Lowell Lecture
“Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them”: A Conversation with Joseph Bagley and Robert Allison
Date & Time
April 16, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location
Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Joseph M. Bagley is the city archaeologist of Boston, a historic preservationist, and a staff member of the Boston Landmarks Commission. He has worked for multiple local and state historic preservation offices, including the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the Massachusetts Historical Commission. In 2016, he published his award-winning first book, A History of Boston in 50 Artifacts (Brandeis University Press).
Robert J. Allison is a professor of History at Suffolk University and a lecturer at the Harvard Extension School. He holds several appointments with local historical organizations, including serving as president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and chair of Revolution 250. He is a life trustee of the USS Constitution Museum and an elected fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Allison is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Crescent Obscured: The United States and the Muslim World, 1776-1815 (OUP, 1995); Stephen Decatur, American Naval Hero, 1779-1820, A Short History of Boston, and Revolutionary Sites of Greater Boston.
Presenting Organization
Topics
Contact
Ed O'Connell (info@revolutionaryspaces.org, 6177201713)
Join us in conversation with City of Boston Archaeologist Joseph Bagley, author of Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them, and acclaimed local historian Robert Allison as we examine Boston’s 50 oldest buildings. Guided by Professor Allison’s unmatched knowledge of Boston’s historic past in tandem with the latest edition of Bagley’s highly engaging look at the city’s brick-and-mortar beginnings, this exploration of Boston’s early history presents a waypoint on the road to its upcoming 400th anniversary.
Bagley and Allison will lead audience members on a centuries-long journey through maps, photographs, and an exploration of the city’s historic preservation movement. The conversation begins with the program’s venue, the Old South Meeting House. Saved from destruction by a small cadre of Boston women—engaged in what is now remembered as only the second such act of historic preservation in our nation’s history—the Old South Meeting House provides the perfect setting for this compelling program.
Presented in partnership with the Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, Brandeis University Press, and GBH Forum Network, Revolutionary Spaces is proud to host this special event, which is free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of the Lowell Institute. Doors will open at 6:00 pm and the program will begin at 6:30 pm.