Park Street Church - public worship and civic ritual site

Park Street Church, founded in 1809 at the edge of Boston Common, has long hosted high-profile religious services and public rituals, including 19th-century abolitionist meetings. On July 4, 1831 the hymn 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee' is documented to have been first sung at Park Street Church, an event cited in histories of American patriotic music. The church remains an active Congregational congregation and a prominent ritual site at the entrance to Boston Common.