Collection · 7 stops · 3 packs

Firsts (Contested)

Boston says it did it first. Sometimes Boston is right.

1. The 1852 Hunt
   Before it took a single real alarm, Boston's fire telegraph rang the city's bells from New York.
   Tremont Street at the head of School Street, across from King's Chapel
2. The 1852 Hunt
   Boston's first keyless alarm box went in on this corner in 1881.
   Corner of Tremont Street and Winter Street, across from the Common
3. The 1852 Hunt
   Every address in Boston is filed under a fire alarm box, a bit like a zip code.
   Milk Street at Federal Street
4. The 1852 Hunt
   Boston's first fire alarm came from this street in 1852, and so did the one that mattered when 911 went down in 2018.
   Corner of Cooper and Endicott Streets, North End
5. Under Boston
   The Transit Commission's own report says ten people died in the 1897 explosion at this corner - six on the spot, four later.
   
6. Under Boston
   The first American subway car reached Park Street three minutes after it entered the tunnel, and this entrance has been collecting plaques ever since.
   Tremont St at Park St, Boston, MA 02108
7. Bad Ends
   The ether room's longest tenant is an Egyptian mummy. His head was once put back on with a broom handle.
   Massachusetts General Hospital, off North Grove and Fruit Streets; view from the public way