Brief History

http://dighist.fas.harvard.edu/courses/2015/HUM54/files/original/5015e8066dc9afe7734ec03e133d1b96.JPG

The interior of the Old North Church, defined by tall arches and simple fixtures

In Michel de Certeau's, "The Practice of Everyday Life," he writes:

People moving through the city at ground level write the "urban text" without being able to read it. The city is provisionally created as a patchwork quilt of individual viewpoints and opinions. "The created order is everywhere punched and torn open by ellipses, drifts, and leaks of meaning: it is a sieve-order."

 

http://dighist.fas.harvard.edu/courses/2015/HUM54/files/original/b9aedef2ee322398f4d6b6da1c0eac33.JPG

An old sign indicating the Episcopal Church's ties with the Old North Church

Here, it is as if de Certeau is describing the city as a palimpsest, layer upon layer of different experiences and stories. Cities are places where countless individuals come together to explore their own lives, creating unique threads that are tied together simply by geography. This "patchwork quilt of individual viewpoints and opinions" paints an image of the city as a space that is accessible, open, and often contradictory. Over time, there are facts that become part of the "created order," alongside ruptures such as disagreements and conflicts that constitute the "ellipses, drifts, and leaks of meaning".

When we think about this quote and description of the city in the context of Boston's Old North Church, there is no question that this church is an urban cultural palimpsest. There are countless layers of history that are evident in and around it, forming "a patchwork quilt of individual viewpoints and opinions."

Most notably, the church represents both the ties between Boston and Britain (inherent in its roots as a British church) and the American Revolution (that was later set off by a heroic act performed at the church itself). 

This encapsulates exactly what de Certeau describes: "ellipses, drifts, and leaks of meaning" that tear apart "the created order" of knowledge.  Herein lies the irony of the church's roots: it is one singular location that has stood for two completely opposite perspectives over time.

The different pages on this Exhibit are set up to reflect the different layers of the Old North Church, which together contribute to its role as a palimpsest. Each page refers to a different set of elements within the church that pay homage to a different era of Boston's history. 

Source:
Clark, David L., and Bruce Bailey. Pictorial History of Christ Church, Boston: The Old North Church of Paul Revere Fame. Everett, MA: Acme Print., 1950. Print.
History of Old North Church. N.p., 2016. Web. 5 Oct. 2016. <http://oldnorth.com/oldnorthhistory/>.