Tonight, Boston celebrates the 250th anniversary of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. While Revere famously rowed across the Charles River and rode by horse from Charlestown to Lexington and Concord, his counterpart William Dawes set out through the Boston Neck, riding through Roxbury, Brookline, Brighton, and Cambridge.

Today, Revere might’ve taken the Red Line from Downtown to Alweife and then the 62 or 76 to Lexington and Concord. Dawes, on the other hand, could’ve boarded the 66 bus—still running through much of his original route—and gotten his message across town with the tap of a CharlieCard.

Our city, which helped invent America, celebrates its enduring role in creating, nurturing, and defending democracy. Then and now, the journey matters—and so does the message.