Faneuil Hall in Boston

1 July 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, Shopping Reading Time:  2 minutes

© flickr.com - Kevin Rutherford/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Kevin Rutherford/cc-by-sa-2.0

Faneuil Hall is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today’s Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1743, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain. It is now part of Boston National Historical Park and a well-known stop on the Freedom Trail. It is sometimes referred to as “the Cradle of Liberty”. In 2008, Faneuil Hall was rated number 4 in “America’s 25 Most Visited Tourist Sites” by Forbes Traveler.   read more…

Nantucket in New England

23 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Don Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Don Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Nantucket is an island about 30 miles (50 km) by ferry south from Cape Cod, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town of Nantucket, and the conterminous Nantucket County. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket CDP, or census-designated place. The region of Surfside on Nantucket is the southernmost settlement in Massachusetts. The name “Nantucket” is adapted from similar Algonquian names for the island, perhaps meaning “faraway land or island” or “sandy, sterile soil tempting no one.” Nantucket is a tourist destination and summer colony. Due to tourists and seasonal residents, the population of the island increases to at least 50,000 during the summer months. The average sale price for a single-family home was $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2018. The National Park Service cites Nantucket, designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1966, as being the “finest surviving architectural and environmental example of a late 18th- and early 19th-century New England seaport town.”   read more…

Cape Elizabeth in Maine

25 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Portland Head Lighthouse © Rapidfire/cc-by-sa-3.0

Portland Head Lighthouse © Rapidfire/cc-by-sa-3.0

Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, with a population of around 9,000. The nearest city is Portland. Cape Elizabeth shares a border with South Portland to the north and Scarborough to the west.   read more…

The United States: Bon voyage!

12 October 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, Greater Los Angeles Area, Bon voyage, Miami / South Florida, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  285 minutes

© Lipton sale/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Lipton sale/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tourism in the United States is a large industry that serves millions of international and domestic tourists yearly. Tourists visit the US to see natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, and entertainment venues. Americans seek similar attractions, as well as recreation and vacation areas. Tourism in the United States grew rapidly in the form of urban tourism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By the 1850s, tourism in the United States was well established both as a cultural activity and as an industry. New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, all major US cities (cities in the United States), attracted a large number of tourists by the 1890s. By 1915, city touring had marked significant shifts in the way Americans perceived, organized, and moved. In the US, tourism is either the first, second, or third largest employer in 29 states, employing 7.3 million, to take care of 1.19 billion trips tourists took in the US (a culinary journey through the USA). There are 2,500 registered National Historic Landmarks (NHL) recognized by the United States government and 24 World Heritage Sites. As of 2016, Orlando is the most visited destination in the United States. Meanwhile New York and Los Angeles took over rank 1 and 2, placing Orlando on rank 3. Tourists spend more money in the United States than in any other country, while attracting the second-highest number of tourists after France. All of the 50 states have nicknames.   read more…

Salem in Massachusetts

21 August 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Peirce-Nichols House © Fletcher6/cc-by-sa-3.0

Peirce-Nichols House © Fletcher6/cc-by-sa-3.0

Salem is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located in the North Shore region. It was one of the most significant seaports in early American history.   read more…

Burlington in Vermont

22 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Chittenden County Trust Company Building © Beyond My Ken/cc-by-sa-4.0

Chittenden County Trust Company Building © Beyond My Ken/cc-by-sa-4.0

Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located 45 miles (72 km) south of the Canada–United States border and 94 miles (151 km) south of Montreal. The city’s population is at 42,000. Burlington is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, north of Shelburne Bay. It was built on a strip of land extending about 6 miles (9.7 km) south from the mouth of the Winooski River along the lake shore, and rises from the water’s edge to a height of 300 feet (91 m).   read more…

Montpelier in Vermont

17 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Vermont College of Fine Arts © Hannahmorris/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vermont College of Fine Arts © Hannahmorris/cc-by-sa-3.0

Montpelier is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. As the site of Vermont’s state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. The population is at 7,600. However, the daytime population grows to about 21,000, due to the large number of jobs within city limits. The Vermont College of Fine Arts, the annual Green Mountain Film Festival and New England Culinary Institute are located in the municipality. The Vermont History Museum, operated in The Pavilion by the Vermont Historical Society, and the Vermont State House are attractions. The majority of businesses in the downtown area, mostly retail, are locally owned. The city was named after Montpellier, a city in the south of France.   read more…

Harvard University in Cambridge

7 September 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  6 minutes

Harvard Law School Library in Langdell Hall at night © Chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Harvard Law School Library in Langdell Hall at night © Chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1636 and named for clergyman John Harvard (its first benefactor), its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Harvard is the United States’ oldest institution of higher learning, and the Harvard Corporation is its first chartered corporation. Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, and by the 19th century, Harvard had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot‘s long tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a modern research university; Harvard was a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. A. Lawrence Lowell, who followed Eliot, further reformed the undergraduate curriculum and undertook aggressive expansion of Harvard’s land holdings and physical plant. James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College.   read more…

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge

5 September 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

East Campus, looking towards Boston Harbor © Nick Allen/cc-by-sa-4.0

East Campus, looking towards Boston Harbor © Nick Allen/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, MIT adopted an European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. The Institute is traditionally known for its research and education in the physical sciences and engineering, but more recently in biology, economics, linguistics and management as well. MIT is often ranked among the world’s most prestigious universities.   read more…

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