Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is a floating history museum with live reenactments and multimedia exhibits. Its area of focus is the Boston Tea Party of 1773, a key trigger of the American War of Independence.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum history

Boston was a hub of revolutionary activity in the mid to late eighteenth century. As one of the biggest port cities in North America, Boston became an integral part of the social, economic and political fabric of the British colonies. Hence, when various acts of Parliament undermined the liberty and integrity of colonists, the reaction was heard loudest in Boston.

The port city was host to various major historic events that triggered the American Revolution. In 1770, a few years after the imposition of the Stamp Act and Townshend Duties, a detachment of redcoats accosted by a large crowd in the city opened fire and killed five protestors whilst injuring six others. The Boston Massacre, as it became known, represented to many the inevitable start of a revolution.

Yet by far the most important historic event in the city’s history occurred in Boston Harbour three years later.

In December 1773 the most famous and overt display of anger and resistance to the British took place. A group of colonists led by Samuel Adams hopped aboard the East India Company trade vessel Dartmouth and poured 342 chests of tea (worth close to $2,000,000 in today’s currency) of British tea into the sea.

This act – now known as the ‘Boston Tea Party’, is often cited as a direct cause of the War of Independence and remains arguably the most important historic event in patriotic American folklore.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum today

The Boston Tea Party Museum features reenactments of the event in 1773, a documentary, and a number of interactive exhibits.

There are 7 ‘Museum Experiences’ in total, ranging from the ‘Meeting House’, where you’ll start your journey to learning about the “single most important event leading up to the American Revolution” to the ‘Tea Party Ships’ where you’ll be able to step in the shoes of the revolutionaries and throw tea into the very same body of water where the Boston Tea Party took place over 240 years ago.

The museum features two replica ships of the period, Eleanor and Beaver. Additionally, the museum possesses one of two known tea chests from the original event, part of its permanent collection.

Getting to Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum

The Boston Tea Party Museum is located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston Harbour.

If travelling by car visitors can reserve a parking spot by going to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum SpotHero Parking Page where they can book a spot with rates up to 50% off drive-up.

If travelling via Subway, the closest stations are Aquarium and Downtown Crossing. The nearest tram stop is South Station, which is roughly a 7 minute walk away.