponsored by the Newbury Street League. Reservations required. The tour is limited to 30 people.

How will increased real estate demand and density in Boston affect plans to preserve open space? How will climate change impact our priorities for preserving open space and how might it limit our options?

 The Mass. Historical Society and partners Trustees of Reservations, Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center present this programming.

Pre-talk reception at 5:30 p.m. Registration is required. Follow the link below for more details.