In Search of... Tristan Eaton at The Revolution Hotel

A crisp, beautiful afternoon in the Fall ... right before Boston, MA gets swept under frigid temperatures mixed with a fury of snow flurries ... and I'm dreading in anticipation that my free time will be composed of shoveling snow off our driveway. Most New Englanders take advantage of these clear days before the winter blast by going for a bike ride or taking a stroll around the city, but I'm not most New Englanders! Checking out what my favorite artists were up to on Instagram, I came across something Tristan Eaton posted that certainly piqued my interest.

I scurried around the house looking for my dad ... "Cancel all our appointments today, because Tristan Eaton is in town!" You know how I know? The backdrop of one of Mr. Eaton's posts was a Boston favorite - Blackbird Donuts! There was one caveat ... no one knew exactly where he would be and what he was doing. Unfortunately for my parents, I was always up for a little bit of trouble and my brother was willing to jump on board. The search was on. My brother, Dad and I were on a mission to find Mr. Eaton in this vast city. My Mom was not thrilled, but luckily for us, he was one of her favorite artists too, so she gave us a little wiggle room!

As the hunt for Tristan Eaton moved forward, we as a team hit a lot of dead ends and disappointing minor leads, which ultimately landed us back to square one - still at "In Search of ... ". My brother thought he'd be funny and direct message Mr. Eaton the front end of a knock knock joke in hopes for a reply. The plan somewhat worked. We did not get an answer to our joke, but we got the next best thing ... I noticed he read the DM. An hour or so later we got our biggest breakthrough. After researching posts that have him tagged, I came across a dated post about a collaborative project between the Revolution Hotel and Mr. Eaton ... yippee! Me and my brother started doing our happy dance and our mom looked at us like we were two wild and crazy guys! My Dad got the address and in about 15 minutes we were out the door.

On our way to the Revolution Hotel we were thinking of the most clever way to surprise Mr. Eaton and at the same time, make him laugh, that's our way to break the ice. Then I remembered my brother sending Mr. Eaton that DM earlier ... we still had bright fluorescent colored pieces of card stock in the back trunk of the car. So we quickly jotted down, "would you like to hear the rest of our knock knock joke?"

When we finally arrived at the Revolution Hotel, we turned the corner and finally saw his lift. Right then and there I thought I was going to choke and lose out on this amazing opportunity. Props to my brother who doesn't get gun-shy, he grabbed the fluorescent piece of paper and held it up high in hopes for Mr. Eaton to see! When he came down to get a better look, he started snickering to himself. Mr. Eaton then asked for the rest of the joke ...

"Knock knock ... who's there? ... mustache ... mustache who? ... mustache you if you could sign our book." That's when we got Mr. Eaton laughing good, just like we planned! He signed our book, gave us some real cool stickers, and questioned us on how we found him. Long story short, we found ourselves getting a sneak peek inside of the hotel where Mr. Eaton explained how he designed all the carpets and painted the main entrance. Honestly, even though I live in Boston, I would find a way to convince my parents to let me book a room overnight so I can soak up all the creativity!

The mural that Tristan Eaton painted was inspired by the heritage of both the murals by Singer Sargent in the Boston Public Library, and Boston's role during the Revolutionary War. Inside the hotel you can find names likes Martin Luther King and George Washington stylized into Mr. Eaton's signature pop-art technique, which sums up Boston into a colorful and eye-popping perspective.

From the iconic chocolate chip cookie, to the smiley face that we see on a daily basis, this mural knows more about my hometown than myself! Below please enjoy a scavenger hunt of items with ties to Massachusetts included in the mural.

CAN YOU FIND

ALL OF THE ITEMS

IN TRISTAN EATON’S MURAL?

A. “No taxation without representation” at this famous Boston Harbor protest. (hint: it’s a symbol representing this famous Boston Harbor protest.)

B. He said ... "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"

C. This Celtics player has won 11 NBA championships and his retired jersey number is in the mural.

D. This person was the second cousin of President John Adams and a founding father

E. She was a pioneering nurse that founded the American Red Cross

F. He was the first president of the Constitutional United States of America

G. His most famous quote was a complete fabrication, as he never shouted, "The British are coming"

H. “It’s all about the _____ baby” - Sean combs ft. Notorious B.I.G, Lil’ Kim, and The Lox

I. A sombrero wearing feline

J. This Major League Baseball team sold the rights to Babe Ruth for $125,000

K. This Civil Rights movement icon had a famous "dream"

L. This has a ring but no finger

M. This Massachusetts candy company manufactured Clark Bars

N. If Cookie Monster had to choose one cookie which one would he pick?

O. A visual representation of what Abraham Lincoln helped to abolished.

P. The signature of the author from Lowell, MA wrote "On the Road"

Q. The seal that represents this 2.5 mile trail that runs from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument

R. The City of Boston considers this copyrighted and does not allow its use

S. "Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain was the first book printed using this __________, invented in Massachusetts.

T. This year is when the American Revolutionary War started

U. This emoji is usually accompanied by the phrase "Have a Nice Day" on tee shirts

V. “Veritas” is written on this school’s shield

Answer Key:

A) Boston Tea Party B) JFK C) Bill Russell, D) Samuel Adams, E) Clara Barton, F) George Washington, G) Paul Revere, H) Benjamin Franklin, I) The Cat in the Hat, J) Red Sox, K) MLK, L) Telephone, M) NECCO, N) Chocolate Chip Cookie, O) Slavery (Broken Chains), P)Jack Kerouac, Q) The Freedom Trail Seal, R) The Boston Seal, S) Typewriter, T) 1775, U) Smiley Face, V) Harvard Shield

---

At the end of the day, after I went home for the night, I realized a very valuable lesson. I learned that if you put in a little bit of dedication, hard work, or even a clever knock knock joke, you can go a long way in achieving what you set out to do! Where and who will I be "In Search Of" NEXT?