Our History
Timeline
- 1976
Boston by Foot is Founded - 1977
First class graduates at City Hall with 56 graduates - 1977
Centers of Government & Business Old & New (later Heart of the Freedom Trail) begins as regular tour - 1977
Beacon Hill begins as regular tour - 1978
Boston By Little Feet begins as a regular tour - 1978
First Boston By Foot graduation at Old North Church - 1980
Beacon Hill begins first Halloween tour - 1980
Big Foot Labor day tour begins - 1981
Slide program "The Four Shapes of Boston" debuts - 1981
Boston By Foot celebrates 5th Anniversary
Tour attendance of 4,215 - 1982
Boston Society of Architects recognizes BBF's founder, Polly Flansburgh, with honorary membership - 1986
Boston By Foot celebrates 10th Anniversary
Tour attendance of 4,625 - 1986
Johnny Tremain's Boston begins - 1989
First Candace Ahearn Memorial Award - 1990
Boston By Foot office gets its first computer - 1991
Record breaking Big Foot Tour – Unabridged Cantabridge (148) - Tour attendance of 6,0221991
Boston By Foot celebrates 15th Anniversary - 1994
The Waterfront begins as a regular tour - 1995
Slide program "The Reshaping of Boston" debuts - 1995
Boston By Foot joins Harborfest - 1996
Boston By Foot receives the Institute Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects. - 1996
Boston Underground (later Reinventing Boston) begins as a regular tour - 1996
Boston By Foot celebrates 20th Anniversary
Tour attendance of 5,823 - 1996
Boston By Foot launches website - 1998
Footloose on the Freedom Trail debuts at Harborfest - 1999
Record breaking Tour of the Month - Big Dig (358) - 2001
Boston By Foot celebrates 25th Anniversary
Tour attendance of 10,163 - 2002
The South End begins as a regular tour - 2004
Literary Landmarks (later Hub of Literary America) begins as a regular tour - 2006
Boston By Foot celebrates 30th Anniversary
Tour attendance of 8,533 - 2009
Flansburgh Travel Fellowship begins - 2009
Record breaking Halloween tour (380) - 2010
Volunteer Book Club "Boston By Book" debuts - 2010
Dark Side begins as a regular tour - 2011
Boston By Foot celebrates 35th Anniversary
Tour attendance of 13,184 - 2012
True Lies and False Facts: A Questionable Tour of Boston begins - 2012
Architecture Cruise begins as a regular tour - 2013
Road to Revolution begins as a regular tour - 2014
Boston By Foot honors Polly Flansburgh with a plaque at Angell Memorial Park - 2014
Polly Flansburgh receives an honorary Doctorate Degree in Community Engagement from the Boston Architectural College - 2014
Boston By Foot debuts at the Boston Book Festival - 2015
Record breaking tour attendance 15,027 - 2016
Boston By Foot celebrates 40th Anniversary - 2017
New Docent Emeritus position created to honor the contributions of longtime volunteers and enable them to have a lifetime connection to the organization after they have decided to end their active involvement - 2018
The Board of Trustees creates a Legacy Circle, welcoming generous individuals who choose to contribute to BBF through a bequest, or by naming BBF as a beneficiary of a retirement fund or life insurance, or other type of planned future gift - 2019
"A Sail Through Time" is launched in partnership with the Liberty Fleet of Tall Ships - 2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of in-person walking tours, BBF launches a series of Virtual Programs. These programs now continue annually every January through March - 2020
A cross-organizational team of staff, volunteers and trustees is formed, devoted to IDEA — Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access — an acronym chosen because it puts ‘inclusion’ first and includes ‘access’, an important component of our work to provide better service and consideration for all - 2021
A new and highly successful style of volunteer training is launched. This new hybrid model includes virtual sessions, workshops, and discussions, as well as flexibly-timed demonstration tours and public speaking activities which happen in person and outdoors - 2023
Expanded our successful Library Membership Program and reimagined it as a Community Pass Program, which in its first year, welcomed more than 400 adults, school children, and college students in Greater Boston at a discounted rate - 2024
BBF begins offering free tours in languages other than English. Non-English language tours have been presented by BBF guides in French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish - 2025
Thanks to generous support from Age Strong Boston, Boston By Foot launches Wisdom Walks, a walking tour program created especially for older adults - 2026
Boston By Foot celebrates 50th Anniversary
