If this Congregationalist church at the corner of Tremont and Park streets could sing, what a joyful song it would be. Inside the church, which was designed by Peter Banner and erected in 1809-10, Samuel Smith's hymn "America" was first sung on July 4, 1831. The country's oldest musical organization, the Handel & Haydn Society, was founded here in 1815; in 1829 William Lloyd Garrison began his long public campaign for the abolition of slavery here. The distinguished steeple is considered by many critics to be the most beautiful in New England. Just outside the church, at the intersection of Park and Tremont streets (and the main subway crossroads of the city), is Brimstone Corner. Does the name refer to the fervent thunder of the church's preachers, the fact that gunpowder was once stored in the church's crypt, or the story that preachers once scattered burning sulfur on the pavement to attract the attention of potential churchgoers? Historians can't agree.
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip