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Historical tourism is competing with the city's Ivy League attractions, writes Lia Timson.
'That's what they want you to believe. That all five of them died here, neatly on top of each other," says David Samuels, aka Captain David Hawkins, pointing to the inlaid star on the small traffic island at the busy Boston intersection where we stand.
"In fact, two were shot here, another two across the road and the other died around the corner in his mother's arms some time later. He was a sailor, so probably not in his mother's arms."
As one of the main characters leading the "Path to Independence" walking tours through the city centre, irreverent patriot Hawkins makes it his business to debunk what he calls convenient untruths peddled by conventional tour operators.
In his best buccaneer accent he interprets the Boston Massacre - in which British soldiers killed five colonists - based on his own research and that of his re-enactment group, the Histrionic Academy. Other tour operators have simpler narratives, some counting a sixth murder victim who in fact died 11 days before the massacre took place.
Samuels's point is that through the years historic interpretations have yielded to opportune storytelling and lost some of the finer details. His mission is to take tourists back to the early days of the American Revolution, using the theatrics once outlawed by early Puritans as sinful.
I found the captain by chance during a leisurely walk through the city's prominent green space, the 18-hectare Boston Common.
As a group of people gathered around the animated militant I paused to listen, then followed smiling at his many over-dramatised tales, all the while feeling as though I had just landed in the setting of a period film.
In the two-hour stroll (the tour is billed as 90-minute) we passed several other travel guides in character, often waiting our turn at landmarks (dozens of walking tour operators and actors lead similar trips) but Samuels's mocking style and passion for history made learning about the city's past entertaining.
Learning is of course one of Boston's main industries. Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 85 other colleges make education the third-biggest industry in the town and the 300,000 or so resident students give the city a youthful feel, despite its heritage buildings and political stature.
It is worth visiting the Cambridge education district to marvel at the Harvard and MIT campuses, nearby coffee houses and book shops or visit their respective museums. Take the red subway line along Longfellow Bridge and on return brag to your friends you went to one of the elite universities for just $US2 ($2.40).
Boston's flat layout is deceptive. The city's original 34hectares were extended to nearly 127 as its surrounding hills were flattened and their soil used to reclaim land from the Atlantic Ocean. Today's bustling metropolis is home to only one mount, Beacon Hill, where you will find the charming heritage-listed Charles Street with original gas lamps and shopfronts that have not changed since Paul Revere rode his horse through the night to alert the patriots the British army was coming.
Here you can relish antique shops, forage through second-hand clothes shops or pick a treat for Fido at the Four Preppy Paws designer pet store.
A few blocks away on Beacon Street, you have the opportunity to be photographed outside Cheers bar if you must but remember the famous sitcom was not shot here, neither was the bar so named when it inspired the series as a typical neighbourhood tavern. Back in those days it was the Bull & Finch.
Nevertheless Boston boasts two Cheers: "The Original" and "The Replica". The latter is a closer copy of the Hollywood set used in the filming, built to appease the many tourists who complained that the "original" did not resemble the bar from television.
As Captain Hawkins made his farewells, I found myself outside the historic Faneuil Hall, which held less attraction for my rumbling stomach than the crowded food market across the way.
As I crossed the cobblestone square on which many a patriot fought for his free speech, I dreamt of the famous local hot clam chowder served in a traditional soft bread basket. I ordered one from a fast-food counter amid tacos and pizza outlets.
To my surprise, the hot soup from the Boston & Maine Fish Co was filled with the real thing, not just bacon and cream. As I scraped the bottom of the basket to extract the last of the soaked bread, I wondered if the clam chowder served by pedigree restaurants was much better than this.
The answer came that evening when I ordered the upmarket version at one of the top city eateries.
The $US7.58 ($9) takeaway was much tastier and, like the rest of Boston, an unforgettable experience.
TRIP NOTES
Getting there: Qantas flies directly to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Sydney. United Airlines and US Airways then connect directly to Boston.
Touring there: Captain Hawkins and his band of merry revolutionaries can be found near the Boston Common visitor's centre five times daily or at http://www.thehistrionicacademy.com. The longer established Freedom Trail Foundation has several tours each day along a four-kilometre red line that passes through 16 historical city sites. See http://www.thefreedomtrail.org.
Staying there: the Westin Copley, 10 Huntington Avenue, is central to many attractions. From $US159 ($188) per room per night. See http://www.starwoodhotels.com.
Further information: see www.cityofboston.gov/visitors.
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