0:00:02 > 0:00:06I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America with
0:00:06 > 0:00:10my faithful Appletons' guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19it will lead me to all that is magnificent, charming,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22confusing, invigorating
0:00:22 > 0:00:26and haunting in the United States and Canada.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31As I journey through this vast continent,
0:00:31 > 0:00:37I'll encounter revolutionaries and feminists, pilgrims and witches,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42and ride some of the oldest and most breathtaking railroads in the world.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29With my Appletons', I've set out on a new railway adventure,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33from Atlantic ports and islands, across leafy New England,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36over mountain ranges, to the Great Lakes.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41I'll exploring two of the largest countries in the world.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45In the 18th century, the British fought the French in Canada,
0:01:45 > 0:01:51thus increasing the security of their 13 American colonies.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53I'll discover how a revolution
0:01:53 > 0:01:56fanning out from Boston, Massachusetts,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59overthrew the Crown and brought in
0:01:59 > 0:02:03an independent United States of America.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07While in Canada, almost two and a half centuries later,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11the head of state is still the British Monarch.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21My journey begins in coastal communities
0:02:21 > 0:02:23founded by British settlers.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26I'll head up through glorious New England to the wilderness around
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Lake Placid. Crossing the border into Canada,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33I'll take in French-Canadian culture in the province of Quebec,
0:02:33 > 0:02:38before making my way through the capital to the Thousand Islands,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and end in cosmopolitan Toronto.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Today, I'm exploring the great city of Boston,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49beginning in the harbour area and the historic Park Street district.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I'll then travel out to the factory city of Lowell,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55before ending with music in the town of Haverhill.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Along the way, I sample the Catch of the Day...
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Has anyone ever told you, sir, that you are a great shucker?
0:03:05 > 0:03:06I appreciate that!
0:03:06 > 0:03:10It's all in the knife, in the attitude.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13..discover Boston's remarkable musical treasure...
0:03:13 > 0:03:15The organ started to be reassembled here,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20and this entire building was built to house this specific instrument.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Wow!
0:03:22 > 0:03:27..and uncover the sneaky origins of America's Industrial Revolution.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29He memorised the plans for the power looms.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32They wouldn't let him travel back with any schematics.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34This was industrial espionage!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36It was industrial espionage, absolutely!
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I'm beginning this American adventure in Boston,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53which Appletons' tells me is the capital of Massachusetts
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and occupies a peninsular of some 700 acres.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11founded in 1630 by Puritan settlers,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15who named it after their hometown in Lincolnshire in England.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21The city is regarded as the cradle of the American Revolution,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and its role in the fight for independence from the British
0:04:24 > 0:04:27has shaped its identity and its architecture.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35The lovely Massachusetts State House was finished in 1798
0:04:35 > 0:04:39and so looks much the same as the drawing in my Appletons' guide.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42It has classical touches, columns, a dome.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45There's even a fellow there in a toga.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47I think we're meant to think about the Roman Republic.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51The people of Massachusetts are to be proud of their representative
0:04:51 > 0:04:56government, and happy that they are no longer the subjects of any king
0:04:56 > 0:04:57or queen.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The 19th century saw a great expansion of Boston.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07And there are now 23 separate neighbourhoods across the city,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09each with a different character.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21I'm really liking Boston.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24It's so easy to walk about.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26It feels energetic, it feels youthful.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And the buildings, superb.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32The old ones tell you that this was at the heart of the foundation
0:05:32 > 0:05:35of the United States, and the new ones,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38that Boston is today a really important business city.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40And the fact that they are all
0:05:40 > 0:05:44shoved together doesn't matter at all. It works. It looks great.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56One celebrated event in history has made Boston famous.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00An act of rebellion against the British in 1773,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02which to Appletons' readers
0:06:02 > 0:06:06had recently become known as the Boston Tea Party.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11It came about after a series of unpopular taxes were levied on the
0:06:11 > 0:06:16colonies, to replenish British coffers after a hugely expensive war
0:06:16 > 0:06:19against the French on the American continent.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25To find out what prompted Bostonians to turn against the British Crown,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27I'm meeting Evan O'Brien.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- Hi, Michael, welcome to the Boston Tea Party Ships Museum.- Thank you.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Friends, we have gathered here tonight to discuss yet another
0:06:37 > 0:06:41- crisis, forced upon us by Parliament and King George III. - THEY BOO AND HISS
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Now, this crisis comes in the form of three ships,
0:06:45 > 0:06:51- together carrying 340 crates of East India Company tea. - MORE BOOING
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Now, here to further discuss this with us
0:06:54 > 0:06:57is that ardent patriot, Samuel Adams.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Thank you, Miss Scully. This is a small, meagre, 3p per £1 tax.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03But that's what makes it so dangerous.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Because it is so affordable by the masses, many will pay it,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10only showing King George and Parliament that we are willing
0:07:10 > 0:07:13to submit to any act of unjust taxation they pass upon us.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Taxation without representation is tyranny.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23- The time for compromise here is over, my friends! - THEY CHEER
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- Shall we destroy that tea? - CHEERS
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Grab your disguises. Onto the water! Huzzah!
