Walking Tours : New for 2023
Becoming Back Bay
Travel through Boston's Back Bay, a marvel of 19th Century civil engineering

Boston Public Library
Take a trip through the Back Bay neighborhood and learn where Back Bay started, how it evolved, and where it is today. Discover why and how the Bay was filled, and peek into the homes of the Victorian residents and their servants. Learn what made Back Bay such an engineering marvel in its time.
On this tour, explore why the filling of the bay was considered the most ambitious civil engineering achievement in nineteenth-century America, and uncover how it was a landmark event of urban planning in every sense of the term.
This tour is not currently available as a private tour.
Starting Location
Meet your guide in the Public Garden in front of the George Washington statue facing Arlington Street
Finding Your Guide: All guides carry an 8×11 sign that says “Boston By Foot Walking Tours.”
Nearest Accessible MBTA Station: Arlington (Green Line)
Ending Location
This tour ends in the general area of 191 Commonwealth Ave.
Nearest Accessible MBTA Station: Copley (Green Line)