Old North Church Old North Church ( officially , Christ Church in the City of Boston ) , at 193 Salem Street , in the North End of Boston , is the location from which the famous " One if by land , and two if by sea " signal is said to have been sent . This phrase is related to Paul Revere ' s midnight ride , of April 18 , 1775 , which preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution . The church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts . It is the oldest standing church building in Boston and is a National Historic Landmark . Inside the church is a bust of George Washington , which the Marquis de Lafayette reportedly remarked was the best likeness of him he had ever seen . History . Old North Church was built in 1723 , and was inspired by the works of Christopher Wren , the British architect who was responsible for rebuilding London after the Great Fire . Timothy Cutler was the founding rector after serving as third rector of Yale College from 1719 to 1722 . In April 1775 , Paul Revere told three Boston patriots to hang two lanterns in the steeple . These men were the church sexton Robert Newman and Captain John Pulling — the two of whom historian David Hackett Fischer suggests each carried one lantern up to the steeple — as well as Thomas Bernard , who stood watch for British troops outside the church . The lanterns were displayed to send a warning to Charlestown patriots across the Charles River about the movements of the British Army . Revere and William Dawes would later deliver the same message to Lexington themselves , but this lantern method was a fast way to inform the back - up riders in Charlestown about the movements of the British ; these back - up riders planned to deliver the warning message to Lexington and Concord in case Revere and Dawes were arrested on the way . The lanterns were hung for just under a minute to avoid catching the eyes of the British troops occupying Boston , but this was long enough for the message to be received in Charlestown . The militia waiting across the river had been told to look for the signal lanterns , and were prepared to act as soon as they saw them . The meaning of two lanterns has been memorized by countless American schoolchildren . But the warning was delivered miles away to dozens of towns , first by Revere and Dawes on horses , and then by other men on horses and men who rang church bells and town bells , beat drums , and shot off warning guns . ( Current status of the lanterns is not entirely clear ; one is said to be in the hands of a private collector , another broken during a tour , and yet another is on display at the Concord Museum . ) U . S . Bicentennial celebration . President Gerald Ford visited Old North Church on April 18 , 1975 . In his nationally televised speech , the President said , in part , Following President Ford ' s remarks , two lanterns were lit by Robert Newman Ruggles and Robert Newman Sheet , descendants of Robert Newman , who , as sexton of the Old North Church in 1775 , lit the two lanterns which signaled the movement of British troops . The President then lit a third lantern , which hangs in a window of the church today . On July 11 , 1976 , Queen Elizabeth II visited Boston and made reference to that event . She said , The Queen and Prince Philip attended a Sunday morning service at the Old North Church , sitting in a pew at the right front . The Rev . Robert W . Golledge led the service and later presented The Queen with a replica of a silver chalice made by Paul Revere . The Queen was shown the iconic statue of " Paul Revere " by Cyrus E . Dallin near the church before departing in a motorcade to attend a function at the Old State House . The bells . Eight change ringing bells at Old North Church were cast in Gloucester , England in 1744 and hung in 1745 . One bell has the inscription : " We are the first ring of bells cast for the British Empire in North America , A . R . 1744 . " The bells were restored in 1894 and in 1975 . They are maintained and rung regularly by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Guild of Bellringers . Steeple damage . The original steeple of the Old North Church was destroyed by the Storm of October 1804 . A replacement steeple , designed by Charles Bulfinch was toppled by Hurricane Carol on August 31 , 1954 . The current steeple uses design elements from the original and the Bulfinch version . The church is now 175 feet ( 53 m ) tall . At its tip is the original weathervane . The other " Old North " . Before the construction of the ' Old North Church ' ( Christ Church , Boston ) , there was another church in Boston called the " Old North " ( Meetinghouse ) . This Congregationalist meetinghouse was founded in North Square , across the street from what is now called " Paul Revere ' s house " . This church was once pastored by Cotton Mather , the divine of the Salem witch trials fame . Crypt . In 2009 an archeologist began examining the estimated 1 , 100 bodies buried in 37 tombs in the basement . The crypt was in use between 1732 and 1853 , and each tomb is sealed with a wooden or slate door , with many doors covered over by plaster as ordered by the city of Boston in the 1850s . Founding Rector Timothy Cutler and his wife were buried under the altar together . Other notable figures buried under the church include British Marine Major John Pitcairn , who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill and was entombed along with many other soldiers killed in this battle . So is Captain Samuel Nicholson of the " U . S . S . Constitution " . A behind the scenes tour run by the church takes tourists down into the crypt , as well as up to the steeple .