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Safe travels, my friends. Godspeed.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Samuel Adams raised a rabble.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43And on the 16th of December 1773,
0:07:43 > 0:07:48a group known as the Sons of Liberty came down to Boston Harbour and
0:07:48 > 0:07:50boarded the tea-laden ships.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52We must be cautious here on this night.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Even being on board may be an act of treason,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58and that is not a fate I would like to befall any of us here tonight.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59So, we must remain cautious.
0:07:59 > 0:08:022,000 or so Bostonians have joined you,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04lining Griffin's Wharf to watch our protest.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Any one of them might be a Tory spy.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09If they were to identify you committing treason tonight,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11they'd be more than happy to report you to the authorities.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14But of course in the days and weeks ahead, we must maintain that our own
0:08:14 > 0:08:16identities remain a secret.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19After all, if any of us go blabbing at the taverns, well,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22a sure fate will be each and every one of us at the end of a hangman's rope. Well, my friends,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25we have 112 crates on board the Brig Beaver tonight.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Why don't you grab a tea crate there, sir?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Oh, dear. You know,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32I feel very loyal to His Majesty,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and I feel very recognisable in this yellow coat.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39And I don't much fancy being hanged.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Well, what is your decision then, sir?
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Go on, then!- Ah, yes! - THEY CHEER
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Well done, sir!
0:08:48 > 0:08:53In this act of defiance, 342 crates were jettisoned,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58destroying around 1.5 million worth of tea at today's prices.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Evan, how close are we here to the actual event?
0:09:05 > 0:09:08It actually took place right here, where that red building stands.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10That was where Griffin's Wharf once stood.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14When does it first become known as the Boston Tea Party?
0:09:14 > 0:09:18It wasn't until the 1820s that the first utterance of the Boston Tea
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Party was made. It was made in a newspaper.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25In 1773, it was simply referred to as the incident on Griffin's Wharf,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- or the destruction of the tea. - So it takes a while to enter
0:09:28 > 0:09:31the national narrative of the revolution.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Do you think that's because there's a certain embarrassment about this
0:09:34 > 0:09:38- hooliganism?- Absolutely. You couldn't be any more accurate.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42And it's not a problem your iconic national moment was actually
0:09:42 > 0:09:44an incident of lawless vandalism?
0:09:44 > 0:09:46No, not at all. We're actually very proud of it!
0:09:51 > 0:09:53With that historic act,
0:09:53 > 0:09:58New England turned its back on old England and set its course
0:09:58 > 0:09:59towards revolution.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Boston is the fourth most densely populated city in America.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17And public transport has long been a challenge.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24My Appletons' mentions the city's extensive horse car system.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27But only two decades later, the city leapt forward,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31as Boston opened America's first subway, in 1897.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40I'm meeting Bradley Clarke,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43the president of the Boston Street Railway Society.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54We're going to take the Tremont Street subway from Park Street
0:10:54 > 0:10:57to Boylston Street, the first two stations that opened.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03Bradley, do you still feel excited when you're riding this original bit
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- of track?- Absolutely. I enjoy it a lot.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08And the funny thing is that this is not what I would
0:11:08 > 0:11:12call a subway train. This is what I would call a tram.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14And in America, we call it a streetcar.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17So, how does that happen? How is the streetcar running here underground?
0:11:17 > 0:11:22Well, it's unusual. For a time, they tried third rail trains,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24such as are in the Tube in London.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28They didn't work out. The subway was built to handle the dimensions
0:11:28 > 0:11:31of a tram car, of a streetcar, which was much shorter.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33So after about a seven-year period,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37they took the subway trains out and put the trams back,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and that was 1907. And what are we now? 110 years later.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53The original subway line was only about half a mile long.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54Around a three-minute ride.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Exhibited in Boylston Street Station is a subway car from 1924.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05So, Bradley, this is a very handsome car.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08For the public to see, as they ride by.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Boston comes where, chronologically, in subways in the world?
