Commonwealth Museum to Hold Special Patriots' Day Weekend Hours for 250th Anniversary
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the "shot heard 'round the world," the Commonwealth Museum will be open for a Patriots’ Day weekend viewing of the special exhibit, “Upon Such Ground: Massachusetts and the Birth of the Revolution.” The museum will be open to the public, with free admission and parking, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 and Monday, April 21.
The special “America 250” exhibit features revolutionary artifacts held at the Massachusetts Archives, including an invoice from Paul Revere for a series of rides, a Paul Revere copper engraving, a drum used at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and a sword used by the officer who gave the order to fire on the British at Concord’s Old North Bridge.
While the 250th anniversary of the first shot fired in the American Revolution will fall on Saturday, April 19, the state holiday that celebrates the occasion is observed on Monday, April 21. The museum will be open on both days, though it will be closed on Easter Sunday.
“This is an opportunity for visitors to experience history up close on the anniversary of the day that it all began,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, who oversees the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. “On this day, we celebrate the Revolution, appreciate the nation that came about as a result, and remember the need to fiercely defend our democratic way of life.”
The Commonwealth Museum is located at 220 Morrissey Blvd. in Dorchester, across from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Additional information on the exhibit may be found at on the museum’s website.