Oliver Wendell Holmes coined the Massachusetts State House as the "Hub of the Universe." In Boston: A Historic Walking Tour, readers are guided on a series of downtown walking tours that radiate out from this Boston landmark. Featuring different excursions that explore Boston's prominent neighborhoods and districts, visitors and natives alike will see how this city has become one of the country's oldest cultural destinations. Boston's growth and development in the 19th and 20th centuries has contributed to it becoming the unofficial "Capital of New England"; its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region is far reaching. Although Boston is known for its notoriously crooked streets and narrow alleys, it is a mecca for walkers looking to take in historic sites and surround themselves with history. Walk along Tremont, Washington, Beacon, and Summer Streets to explore downtown Boston. Saunter down Beacon Street on Beacon Hill and Boylston Street in the Back Bay to take in the city's most beloved sites.