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Well, it's number five in absolute terms of subways.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Now, the Metropolitan was the first, in 1863.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20The City in south London in 1890.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Budapest in May of 1896.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Glasgow in 1896.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29And finally Boston in September of 1897.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32In America, it was the very first.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Why did Boston feel the need to follow London,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Budapest and Glasgow underground?
0:12:38 > 0:12:43The problem was that public transportation was incredibly
0:12:43 > 0:12:48popular. Tremont Street, which this subway runs under, had three tracks,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51which were jammed most of the day.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55It is said that the cars were so close together that you could walk
0:12:55 > 0:12:59on the roofs of them faster than taking the car itself.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05The solution was to take the rails beneath the streets.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09But many Bostonians were fearful of going underground.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10How could they allay these fears?
0:13:10 > 0:13:13They tried to make it as sanitary as possible.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18The walls of the stations were panelled in white porcelain tile.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21And the tunnels were lit by incandescent lights.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25It was felt that it would calm the public as they rode through.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Now, there's an extraordinary thought to me, they lit the tunnels?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Boston was the first subway in the world to illuminate its tunnels.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43The Tremont Street subway today forms part of the Green Line
0:13:43 > 0:13:45in the Boston subway system.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49But there are now also Red, Orange and Blue Lines,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53transporting 750,000 passengers per day.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01From that little tunnel back in 1897 between
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Park Street and Boylston,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Network
0:14:07 > 0:14:09has become pretty impressive.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17To end my day, I've alighted in Haymarket,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20on the hunt for a typically Bostonian supper.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And I'm told that, for nearly 200 years,
0:14:23 > 0:14:24this has been the place to go.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Well, I've come to a Boston landmark.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35The Union Oyster Bar. The oldest restaurant in Boston, and the
0:14:35 > 0:14:40oldest restaurant in continuous service in the United States.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41- Did I get that right?- You did, sir.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44I got that right, good. What oysters are you offering tonight?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47From Cape Cod, Cotuit oysters.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51- Connecticut, Blue Points.- Cape Cod, I believe, is in Massachusetts?
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Yeah, south of here.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56So, I will have Cape Cod oysters, please.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- Mike, how many would you like? - I'll have half a dozen, please.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03- Sure.- Has anyone ever told you, sir, that you are a great shucker?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05I appreciate that!
0:15:05 > 0:15:07You do that so well.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10What you've just done would take me ten minutes.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- It's all in the knife. - All in the knife.- And the attitude.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- Have you been here before? - Yes, two times today!
0:15:18 > 0:15:22- Two times today!- Yeah! - You enjoyed it the first time?
0:15:22 > 0:15:27Very much, that's why we decided, mm, let's come back here again!
0:15:27 > 0:15:28All right.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32- And there we are. - Look, to my new friends!
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Bernie... Bernie, thank you so much. - New friends, there we are.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Mm!
0:15:45 > 0:15:47That's so good!
0:16:01 > 0:16:05This morning, I'm making my way to Boston North Station.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08My destination is a 50-minute trip out of town
0:16:08 > 0:16:12on the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority commuter rail.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28My next stop will be Lowell, Massachusetts.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Appletons' tells me it's 26 miles from Boston.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35One of the most noted manufacturing cities in the Union,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38situated on the Merrimack River.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42And the source of its prosperity are the Pawtucket Falls.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45For Lowell, the water mills were a boon.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51The route here was originally operated
0:16:51 > 0:16:54as the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and was one of
0:16:54 > 0:16:58the earliest in the United States, first chartered in 1830.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Lowell is renowned as the birthplace of the American Industrial
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Revolution. It was the nation's first planned industrial town...
0:17:18 > 0:17:21..and helped to build the economic strength
0:17:21 > 0:17:23of the recently independent United States.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29I'm heading to the Boott Cotton Mills
0:17:29 > 0:17:32on one of Lowell's historic streetcars.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37The trolley is, I think, a modern copy.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40But the tracks are the real thing, dating back at least a century.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43And they are leading me even deeper into history.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50The Boott Cotton Mills opened in 1835
0:17:50 > 0:17:51and, for the first time,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54brought all the stages of cloth making into one place.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00They closed in 1955, but have been restored
0:18:00 > 0:18:02as Lowell National Historical Park,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05where I'm meeting park ranger Emily Anstey.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Emily, what an incredibly noisy environment!
