Tremont Street
Encyclopedia
Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston
, Massachusetts
.
, with its single peak, is all that remains of the Trimountain. Much of the Trimountain was removed, and the earth used as fill to expand the Shawmut Peninsula
. The two smaller peaks, Cotton Hill (or Pemberton Hill) and Mt. Whoredom (or Mt. Vernon, formerly at the location of the modern-day Louisburg Square
) no longer exist. The central peak, Sentry Hill, now called Beacon Hill, is smaller than the original peak, which reached approximately to the height of the top of the State House
.
A British military map of Boston from 1775, prepared by a Lieut. Sir Thomas Hyde Page
of His Majesty's Corps of Engineers, shows Beacon Hill, Mount Whoredom, and another un-named hill all just above Beacon Street. There is a small street on the northeast corner of Boston Common
called "Treamount Street" from School Street to Hanover Street, the precursor of modern Tremont Street, running north from what was then called Common Street (modern Tremont Street alongside the eastern border of Boston Common).
in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly southwesterly direction, it passes through Boston's Theatre District, crosses the Massachusetts Turnpike
, and becomes a broad boulevard
in the South End neighborhood. It then turns to the west, running through Mission Hill and terminating at Brigham Circle
, where it intersects Huntington Avenue.
Sites of interest along Tremont Street, from northeast to southwest, include:
runs underneath the street. Opened in 1897, it was the first subway tunnel in North America and still carries the MBTA Green Line.
The Green Line stops in three places under Tremont Street:
Former tenants:
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...
.
Etymology
The name is a variation of one of the original appellations of the city, "Trimountaine," a reference to a hill that formerly had three peaks. Beacon HillBeacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts
Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, that along with the neighboring Back Bay is home to about 26,000 people. It is a neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses and is known for its narrow, gas-lit streets and brick sidewalks...
, with its single peak, is all that remains of the Trimountain. Much of the Trimountain was removed, and the earth used as fill to expand the Shawmut Peninsula
Shawmut Peninsula
Shawmut Peninsula is the promontory of land on which Boston, Massachusetts was built. The peninsula, originally a mere in area, more than doubled in size due to land reclamation efforts, a feature of the history of Boston throughout the 19th century....
. The two smaller peaks, Cotton Hill (or Pemberton Hill) and Mt. Whoredom (or Mt. Vernon, formerly at the location of the modern-day Louisburg Square
Louisburg Square
Louisburg Square is a private square located in the Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Boston. It was named for the 1745 Battle of Louisbourg, in which Massachusetts militiamen led by William Pepperrell, who was made the first American baronet for his role, sacked the French...
) no longer exist. The central peak, Sentry Hill, now called Beacon Hill, is smaller than the original peak, which reached approximately to the height of the top of the State House
Massachusetts State House
The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the "New" State House, is the state capitol and house of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in Boston in the neighborhood Beacon Hill...
.
A British military map of Boston from 1775, prepared by a Lieut. Sir Thomas Hyde Page
Thomas Hyde Page
Sir Thomas Hyde Page, FRS was a decorated British military engineer and cartographer for the English crown.In 1777 he married Susanna, widow of Edmund Bastard of Kitley, Devon, and sister of Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey, baronet. In 1783 he married Mary Albinia Sir Thomas Hyde Page, FRS (1746–1821)...
of His Majesty's Corps of Engineers, shows Beacon Hill, Mount Whoredom, and another un-named hill all just above Beacon Street. There is a small street on the northeast corner of Boston Common
Boston Common
Boston Common is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street,...
called "Treamount Street" from School Street to Hanover Street, the precursor of modern Tremont Street, running north from what was then called Common Street (modern Tremont Street alongside the eastern border of Boston Common).
Route
Tremont Street begins at Government CenterGovernment Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Government Center is an area in downtown Boston, bounded by Cambridge, Court, Congress, and Sudbury Streets. Formerly the site of Scollay Square, it is now the location of Boston City Hall, two Suffolk County courthouses, two state office buildings, and two federal office buildings, a major MBTA...
in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly southwesterly direction, it passes through Boston's Theatre District, crosses the Massachusetts Turnpike
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
, and becomes a broad boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
in the South End neighborhood. It then turns to the west, running through Mission Hill and terminating at Brigham Circle
Brigham Circle (MBTA station)
Brigham Circle is a trolley-train stop on the "E" branch of the MBTA's Green Line in Boston, MA. Along with the Longwood Station, it is the closest stop to Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and the rest of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, all of which are within a...
, where it intersects Huntington Avenue.
Landmarks
- Government CenterGovernment Center, Boston, MassachusettsGovernment Center is an area in downtown Boston, bounded by Cambridge, Court, Congress, and Sudbury Streets. Formerly the site of Scollay Square, it is now the location of Boston City Hall, two Suffolk County courthouses, two state office buildings, and two federal office buildings, a major MBTA...
- King's ChapelKing's ChapelKing's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
- Tremont TempleTremont TempleThe Tremont Temple on 88 Tremont Street is a Baptist church in Boston, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, USA. The existing structure opened in May 1896 and was designed by architect Clarence Blackall.-History:...
- Suffolk University Law SchoolSuffolk University Law SchoolSuffolk University Law School, also known as Suffolk Law School or SULS, is one of the professional graduate schools of Suffolk University. Suffolk University Law School is a private, non-sectarian, law school located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Suffolk University Law School was founded in...
- Granary Burying GroundGranary Burying GroundFounded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five...
- Park Street ChurchPark Street ChurchThe Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts is an active Conservative Congregational Church at the corner of Tremont Street and Park Street. The church is currently pastored by Gordon P. Hugenberger.-History:...
