Celebrate Sail Boston ’09 with a Boston By Foot walking tour of the Boston Waterfront. Meet at the Sam Adams statue in Dock Square by Faneuil Hall on Friday, July 10th 2009. The ninety-minute tour steps off at 6 pm and will cover much of the made land that once was the waterfront in colonial days and then reach the modern waterfront with a great view of the tall ships. I will be one of the guides for this fantastic, scenic and historic walk. Admission is a mere $15 per person, $5 for members of Boston By Foot.
Official description:
The Boston Waterfront was the epicenter of the maritime economy in the New World. From Dock Square to Rowes Wharf, this walk through Boston’s mercantile history features tales of the colonial shoreline, the lore of clipper ships, and the vibrant commerce of today’s shops and restaurants.
On this tour you will walk along four centuries of Boston’s ever-changing coastline. From John Smibert’s 1742 Faneuil Hall to the modern day Rowes Wharf, this tour of discovery is filled with artifacts and clues of New England’s great seafaring heritage.
In its heyday, the Boston waterfront was a maze of docks, warehouses and wharves serving Alexander Parris’ Quincy Market and Boston’s growing Financial District. Today, tourists flock to the waterfront to experience this maritime history walking among architectural treasures such as the Custom House and the Grain Exchange Building.
The once 1,743 foot Long Wharf is a popular destination for the New England Aquarium and sightseeing among Boston’s 34 islands encompassing nearly 4,000 acres of sheltered anchorages. Long Wharf, although quite a bit smaller today, remains the oldest continuously operating wharf in the United States.
You will also see the surviving wharf buildings designed by some of the finest mid-19th century architects including Gridley J.F. Bryant and Isaiah Rogers. Newly created green spaces in Columbus Park and the Rose Kennedy Greenway provide further connections with the Boston Harbor on land once occupied by Mercantile Wharf, City Wharf, T Wharf, India Wharf and Griffin’s Wharf (where some rebels once steeped a large quantity of tea).
Take in the incredible architecture and relive Boston’s past while getting a glimpse at her future on this guided tour of Boston’s waterfront.
Panorama of the Mountains 