Visitor looks at Plymouth Rock, is not impressed

attraction in the Commonwealth. I have dissuaded many visitors from wasting their time on it.

But the Liberty Bell in Philly is pretty underwhelming too.

n/t

I will say I have been there to see the rock of my own volition (spoiler alert: it may not even be the real rock! And if it is, it’s not the entire one since it’s been split).

If you’re being taken there, it’s bleh. For most 12-year-olds I’d imagine a trip to the arcade would be 1000x better. But I could spend all afternoon there.

Pilgrim Hall is cool, too.

Come to be underwhelmed by a rock in a pit, stay to gorge yourself on fried sea critters at Wood's.

The best thing about Plymouth Rock is its appearance in the opening scenes of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonados , a film that's decidedly in the Bad Movies category.

Although it receives a fraction of the attention, the nearby "National Monument to the Forefathers" is more spectacular and the stories behind it no less interesting -even for those of us who don't worship the Forefathers.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/11/24/how-does-foot-tall-monument...

Plymouth Rock was noted by de Tocqueville: "

This Rock is become an object of veneration in the United States. I have seen bits of it carefully preserved in several towns of the Union. Does not this sufficiently show that all human power and greatness is in the soul of man? Here is a stone which the feet of a few outcasts pressed for an instant, and this stone becomes famous; it is treasured by a great nation, its very dust is shared as a relic.

(From Wikepedia article about Plymouth Rock.)

But it is a minor piece of historical material than the Liberty Bell. Why? Perhaps the answer can be summed in the Boston Globe editorial from 2011 concerning building a museum to Boston history.

Boston’s history is everywhere, but is explained nowhere. The sad reality is that Boston, the American city with the greatest connection to its past, is among the least adept at showing it off. The Freedom Trail draws millions of visitors a year on the strength of Boston’s leading role in the American Revolution. But visitors don’t learn as much as they could, and the rest of Boston history — the city’s role in the Industrial Revolution, the abolition of slavery, the immigrant ascendancy, and political and intellectual leadership — is almost entirely invisible.

Philadelphia on the other hand - and this may be a vital part of why The Liberty Bell remains famous - has Independence Mall where artifacts, architecture, etc. are consolidated and more easily visited.

This is especially true for The Liberty Bell. For years it was maintained in the State House and now has its own shrine like, cathedral inspired building where it is the climax of the building. Plymouth Rock has a handsome architectural cover which is exposed to the elements. The Liberty Bell is in a building that uses both basilica like style along with "chapels" that dwelve into the history of The Liberty Bell from its casting to today.

The Liberty Bell also has the advantage of symbolism based in US history instead of European discovery or conquering (depending on one's perspective).

While Plymouth Rock is not in Boston it seems to me that both Plymouth Rock and US history in Boston (from founding to present) both suffer from generally disjointed, almost laissez faire attitudes regarding what the sites, icons, symbols and architecture of US history that abounds in the area.

Not unlike the general (public?) attitude toward the T. Something necessary, which millions each years use, and yet its necessity and importance to the region are still ultimately not the highest priority in the public mind. Not being of the highest priority in the public mind results in these institutions (the celebration history or public transportation) always left unable to live out the greatest potential of these institutions.

Tablet Rock in Gloucester is kind of impressive. Not in a geological sense, but considering it is a rock that commemorates European settlement in Massachusetts, it's the best.

Has this Texan ever visited the Alamo. It's more disappointing than Plymouth Rock, and there wasn't even a basement.

I was expecting something like Morro Rock, so naturally I was pretty disappointed. Fortunately, I had not come to Plymouth just to see a rock, but rather for an outdoor concert next to the seashore.