- Boston Common
- Boston Theatre District
- Wang Center for the Performing ArtsWang Center for the Performing ArtsThe Citi Performing Arts Center is located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It consists of two theatres, Wang Theatre and Shubert Theatre, both of which are neighbors, on Tremont Street, in Boston's Theatre District...
- Boston Center for the ArtsBoston Center for the ArtsThe Boston Center for the Arts is a 501 nonprofit visual and performing arts complex in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The BCA houses several performance and rehearsal spaces, restaurants, a gallery, the headquarters of the Boston Ballet, the Community Music Center of Boston...
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica
Transportation links
The Tremont Street SubwayTremont Street Subway
The Tremont Street Subway is a tunnel in Boston's subway system, and is the oldest subway tunnel in North America, opening on September 1, 1897. It was originally built as a tunnel to get streetcar lines off the streets, rather than a rapid transit line...
runs underneath the street. Opened in 1897, it was the first subway tunnel in North America and still carries the MBTA Green Line.
The Green Line stops in three places under Tremont Street:
- Government CenterGovernment Center (MBTA station)Government Center is an MBTA subway station and a transfer point between the Green Line and the Blue Line. It is located at the intersection of Tremont, Court and Cambridge Streets in the Government Center area of Boston.-History:...
- Park StreetPark Street (MBTA station)Park Street is a rapid transit and light rail station of the MBTA subway system in Downtown Boston. One of the four subway hub stations, Park Street is a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. Park Street is the fourth-busiest station in the MBTA network, with an average of 19,836 entries...
- BoylstonBoylston (MBTA station)Boylston is a station on the Green Line light rail service of the MBTA rapid transport network, and is located on the southeast corner of Boston Common at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont Streets.-Location:...
See also
- Cathedral Church of St. Paul, BostonCathedral Church of St. Paul, BostonThe Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston is the historic cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Located at 138 Tremont Street near Downtown Crossing, directly across from Boston Common and Park Street Station, the cathedral is adjacent to the diocesan offices. The current dean...
Former tenants:
- Boston Museum (theatre)Boston Museum (theatre)The Boston Museum , also called the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, was a theatre, wax museum, natural history museum, zoo, and art museum in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts...
- Columbian MuseumColumbian MuseumThe Columbian Museum was a museum and performance space in Boston, Massachusetts, established by Daniel Bowen, and continued by William M. S. Doyle. The museum featured artworks, natural history specimens, wax figures, and other curiosities....
- De Vries, Ibarra & Co.De Vries, Ibarra & Co.De Vries, Ibarra & Co. were "importers of paintings, engravings, bronzes, and works of art in general," "publishers of busts and statuary," and "importers and publishers of books in foreign languages." Based in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1860s the firm kept a shop in the Albion Hotel building...
- Gleason's Publishing HallFrederick GleasonFrederick Gleason was a publisher in Boston, Massachusetts in the mid-19th century. He is best known for establishing the popular illustrated weekly Gleason's Pictorial, at the time an innovation in American publishing...
- Louis P. GoullaudLouis P. GoullaudLouis P. Goullaud published and sold music in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. In the 1860s he worked for "Koppitz, Pruefer & Co." With Asa W. White and Edward W. White -- as the firm "White & Goullaud" -- he sold musical instruments and published sheet music...
- Gardiner GreeneGardiner GreeneGardiner Greene was a merchant from Boston, Massachusetts who conducted business in Demerara in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Socially prominent in the town of Boston, he owned a house, greenhouse, and garden filled with fruit trees and peacocks on Cotton Hill, opposite Scollay Square...
- Haymarket Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)Haymarket Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)The Haymarket Theatre or Hay-Market Theatre was a theatre in late-18th century Boston, Massachusetts. Organized by Charles Stuart Powell, it occupied a large, wooden building "opposite the Mall on Common Street, near Hatch's Tavern." In addition to dramatic plays, the theatre presented some 62...
- Mason & Hamlin
- S.S. Pierce Co.S.S. PierceSamuel Stillman Pierce was a grocer in Boston, Massachusetts, who established the S.S. Pierce company in 1831.-Biography:Samuel Stillman Pierce was born in Cedar Grove, Dorchester, in 1807. In 1836, he married Ellen Maria Wallis. They had 8 children. The family lived in the South End and...
- Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of BostonProvident Institution for Savings in the Town of BostonThe Provident Institution for Savings in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first chartered savings bank in the United States. James Savage and others founded the bank on the belief that "savings banks would enable the less fortunate classes of society to better themselves in a manner which would...
- Studio Building (Boston, Massachusetts)Studio Building (Boston, Massachusetts)The Studio Building on Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts, housed artists' studios, theatre companies and other businesses in the 19th century. It "held the true Bohemia of Boston, where artists and literati delighted to gather." Among the tenants were portraitist E.T...
, no.110 Tremont - Tremont House (Boston)
- William VerstilleWilliam VerstilleWilliam Verstille was an American artist who worked in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. He specialized in portraits. Examples of his artwork reside in the collections of the Harvard Art Museum, Massachusetts Historical Society, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, New York...
, portraitist - Washington Gardens (Boston)Washington Gardens (Boston)Washington Gardens was a place of public entertainment and refreshment in early 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Also known as Vauxhall, it specialized in fireworks, circuses, musical and theatrical performances, pictorial exhibitions, and the occasional balloonist and necromancer. John H...
Further reading
- Views of Tremont Street, Boston. Bulletin of the Boston Public Library, 1894.
External links
- "Tremont Street in the Rain, Boston, Massachusetts, undated". Historic New England. Photographer: Unknown
- http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007661063
- http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007661071
- Flickr. Photo of elevated railroad on Tremont St. at Granary, ca. early 20th c. Includes view of Horticultural Hall. Courtesy of Bostonian Society.
