Casa di Paul Revere
Boston
The Paul Revere House is the oldest building in downtown Boston. Built around 1680, it is one of the few houses from the 1600s left in a big American city.
After the great fire
In 1676 a fire burned many houses in the neighborhood. A few years later, where a minister's house had stood, a rich merchant built this house. It had two floors, an attic and a cellar.
The Revere family
Paul Revere bought it in 1770. He was a craftsman who worked metals, and a businessman too. His wife Sarah, his mother Deborah and the children lived in the house. More children were born here. Revere sold it in 1800.
A thousand lives
After that the house changed often. It became a boarding house, then a home for many families from far away, crowded into a few rooms. On the ground floor, candy shops and fruit and vegetable shops opened.
Saved and restored
In the early 1900s the house was at risk of being torn down. It was bought and restored, and the third floor added later was removed. In 1908 it opened to the public. Much of what you see, beams and doors included, still dates from the 1600s. Inside are rooms with period furniture, and next door a visitor center shows objects made by Revere.
