Things to do nearThe Paul Revere House

The Paul Revere House stands at 19 North Square in Boston's North End, a neighborhood that retains much of its dense, historic character even as the city has grown around it. The structure itself dates to around 1680, making it the oldest remaining downtown building in Boston, and it predates Paul Revere's ownership by nearly a century. Revere purchased the house in 1770 and lived there with his family during one of the most consequential periods in American history. It was from this neighborhood that he set out on the night of April 18, 1775, riding to Lexington to warn colonial leaders that British forces were on the move.

The house was later used as a tenement and a candy shop before preservationists recognized its significance and restored it to something close to its late-seventeenth-century appearance in the early twentieth century. Today the rooms are furnished with period pieces that reflect everyday colonial life, from the keeping room where the family cooked and gathered to the modest sleeping quarters above.

Visitors move through the narrow spaces at their own pace, guided by interpretive panels and, at times, knowledgeable staff who can speak to both the building's architecture and Revere's multifaceted career as a silversmith, engraver, and industrialist. The surrounding North End offers some of Boston's most celebrated Italian-American bakeries and restaurants, making a visit to The Paul Revere House a natural anchor for an afternoon spent exploring the neighborhood on foot. For anyone drawn to early American history, the house offers a rare and tangible connection to the people and events that shaped the nation.