This guide covers seven places in central Boston, most of them linked to the years before and during the American Revolution: the Public Garden, the Benjamin Franklin statue and the site of the Boston Latin School, the Old State House, the Boston Massacre site, Faneuil Hall with its grasshopper weathervane, Faneuil Hall Marketplace and, as a modern counterpoint, the Bill Russell statue on City Hall Plaza. Several sit on the Freedom Trail, and all of them are stops on our Boston scavenger hunt.
The Public Garden
Next to Boston Common lies the Public Garden, established in 1837 after the philanthropist Horace Gray asked for land for a botanical garden; it is described as the first public botanical garden in the United States. The 24-acre layout was designed by George F. Meacham, with formal flower beds, winding paths and a lagoon in the middle. It is the first stop of our scavenger hunt.
The Swan Boats, pedal-powered boats with a large swan at the back, have carried visitors around the lagoon since 1877. The footbridge across the lagoon, by William G. Preston, opened in 1867 and was once called the shortest working suspension bridge in the world, before it was converted to a girder bridge in 1921.
- Make Way for Ducklings, the bronze mother duck and her eight ducklings by Nancy Schön from 1987, based on the children's book set in the garden.
- The equestrian statue of George Washington by Thomas Ball, unveiled in 1869 at the Arlington Street gate.
- The Ether Monument, the oldest monument in the garden, which marks the first use of ether as an anaesthetic.
Benjamin Franklin Statue and the Boston Latin School
In front of Old City Hall stands the bronze Benjamin Franklin by Richard Saltonstall Greenough, dedicated on 17 September 1856 for the 150th anniversary of Franklin's birth. It is described as Boston's first portrait statue. It was first set up in front of the old courthouse and later moved here.
The statue's position is no accident. Boston Latin School, founded on 23 April 1635 and one of the oldest schools in the country, had schoolhouses on this street, which is how School Street got its name. Franklin went there but left without finishing, while Samuel Adams and John Hancock graduated. The school moved away long ago; since 1922 it has been on Avenue Louis Pasteur. The statue and the school site together form one of our scavenger hunt stops.
- The four bronze plaques on the base, each with a scene from Franklin's life, two by Greenough and two by Thomas Ball.
The Old State House
Completed in 1713, the Old State House is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. It was the seat of the colonial government, and on 18 July 1776 the Declaration of Independence was read to Bostonians from its balcony. Since 1882 it has been a history museum. It is one of the stops on our scavenger hunt.
Look up at the eastern gable: the lion and the unicorn there, symbols of the British Crown, are replicas. Crowds pulled down and burned the originals in 1776, and the copies were put back during a restoration in the 1880s. The building also hides something very modern: an entrance to the State subway station is in its basement.
- The balcony on the east side, where the Declaration was read.
- The lion and the unicorn on the roof, and the tower with its clock, surrounded by much taller office blocks.
The Boston Massacre Site
Just east of the Old State House, a circle of cobblestones in the pavement marks the place where, on 5 March 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd on what was then King Street, now State Street. Five men died, among them Crispus Attucks, a former slave of mixed descent. John Adams defended the soldiers in court; their captain, Thomas Preston, was acquitted, and two soldiers were convicted of manslaughter. Paul Revere's engraving of the event, The Bloody Massacre, spread the story across the colonies. The marker is a scavenger hunt stop.
- The cobblestone ring itself; look back from it to the balcony of the Old State House.
Faneuil Hall and the Grasshopper
Faneuil Hall opened in September 1742 as a market with a meeting hall above, paid for by the merchant Peter Faneuil, whose fortune came partly from the slave trade. Speakers such as James Otis and Samuel Adams used the hall for protests and debates before the Revolution, which earned it the nickname Cradle of Liberty. The first building was designed by the painter John Smibert; after a fire in 1761 it was rebuilt, and Charles Bulfinch enlarged it in 1806.
On top of the cupola turns a gilded grasshopper, made by Shem Drowne in 1742. Why a grasshopper was chosen is not known for certain. The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts has had its rooms in the attic since 1746.
- The bronze Samuel Adams by Anne Whitney, from 1880, in front of the building.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Behind Faneuil Hall stretches Quincy Market, a long granite market hall built in 1824–1826 to a design by Alexander Parris. In 1976 it reopened, together with the buildings around it, as Faneuil Hall Marketplace, with shops, restaurants and food stalls. Expect crowds and street performers, especially on summer weekends. It is a stop on our scavenger hunt.
- The columned porticos at each end of Quincy Market and the dome over the middle of the hall.
The Bill Russell Statue
On City Hall Plaza, just across from Faneuil Hall, stands Ann Hirsch's statue of Bill Russell, unveiled in 2013. Russell won 11 championships with the Boston Celtics between 1957 and 1969, became the first Black head coach in NBA history in 1966 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. After his death in July 2022, his number 6 was retired across the whole league. The statue is a scavenger hunt stop.
- The figures of children added around the statue after its unveiling, alongside the tall bronze of Russell himself.
How to see them in one walk
Start in the Public Garden and cross Charles Street to Boston Common. Walk across the Common and along Tremont Street to School Street, where the Franklin statue stands outside Old City Hall. Continue to the Old State House and the Boston Massacre marker beside it, then cross to City Hall Plaza for the Bill Russell statue and go down to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. From there, the harbour is close: our other Boston guide covers the Common, the Granary Burying Ground and the waterfront park at the end of the route.
See Boston with World City Trail
Our Boston scavenger hunt turns the city into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from the Public Garden to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park: the Public Garden, Boston Common, Park Street Church, the Granary Burying Ground, the Boston Latin School and Benjamin Franklin statue, the Old State House, the Boston Massacre site, the Bill Russell statue on City Hall Plaza, Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. All seven places in this guide are on the route. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Boston, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Boston scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Boston →
Play the outdoor escape game in Boston →
Facts checked in October 2026.