0:18:20 > 0:18:24It is! And we're only running about a dozen looms right now.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26There are 88 in the room.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28- Any chance we can stop them? - I think so.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Wow! That is quite a relief!
0:18:36 > 0:18:38So, it must have been terrible, with the noise,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42- and I imagine, the heat as well. - The noise was deafening.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44And it's not just this floor of machines,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46it's all the floors in the mill building.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49And then the heat... It's not only hot, it's humid.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53They're piping in steam to prevent fires,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and also to keep the cotton threads from breaking,
0:18:55 > 0:18:56because they can get very brittle.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Back to the beginning, who was Francis Lowell?
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Francis Cabot Lowell was a wealthy merchant who wanted to bring
0:19:02 > 0:19:05industry to America. He saw that there was a need
0:19:05 > 0:19:08for American-made goods, rather than British goods.
0:19:08 > 0:19:14And so he travelled over to England in 1810, and he saw the power looms.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16He was a very smart man.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18They say that he memorised the plans for the power looms,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21they wouldn't let him travel back with any schematics.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24And he came back and worked with an engineer, Paul Moody,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26to create some of the first power looms here.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28This was industrial espionage!
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- It was industrial espionage, absolutely!- Can we see some cloth
0:19:31 > 0:19:33- being made today? - Absolutely.- Thank you.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42- Hello!- Rick, this is Michael.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Hello, Rick. Can you tell me the basics of your loom, please?
0:19:46 > 0:19:50We're doing a plain weave here. One harness goes up, one down.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- And the shuttle will pass between it. Just one pick.- Yeah.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58That will go over there. And then the harness changes.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Each time that goes through, that's one pick.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Lowell's factory system brought under one roof
0:20:15 > 0:20:19not just the processes, but also the people.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21At their peak in the 1840s,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25these factory complexes enclosed 8,000 women workers,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27known as the Mill Girls.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- What was this house, Emily? - So, this was a boarding house.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37This is company-provided housing for that first workforce here and all
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- the Lowell Mill Girls. - Where were these girls drawn from?
0:20:40 > 0:20:43So, these girls are coming from their farming communities
0:20:43 > 0:20:46around New England. They're the Yankee farm girls.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49And I say girls, but I really mean women between the ages of 15-25.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The conditions in here look quite comfortable.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54So, it was very nice, especially compared to some of the
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- farming communities in the area. - I mean, do you think they were happy
0:20:57 > 0:20:59with their circumstances?
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I think for the most part many of them were happy, originally,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05with their circumstances. They're making a wage for the first time.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09They have educational opportunities. But they are also working for
0:21:09 > 0:21:1314 hours a day in conditions that are very monotonous, very hot,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16very different from what they were experiencing on a farm.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19So, do they protest in any way?
0:21:19 > 0:21:23So, by 1836, there is the first walk-out of Mill Girls.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24The lower wages.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Also, the company was going to stop subsidising some of the rent here.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30And so in 1836,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33about 2,000 of the Mill Girls walked out of the factory floor.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35It wasn't successful,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38but what it did was it allowed women to realise they could come together
0:21:38 > 0:21:40around an issue and try to make a difference.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47The Mill Girls' walk-out marked a turning point for women in America,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51who thereafter began to participate more widely in social reform.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Before I head back to the city,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07I'm intrigued by an entry in my Appletons' which states that the
0:22:07 > 0:22:13second-largest organ in the world is to be found at Boston Music Hall.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16But I gather it's since been moved, to a town north of the city.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20So, my quest to find this historic instrument
0:22:20 > 0:22:22is taking me to Haverhill.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28At the Methuen Memorial Music Hall,
0:22:28 > 0:22:33I'm meeting a member of the 200-year-old Handel and Haydn Choir,
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Teresa Neff.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- Hello.- Hello!- You must be Teresa.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39- I am, welcome.- I'm Michael.
0:22:39 > 0:22:45# Lift thine eyes O lift thine eyes
0:22:45 > 0:22:50# To the mountains
0:22:50 > 0:22:56# Whence cometh, whence cometh
0:22:56 > 0:23:00# Whence cometh help
0:23:00 > 0:23:07# Whence cometh, whence cometh
0:23:07 > 0:23:15# Whence cometh help. #
0:23:16 > 0:23:18That was wonderful!
