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Revolutionary Spaces

**Revolutionary Spaces ** connects people to the history and continuing practice of democracy through the intertwined stories of two of the nation’s most iconic sites—Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House. We foster a free and open exchange of ideas, explore history, create gathering places, and preserve and steward historic buildings.

https://www.bostonhistory.org

Legacy of the Cocoanut Grove Fire of 1942

Tue, Sep 14, 2004

Stephanie Schorow, reporter for *The Boston Herald* and author of *Boston on Fire: A History of Fires and Firefighting in Boston*, examines many myths and misconceptions about the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire, and evaluates its legacy and its continuing impact on Boston. The fire that swept through the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston on November 28, 1942, was one of the worst in the nation's history, resulting in at least 492 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The fire led to new building codes, medical innovations in burn treatment and legal precedents in manslaughter law.

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Masquerade: Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier

Wed, Sep 29, 2004

Historian Alfred Young, author of *Masquerade*, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich examine Americans' public memory of Deborah Sampson and other Revolutionary-era women. Performer and storyteller Joan Gatturna brings Deborah Sampson to life in a dramatic first-person performance.

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Last Mantua Maker: Women in Boston's Clothing Trades

Thu, Mar 24, 2005

In 1845, after almost a dozen years in business, Rebecca Goodwin Major closed up shop. She was the very last Boston woman to call herself a mantuamaker in the pages of the city directory. Most of her competitors abandoned the 17th-century term for the more up-to-date nomenclature, dressmaker. Marla Miller, assistant professor of public history at UMASS Amherst, will look at how one of the most prestigious occupations available to American women since the 17th century, faded from the Boston scene.

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Digging: The Workers of Boston's Big Dig

Wed, Mar 23, 2005

In celebration of the final stages of the Big Dig and the people who work extraordinarily hard each day to make it a possibility, photographer Michael Hintlian shows his work, *Digging: The Workers of Boston's Big Dig*, and discusses the difficulties and joys of putting this collection together. Starting in 1997, Michael Hintlian began photographing the 5,000 men and women who worked on the Big Dig. Despite being thrown off of one site after another, his perseverance paid off in a book of stunning, gritty black-and-white photographs.

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Jewish Heritage on Beacon Hill

Thu, Feb 17, 2005

Ellen Smith, lecturer in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, discusses the history of Jewish immigration in Boston. Boston's first Jewish congregation established a synagogue in the South End in 1852. By 1907, Boston's Jewish population had grown to 60,000 with many families settling in the West End. The Vilna congregation began to hold services on Beacon Hill in 1903 and remained there until 1985.

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History of the Boston Athenaeum

Thu, Feb 3, 2005

John Lannon, associate director of the Boston Athenaeum, discusses the history of this enduring fixture on Beacon Hill. Founded in 1807, it houses such treasures as George Washington's library, and artworks by artists such as John Singer Sargent and Gilbert Stuart.

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Sarah's Long Walk: The Struggle that Changed America

Thu, Feb 10, 2005

Stephen Kendrick, author of *Sarah's Long Walk* and minister of First and Second Church, Boston, discusses the history behind the famous case of Sarah Roberts. In 1848, 5-year-old Sarah Roberts had to pass five white-only schools to attend the poor and densely crowded all-black Abiel Smith School. Incensed at this injustice, her father Benjamin Roberts took action. He resolved to sue the city of Boston on her behalf, and began a hundred-year struggle that culminated in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education.

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Calvin Coolidge's Private War

Thu, Nov 11, 2004

Dr. Robert E. Gilbert, professor of political science at Northeastern University, discusses how profoundly affected President Coolidge was by the death of his 16-year-old son, Calvin Jr., as a result of blood poisoning in 1924. This experience plunged him into a deep and devastating depression from which he never fully recovered. Calvin Coolidge, governor of Massachusetts and 30th president of the United States has often been described as a do-nothing, incompetent president who slept 15 of every 24 hours, despite having been a respected and capable governor.

Mental Health Month

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Smallpox in Boston: A Complex Affair

Thu, Nov 18, 2004

Professor emeritus Philip Cash lectures on the history of the smallpox epidemic in Boston. The debate surrounding Smallpox inoculation in Boston began in 1721 when an epidemic struck the town. The Reverend Cotton Mather attempted to convince physicians to try the then controversial practice of inoculation, without success. In 1800, Benjamin Waterhouse, a Harvard professor of medicine, became the first person to test the smallpox vaccine in the United States. His first test subject was his 5-year-old son Daniel whom he infected with a sample of cowpox sent from England.

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A Short History of Boston

Thu, May 5, 2005

Robert J. Allison, professor of history at Suffolk University, brings to life the major events and important figures who formed the "City on a Hill".

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