On the morning of January 6, Martin J. Walsh was sworn in as Boston’s first new mayor in more than two decades.
Unlike his predecessors, Walsh did not take the oath of office in the heart of the city. Instead, he chose Boston College’s Conte Forum as the site of his inauguration- seven miles from City Hall on a college campus that mostly lies outside the city limits.
How far afield is Walsh straying from the precedent set by his forebearers? With Walsh’s inauguration, the city of Boston has now had five different mayors since 1960. The men have been inaugurated a total of 15 times in seven different locations. Here’s the full list of the locations, with some highlight’s from each inaugural address.
Martin J. Walsh (January 6, 2014)
Location: Boston College Conte Forum
“I will listen, I will learn, I will lead.” Read Walsh’s full remarks here.
Tom Menino 5th term (January 4, 2010)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“I ask all of you to be part of what we’re going to do over the next 1,463 days…We have a lot to accomplish, and the old way of saying `No’ doesn’t exist anymore.”
Tom Menino 4th term (January 2, 2006)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“Personal responsibility must be our mantra, from every single person on every single block.”
Tom Menino 3rd term (January 7, 2002)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“We have just emerged from a period in our national life when government was a dirty word. We have seen that pendulum swing too far, and now it swings back.”
“After nine years as your mayor, the citizens of Boston know what I am, and what I am not.”
Tom Menino 2nd term (January 5, 1998)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“Boston is celebrated for its historic character. It makes us stand out from all other cities in America. We have a duty to see that new additions to the city complement and protect the old. I promise you this: I will not sell our city’s character to the highest bidder so they can build Manhattan-by-the-sea or high-rises that cast a shadow over our neighborhoods.”
Tom Menino 1st term (November 16, 1993)
Oath Location: Mayor’s office
“I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing for five months.”
Inaugural/State of the City address location: Faneuil Hall (January 18, 1994)
“If 100 years from now they look back at my election, I hope what they see is the beginning of a century of inclusive politics.”
Ray Flynn 3rd term (January 6, 1992)
Location: Old North Church
“Never have the challenges we face together been greater: difficult economic times and getting people back to work, maintaining stable families, making progress in the public schools and continuing to improve public safety.”
Ray Flynn 2nd term (January 4, 1988)
Location: Wang Center for the Performing Arts
“Building a city means that we must never forget that no matter how grand the city of brick and steel grows, it must always serve and never dominate the people who give it life.”
Ray Flynn 1st term (January 2, 1984)
Location: Wang Center for the Performing Arts
“This is a time for hating the violence and discord of the past. It is a time for loving the city and all of its people.”
Flynn also promised to “break down the walls of misunderstanding and bigotry” in the city and to “build up a new foundation of racial harmony.”
Kevin White 4th term (January 7, 1980)
Location: The Strand Theater
“These institutions have within them the power to move minorities from the periphery of the action to the center stage, and that has never been done in Boston - ever.”
Kevin White 3rd term (January 5, 1976)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“Boston is truly where it all began. Join me in continuing this bold endeavor, so that the future generations can say this is where the promise was fulfilled.”
Kevin White 2nd term (January 3, 1972)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“If urban life is to have a new birth of greatness, let it be said that the renaissance began in Boston.”
Kevin White 1st term (January 1, 1968)
Location: Faneuil Hall
“We can erect thousands of buildings and put down miles of concrete, but unless the next generation can say that Boston is a better place, we will have achieved nothing.”
John F. Collins 2nd term (January 6, 1964)
Location: Symphony Hall
“The last four years have been eventful and encouraging for the new Boston…However, as grateful as we are entitled to feel, we dare not become complacent.”
John F. Collins 1st term (January 4, 1960)
Location: Symphony Hall
“It is often said that Boston is entitled to no outside aid until she demonstrates a willingness to help herself.”