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Thank you so much, choir.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25Teresa, I came in search of this instrument, of this organ.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27When did it come to this building, and how?
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Well, the organ was built specifically
0:23:30 > 0:23:35for the Boston Music Hall. And it was installed there in 1863.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37But about 20 years later,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40they decided that the organ had run its course.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41And they dismantled it.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46And it just sat in a shed until 1905,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48when the organ started to be reassembled here,
0:23:48 > 0:23:53and this entire building was built to house this specific instrument.
0:23:54 > 0:24:00The organ was built by EF Walcker & Co of Ludwigsburg, Germany.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04With 6,088 pipes, this enormous instrument
0:24:04 > 0:24:08was the very first concert organ in the United States,
0:24:08 > 0:24:09and the musical pride of Boston.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Having come in search of the organ, in fact, I've also come across,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18have I not, the Handel and Haydn Society.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19- Absolutely.- Tell me about that.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24Handel and Haydn was formed in 1815, a very long time ago,
0:24:24 > 0:24:29by a group of men who wanted to promote the music of Handel
0:24:29 > 0:24:32and Haydn and other composers that they dearly loved.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Given the age of your country, that makes it a very old society.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40It is the oldest continuously performing arts organisation
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- in the United States. - And clearly still in fine voice.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Is there anything else you would like to sing today?
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- ALL:- The Battle Hymn Of The Republic.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Now, Teresa, why would the choir
0:24:51 > 0:24:53sing The Battle Hymn Of The Republic?
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Well, the person who wrote the words to The Battle Hymn Of The Republic,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Julia Ward Howe, sang with the Handel and Haydn Society
0:25:00 > 0:25:04in the middle part of the 19th century. She wrote these words
0:25:04 > 0:25:08after she had visited a Union camp in Washington, DC.
0:25:08 > 0:25:15And that text that she put to an old hymn became part of the Union
0:25:15 > 0:25:17cause during the Civil War.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22Today, the Battle Hymn is now a rallying cry for the United States
0:25:22 > 0:25:27- as a whole.- Now, the one thing that would make my day is if we could
0:25:27 > 0:25:31- also hear the organ.- Oh, I think we can arrange that!- Wow!
0:25:43 > 0:25:49# Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
0:25:49 > 0:25:52# He is trampling out the vintage
0:25:52 > 0:25:55# Where the grapes of wrath are stored
0:25:55 > 0:25:58# He hath loosed the fateful lightning
0:25:58 > 0:26:01# Of His terrible swift sword
0:26:01 > 0:26:07# His truth is marching on
0:26:08 > 0:26:14# He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat
0:26:14 > 0:26:17# He is sifting out the hearts of men
0:26:17 > 0:26:20# Before His judgment seat
0:26:20 > 0:26:24# Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him!
0:26:24 > 0:26:26# Be jubilant, my feet!
0:26:26 > 0:26:32# Our God is marching on
0:26:33 > 0:26:39# Glory, glory, hallelujah!
0:26:40 > 0:26:47# Glory, glory, hallelujah!
0:26:47 > 0:26:52# Glory, glory, hallelujah... #
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I'm heading back into Boston,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00to end today's journey with a bird's eye view of this waterfront city
0:27:00 > 0:27:02at the Skywalk Observatory.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08In the 1630s, Puritans,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13who had survived the Atlantic crossing to start a new life,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16free from religious persecution, founded Boston.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21And more than a century later, the American Revolution was brewed
0:27:21 > 0:27:23here by a hotchpotch of intellectuals
0:27:23 > 0:27:26and hotheads and street fighters.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Here, of course, is the origin of the United States.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31But also of modern Europe,
0:27:31 > 0:27:36since Americans inspired the French Revolution.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Indeed, has it not comforted revolutionaries since in their
0:27:39 > 0:27:45moments of despair that what was started here in little Boston
0:27:45 > 0:27:46would defeat the British Empire?
0:27:50 > 0:27:55Next time, I learn the principles of American cuisine...
0:27:55 > 0:27:58We want to make sure that we have more cream than cake!
0:27:58 > 0:28:00This, I do not believe!
0:28:00 > 0:28:03..discover the horrors of 19th-century surgery...
0:28:03 > 0:28:06You have to hold the artery so it wouldn't bleed,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and then you had 60 seconds to take off a limb.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13..and find out what students do at the world's top university.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16An undergraduate can work on the Mars programme?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Absolutely, absolutely. That's what they come to MIT to do.