Long Wharf (Boston)
Encyclopedia
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
"was the busiest pier in the busiest port in America during early colonial times." It extended nearly a half-mile into the harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
, beginning from State Street
State Street (Boston)
State Street is a major street in the financial district in Boston, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest streets in the city. The street is the site of some historic landmarks. The Faneuil Hall Marketplace can also be found nearby...
. Circa 2000 the much-shortened wharf (due to landfill on the city end) functions as a dock for passenger ferries and sightseeing boats.
History
18th century
Construction of the wharf began around 1710. As originally built the wharf extended from the shoreline adjacent to Faneuil HallFaneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall , located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of...
and was one-third of a mile long, thrusting considerably farther than other wharves into deep water and thus allowing larger ships to tie up and unload directly to new warehouses and stores. "Constructed by Captain Oliver Noyes, it was lined with warehouses and served as the focus of Boston's great harbor." Over time the water areas surrounding the landward end of the wharf were reclaimed, including the areas now occupied by Quincy Market
Quincy Market
Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed 1824–1826 and named in honor of Mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt.-History:...
and the Customs House
Boston Custom House
The Custom House in Boston, Massachusetts, was established in the 17th century and stood near the waterfront in several successive locations through the years. In 1849 the U.S. federal government constructed a neoclassical building on State Street; it remains the "Custom House" known to Bostonians...
.
"At the wharf's head in the 18th c. was the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern
Bunch-of-Grapes
The Bunch-of-Grapes was a tavern located on King Street in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 17th and 18th centuries. Typical of taverns of the time, it served multiple functions in the life of the town. One could buy drinks, concert tickets, slaves; meet friends, business associates, political...
. The painter John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
spent his childhood on the wharf, where his mother had a tobacco shop." The 1760s Gardiner Building, once home to John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
's counting house
Counting house
A counting house, or compting house, literally is the building, room, office or suite in which a business firm carries on operations, particularly accounting. By a synecdoche, it has come to mean the accounting operations of a firm, however housed...
and now a restaurant, is the wharf's oldest surviving structure.
19th century
Among several similar structures, a warehouse known as Custom House BlockCustom House Block (Boston)
Custom House Block in Boston, Massachusetts is a former warehouse located on Long Wharf, at the end of State Street. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the four-story building, constructed of granite and brick...
was built in 1848 atop the wharf; it has survived into the 21st century. In the late 1860s, Atlantic Avenue
Atlantic Avenue (Boston)
Atlantic Avenue is a street in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA, partly serving as a frontage road for the underground Central Artery and partly running along the Boston Harbor...
was cut through this and other wharves, changing the face of the waterfront.
20th century
The construction of the elevated Central ArteryCentral Artery
The John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, known locally as the Central Artery, is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, designated as Interstate 93, U.S. Route 1 and Route 3. It was initially constructed in the 1950s as a partly elevated and partly tunneled divided highway...
along Atlantic Avenue in the 1950s separated Long Wharf from Boston's business district.
21st century
The recent Big Dig has put the Central Artery below ground level, thus going some way toward restoring the original close relationship between Long Wharf and downtown. Since ca.1990, Long Wharf has been transformed from a failing commercial waterfront area into a recreational and cultural center.As of ca.2006, Long Wharf is adjacent to the New England Aquarium
New England Aquarium
The New England Aquarium is an aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts.In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November...
, and is served by the Aquarium station
Aquarium (MBTA station)
Aquarium Station of the MBTA, is a station on the Blue Line, serving the New England Aquarium and Boston's Financial District. The station has high vaulted ceilings similar to stations of the Paris and Washington Metros. Above ground, the exits are located in the Financial District at Atlantic...
on MBTA's
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
Blue Line
Blue Line (MBTA)
The Blue Line is one of four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority serving Downtown, East Boston and the North Shore. It runs from northeast to southwest, extending from Wonderland station in Revere, Massachusetts to Bowdoin station near Beacon Hill in Boston...
subway. MBTA boat services
MBTA boat
The MBTA Boat system is a public boat service providing water transport in the Greater Boston area via Boston Harbor. Both inner harbor and longer distance commuter ferries are operated...
link the wharf to the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
in Charlestown
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
, Hull
Hull, Massachusetts
Hull is a peninsula town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,293 at the 2010 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the fourth smallest in the state...
, and Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. Other passenger ferry services operate to the islands of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some...
, and to the cities of Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
and Provincetown
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
. Cruise boats operate various cruises around the harbour. The wharf itself is occupied by a hotel, several restaurants and shops. At the seaward end, there is a large plaza with extensive views of the harbor. Now much shortened by land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
at its landward end, today it serves as the principal terminus for cruise boats and harbor ferries operating on Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
.
Services
- MBTA BoatMBTA boatThe MBTA Boat system is a public boat service providing water transport in the Greater Boston area via Boston Harbor. Both inner harbor and longer distance commuter ferries are operated...
(north side) - Ferries to the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation AreaBoston Harbor Islands National Recreation AreaThe Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some...
(north side) - Ferry to Salem, MassachusettsSalem, MassachusettsSalem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
(north side) - Ferry to Provincetown, MassachusettsProvincetown, MassachusettsProvincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
- Water taxiWater taxiA water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...
- New England AquariumNew England AquariumThe New England Aquarium is an aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts.In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November...
harbor tours (south side) - Aquarium itself is on Central Wharf to the immediate south - Various harbor cruises
- Docks for private vessels
See also
- Custom House Block (Boston)Custom House Block (Boston)Custom House Block in Boston, Massachusetts is a former warehouse located on Long Wharf, at the end of State Street. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the four-story building, constructed of granite and brick...
, built 1848 on Long Wharf - Custom House DistrictCustom House DistrictCustom House District is a historic district in Boston, Massachusetts located between the Fitzgerald Expressway and Kirby Sreet and South Market and High and Batterymarch Streets...
, area near Long Wharf - Boston Custom HouseBoston Custom HouseThe Custom House in Boston, Massachusetts, was established in the 17th century and stood near the waterfront in several successive locations through the years. In 1849 the U.S. federal government constructed a neoclassical building on State Street; it remains the "Custom House" known to Bostonians...
, built 1849 on State Street - State Street Block (Boston)State Street Block (Boston)State Street Block is a granite building near the waterfront in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Architect Gridley James Fox Bryant designed it. In the 1850s "the Long and Central Wharf Corporation .....
, built 1857 on State Street
External links
- Google news archive. Articles about Long Wharf.
- Harvard Business School. Proprietors of the Boston Pier, or Long Wharf records, 1762-1903