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On the cold evening of
December 16, 1773, a determined group of Patriots
disguised as Mohawk Indians burst from the Old South
Meeting House with the spirit of freedom burning in
their eyes. Their destination was Griffin's Wharf and
the three tea ships harbored there. Quickly, quietly,
and orderly, the American colonists boarded each of the
ships and, armed with axes and hatchets, destroyed 342
crates of British tea, defiantly dumping the precious
cargo into the sea. Thousands of spectators watched in
silence. Only the sounds of axe blades splitting wood
rang out from Boston Harbor during the still night…the
Boston Tea Party was underway and the path to revolution
and freedom had begun. |
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This defining event
in United States history, the spark that ignited the
American Revolution, is the theme of the Boston Tea Party Shipssm
& Museum.
While the design of the Museum is new, the history of
the facility is considerably longer. The Museum was
established in 1973 and was designated by the City as
the officially recognized site to commemorate the
Boston Tea Party event. Since this dedication, the
site has hosted millions of heritage visitors and
students seeking to relive American history. Through
the years the site has also been used for reenactments
of the event each December 16th, and as a staging area
for tax protests, political events, and important
announcements.
 Historic
Tours of America® is proud to be renovating and
expanding the existing Boston Tea Party Shipssm
& Museum. Due to extensive fire damage, the entire
existing site will be demolished, and a new interpretive
facility will be constructed in its place. Museum
spaces will be expanded to approximately twice their
current size and will offer a multitude of easy to
understand exhibits, video presentations, living history
programs, and memorabilia that tell the story of the
Boston Tea Party. Two traditional tall ships will
be added to the current tall ship the Brig Beaver
- replicas of the Dartmouth and the Eleanor
- that will then give the site the full complement
of the ships that took part in the Tea Party. Onboard
the historic ships, visitors will explore authentically
restored ship's decks, crew's quarters, and cargo
holds. The wharf areas will also provide significant
additional space for exhibitions, receptions and displays.
There will be a new Boston Tea Room food service area
which will be open for free public access during the
day and will serve group functions at night. The new
Boston Tea Party site will be able to accommodate
groups of up to 500 persons for cocktails, dinner
and events. There will be two new enclosed show spaces
that will allow us to more efficiently handle larger
visitor and school groups. Finally, the expanded gift
shop will offer tea and Boston related gifts in a
themed setting, and the addition of heat, air conditioning
and working public restrooms will improve the site
for locals and visitors alike.
It is the goal of
Historic Tours of America®
to immerse Boston residents, heritage visitors, and students in
the historical experiences and important events of and around
December 16th 1773, to tell the stories of the participating men
and their families, and to reinforce the way that the Boston Tea
Party changed the lives of American’s forever. Indeed in
bringing to life this historic event we feel that we have a
responsibility and a commitment to historic preservation,
heritage education, and the advancement of patriotic ideals.
We hope that you
will join Historic Tours of
America® in celebrating this important event and participate
in our journey to bring the Boston Tea Party Shipssm
& Museum
experience to generations of Boston residents and heritage
visitors. Please visit us in the summer of 2009 to celebrate our
reopening.
Please
view our Work in Progress here.
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