A colorful folk-art mosaic in the sidewalk marks the site of the first public school in the country. It was founded in 1634, 2 years before Harvard College. Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Cotton Mather studied there. The original building (1645) was demolished to make way for the expansion of King's Chapel, and the school moved across the street. Now called Boston Latin School, the prestigious institution is in the Fenway neighborhood. Other alumni include Charles Bulfinch, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Santayana, Arthur Fiedler, and Leonard Bernstein.

Behind the fence in the courtyard to your left is the Benjamin Franklin statue, the first portrait statue erected in Boston (1856). Franklin was born in Boston in 1706 and was apprenticed to his half-brother James, a printer, but they got along so poorly that in 1723 Benjamin ran away to Philadelphia. Plaques on the base describe his numerous accomplishments. The lovely granite building behind the statue is Old City Hall (1865), designed in Second Empire style by Arthur Gilman (who laid out the Back Bay) and Gridley J. F. Bryant, and opened in 1865. The administration moved to Government Center in 1969, and the building now houses commercial tenants.

To continue on the Freedom Trail: Follow School Street to Washington Street.