Boston Plans '76 Bicentennial To Draw Millions of Tourists

At least 12 million people above the usual tourist load will descend on Boston for the 1975-76 Bicentennial Celebration, the Office on the Boston Bicentennial (OBB) announced yesterday.

The celebration, to be known as "Boston 200," will run from April 18, 1975, through December 1976.

The city of Boston itself will be the exhibit, according to a statement released by the OBB. The office will attempt to encourage interest in the city through five major departments. One of these departments will create new trails similar to the existing Freedom Trail, such as a Medical Trail and a Literary Trail.

Another department will establish cultural and community celebrations such as a re-creation of the Boston Tea Party and an Italian festival in North Boston. The other departments will concentrate on physical and environmental improvements, visitor services, and economic development.

Increased Employment

A major purpose of the Bicentennial is establishment of an expanded tourist industry that will last after the festivities are over, Gerald Bush, director of the Department of Commerce and Manpower, said yesterday, adding that the tourist industry could reduce Boston's 8.2 per cent unemployment rate.

Bush said that he expects each visitor to spend an average of $50 while in Boston.

The OBB has received $260,000 from Mayor White's annual budget to cover organizational costs. The city and the OBB are currently trying to secure grants from various Federal departments, private foundations, businesses, and individuals, the statement said.

Boston officials have been meeting with representatives from Philadelphia, New York, and Washington in an inter-city effort to solve planning problems. Each city is creating its own Bicentennial program, coordinated by the American Bicentennial Commission in Washington, D.C.