Here the men of Boston gathered to protest against forcing Massachusetts citizens into the English Navy, to demand the withdrawal of British troops and to decide the fate of the hated tax on tea. It was used by the British as a riding school during the siege of Boston. The present building, erected in 1789, is open from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m., daily. Admission, twenty-five cents. Leaving the Meeting House, turn left to Milk Street. Almost across the street, 17 Milk Street, was The Birthplace of Benjamin Franklin It is occupied today by a building housing the Boston Transcript. Here is a bust of Franklin on the front of the building above the second floor windows. Retracing our steps, we turn right on Washington Street and proceed to [Illustration: THE OLD STATE HOUSE] The Old State House Here the first Town House was built in 1657 in the earliest market place of Boston. The present building was built in 1713, burned in 1747, and immediately rebuilt with walls of the former building being utilized. Here met Colonial Courts and Legislators, town and city governments and the General Court of the Commonwealth. It was used as a City Hall from 1830 to 1840. It is open to the public from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m., daily. From the windows, one may look out on the Washington Street side and see the site of Paul Revere’s Silver Shop. Leaving the old State House, pause for a moment at Number 28 State Street. Here is another historic site where stood the Royal Exchange Tavern, from which the first stage coach started to New York on September 7, 1772, “to go once every fourteen days.” Across the street, at 27 State Street, stood the first meeting house, built by the Colonists in 1632. The church was a rude but substantial edifice of mud walls with a thatched roof. The first pastor was John Wilson, who had for his associate the Reverend John Cotton, the former pastor of old St. Botolph’s, Boston, England. Proceeding down State Street to Number 30, we come to the site of The Boston Massacre A tablet on the wall tells the story. A circle in the pavement marks the place where fell the first martyrs in the cause of American freedom. Continuing down State Street, we come to the Custom House For the minute, let us forget historic Boston and take a rapid trip in the elevator to the tower 490 feet high where we may obtain a wonderful panorama of the city and take a splendid aerial photograph on a clear day. Leaving the building, we turn right on Milk Street and proceed to Oliver Street. Turn left on Oliver and follow to Atlantic Avenue where you then turn right to Pearl Street. Here on a building is a marker to the Boston Tea Party