Prince the Cat, King of Boston's North End
The North End of Boston is the oldest neighborhood in the city, attracting millions of visitors annually to some of its notable landmarks including the Old North Church, Copp's Hill Burying Ground and Paul Revere's house. More than 10,000 residents live within 1/3 square mile on this waterfront area of Boston
One of the attractions that has become increasingly popular since 2009 is Prince the Cat. Prince was adopted by his owner, John Sullivan, who operates the Prince Postale, a shipping and supplies store on Prince Street.
As Prince grew older, he began to discover the streets, fire escapes, alleys, doorways and apartments of the North End. He quickly made many friends and became a common sight all around the North End, and specifically his favorite place - the Old North Church and Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Tourists from all over the world would snap photos of Prince in his kingdom, posting on social media and generating a following for this little black cat who roamed the historic sights.
Soon, Prince became an attraction himself. He spent his days "working" at the Old North Church and patrolling Copp's Hill, sometimes giving a scare to unsuspecting tourists in the graveyard!
He also worked in the gift shop...
Gave sermons...
Greeted visitors...
Acted as a tour guide...
And even participated in the choir!
Prince inspired the hashtag #wheresprince created by other staff members at the Old North Church, leaving Instagram followers demanding more Prince! Prince was happy to oblige to his stardom, and took his celebrity very seriously. He was very proud of the North End and worked tirelessly to keep the streets free of vermon and rouge birds.
Prince Sullivan, 6, of Boston's North End passed away on March 22. Prince was the resident cat at Prince Postale on Prince Street. Prince was born in Somerville, (2009) MA and adopted by John, his care giver, at three months old. When Prince was 2 and half years old, he began to discover the streets, fire escapes, alleys, doorways and apartments of the North End. He quickly made many friends. Prince enjoyed visiting the Old North Church and Gift Shop every day and venture up Hull Street to the Copp's Hill Burial Ground. He was an accomplished bird hunter and rodent killer. Prince's popularity at the Old North Church spawned a Prince stuffed animal and ornament for sale at the Old North Gift Shop and Prince Postale. He also had an app created in his name called Prince's Prowl where tourist can navigate the campus of the Old North Church and have Prince as their guide. Prince was an informal ambassador to the visitors on the Freedom Trail and has been touched and photographed by people from all over the world. You can see some of the many photos on Pinterest and Twitter #wheresprince. Prince was a very unique animal with his own personality. He is survived by his care giver John Sullivan, sister Chica and his uncle Gabe. Prince Postale and the North End will never be the same without him and he is already greatly missed. An informal notice will be placed on Prince Postale Facebook page. We say thank you to everyone that was kind to Prince and to all animals.
Since the announcement of his passing, John has seen an outpouring of condolences, photos and messages from all over the world of those who adored Prince and revere him as a North End icon.
A memorial service for Prince will be held at the Old North Church next Tuesday, March 29 at 6:00 pm. All of Prince's friends and followers are invited. The simple service will consist of a few prayers and scripture readings and time for all of Prince's friends to share their favorite Prince stories.
Prince will be sorely missed by John and the rest of his North End family, as well as by the millions of visitors whose lives he touched.
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