The Old North Church is officially known as Christ Church in the City of Boston. It was built in 1723 and is the oldest standing church building in Boston.
The enduring fame of the Old North began on the evening of April 18, 1775, when the church sexton, Robert Newman, climbed the steeple and hung two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere to colonial militia in Charlestown that the British were leaving Boston by sea and not by land as they started their march to Lexington and Concord.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" has enshrined in American historical memory the historic role that the Old North played in events that ignited the American Revolution with the phrase "One if by Land, Two if by Sea."
The Old North Foundation is a secular, not-for-profit organization, devoted to the restoration and preservation of the Old North Church and to creating educational and interpretive programs for students and visitors.
The Old North Church hosts its Annual Lantern Ceremony on Sunday, April 18, 2010, at 8:00 pm. This will be the 235th anniversary of the Hanging of the Lanterns in the Old North Steeple. Tickets are available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis and may be reserved by calling the Old North Foundation offices (617-523-6676) or email tours@oldnorth.com. This event includes a full reading of "Paul Revere's Ride.”
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In 2010, H. W. Longfellow’s famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” turned 150. This website was created to collect information about that poem, the history behind it, and how it came to be written.
