In Boston, the Old Corner Bookstore is the 7th stop on the Freedom Trail, followed by the Old South Meeting House (8th), the Old State House (9th) and the site of the Boston Massacre (10th).
In the video game Fallout 4, the red line of the "Road to Freedom" runs from the Old Granary Burying Ground to Goodneighbor and then to the Old Corner Bookstore.
There are no locations in the game, as far as I know, to represent either the Old South Meeting House or the site of the Boston Massacre. However, there's a bit of a nod to the massacre in the story of John Hancock, formerly John McDonough...
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| Entrance to Goodneighbor and a red brick wall of the Old State House, as seen in Fallout 4, with the red line of the "Road to Freedom" and the brass seal under the streetlight. PS4 screen capture by Jewelsmith |
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| This is what the entrance to Goodneighbor looks like IRL. It even has a similar street light. Photo from Google maps street view |
Before he became a ghoul himself, John McDonough tried to help the ghouls who his brother ran out of Diamond City (Fenway Park) by relocating them to Goodneighbor. But at that time, Goodneighbor was run by a tyrannical mob boss named Vic.
John McDonough fell into drugs and despair, eventually taking an experimental, radioactive chemical that transformed him into a ghoul, too. After blacking out, he woke to find himself on the floor of the Old State House.
Inspired by the historical John Hancock, he adopted the name and the coat, and started a revolution to overthrow Vic.
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| John Hancock in Fallout 4 (left). John Hancock's IRL coat (right), in the Old State House, Boston. Photo by Dr. Roy Winkelman, 2011, courtesy of FCIT for educational use |
After killing Vic's henchmen and hanging Vic from the balcony of the Old State House, Hancock proclaimed, "Of the people, for the people," and became mayor of Goodneighbor.
In his own words, "It was a massacre," and it happened in the same area as the IRL Boston Massacre. Which also happens to be the same spot where Hancock addresses the people of Goodneighbor before he becomes available as a traveling companion to the Sole Survivor.
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| Old State House and balcony in Fallout 4 - PS4 screen capture by Jewelsmith |
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| The Old State House and the vicinity of Goodneighbor IRL Image from Google street view |
The real Old State House, built in 1713, is the oldest surviving public building in Boston and one of the oldest public buildings in the United States.
On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred on Devonshire Street in front of the Old State House, and Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson stood on the building's balcony when he ordered the crowd to return to their homes.
Six years after the Boston Massacre, on July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony to a gathered crowd.
After the American Revolution, the Old State House served as the seat of Massachusetts state government until it moved to the State House in 1798.
A subway station was built beneath the Old State House and opened to the public in 1904. Known as State Station IRL, in the post-apocalyptic Commonwealth it's the Third Rail bar where players can hire MacCready, hear Magnolia sing, or pick up a quest from robot barman Whitechapel Charlie.
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| The Third Rail is a bar inside of a subway station beneath the Old State House. The entrance in Fallout 4 is just below the balcony. Screen capture by Jewelsmith |
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| State Station is beneath the Old State House in Boston, but the entrance is not below the balcony. Image from Google street view |
Goodneighbor features a theater with a "Scollay Square" marquee sign, known in-game as the Memory Den, which offers virtual reality entertainment via "memory loungers" that allow users to relive their past or experience the memories of others. They are similar to the tranquility loungers aka Visiontrons that appeared in Fallout 3 and its Operation: Anchorage add-on.
In reality, Scollay Square was located a little further away from the Old State House, not right beside it.
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| A map showing the Old State House and the Government Center, formerly known as Scollay Square in Boston. The blue highlighted areas of the inset map indicate the locations of the Old State House and Scollay Square in 1895. Maps from Google and Wikipedia |
The Memory Den might be inspired by Scollay Square's infamous Howard Athenaeum aka "Old Howard Theatre," which offered vaudeville, burlesque and boxing matches during its years of operation from 1845 to 1953.
The theater was shut down in 1953 after being raided by the vice squad. Three strippers were arrested, including one "Irma the Body" whose real name was Mary Goodneighbor.
So, now we know where the town got its name and why a character named Irma runs the Memory Den in Fallout 4.
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| The Scollay Square marquee sign outside of the Memory Den in Goodneighbor, as it appears in Fallout 4. PS4 screen capture by Jewelsmith |
The Memory Den might also be a composite of the Old Howard Theatre and/or other venues in the area, such as Gordon's Olympia Theatre and the Theatre Comique.
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| Old photographs of Gordon's Olympia (left) and Theatre Comique (right) in the 1910s Public domain, courtesy of Wikipedia |
Players can follow the red line of the Freedom Trail from Goodneighbor to the Old Corner Bookstore, which is within spitting (and shooting) distance of a raider encampment. There isn't much inside the bookstore but a Nuka Quantum, ruined bookshelves and a collapsed second floor.
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| Fallout 4 Old Corner Bookstore with Freedom Trail marker PS4 screen capture by Jewelsmith (me) |
The IRL Boston building dates back to 1718, when it was a residence and apothecary shop. It became a bookstore in 1828. The building is a designated site on the Freedom Trail, Literary Trail, Women's Heritage Trail, and National Register of Historic Places.
As of August 2021, it appears to be a Chipotle restaurant.
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| Boston's Old Corner Bookstore with Freedom Trail marker Photo from Google maps street view |
I'll be writing more about other Fallout 4 locations, and their real-world inspirations, in the months to come. Check back for updates or follow me on YouTube, Twitter and Patreon for more information.
~ Jewelsmith (aka JLHilton)
Further reading:
More of the Freedom Trail's video game and IRL locations
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