This Week, Jared Bowen heads to the Old State House to examine the front door of the Hancock House and reviews "Start Your Engines! Cars and Stars of the Indy 500" at the Heritage Museums and Gardens.

Through The Keyhole, presented by the Bostonian Society at the Old State House through December 28

Through The Keyhole
The Hancock House door
Justin Knight, courtesy of the Bostonian Society

The Bostonian Society unlocks the history of a founding father with "Through The Keyhole." At the Old State House, items belonging to John Hancock — including furniture, a family bible, and personal effects — are on display. But the showpiece of the exhibition is the front door of Hancock's Beacon Hill home, which was torn down in 1863. The destruction of his historic home launched the modern preservation movement in Boston, which allowed buildings like the Old State House to become preserved landmarks. "He came to see himself as a patron of the people of Boston," says Executive Director of the Bostonian Society Nathaniel Sheildley. "He embraced the people of Boston, and I think Boston embraced him."

Start Your Engines! Cars and Stars of the Indy 500, on view at the Heritage Museums and Gardens through October 8

Start Your Engines! Cars and Stars of the Indy 500
Eddie Rickenbacker in the #42 Duesenberg, 1914
Courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Archives and the Heritage Museums and Gardens

At the Heritage Museums and Gardens, "Start Your Engines! Cars and Stars of the Indy 500" presents the history and evolution of the Indianapolis 500 through a survey of 20 race cars, pace cars, and fan vehicles. From a 1914 Duesenberg to the 2016 NAPA racer of Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, visitors find more than a century of automotive innovations in speed, safety, and design. “I think that most people think, 'I don't care about auto racing, it doesn't impact me at all,'" says curator Jennifer Madden, "but actually anyone who owns a passenger car is impacted by car racing every day. Every engineering, mechanical, safety aspect of our road cars are first perfected on racing cars and then make their way to production vehicles."

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