Category: neighborhood (24)

The Seaport and Fort Point, two waterfront neighborhoods with the same roots but that look and feel completely different. How did the Seaport turn from a tidal marsh to the newest, hottest part of Boston with gleaming glass towers, high-end restaurants, luxe shopping, and some of the most expensive real estate in town? While only steps away is the historic, architecturally distinct urban loft neighborhood of Fort Point? Answer these questions and more on this tour as we walk through time from the late 19th century to today exploring the history of these two unique neighborhoods. Learn about how Summer Street was once the center of the wool trade in the United States and about how the Seaport became Boston’s “Innovation District. ” find out more

Join Boston By Foot to explore one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in Boston! The South End was Boston's first big land-making project designed for new housing for Boston's growing upper class. It is based on an English plan, with lovely parks and squares framed by rows of houses. The layout and early South End homes were inspired by Charles Bulfinch, the great architect of the Massachusetts State House. In the 19th century, the waters of the South Bay gave way to new land for Boston. The South End was envisioned to be the finest of neighborhoods and its grandeur can still be experienced. One of the largest collections of Victorian architecture in the country, the latter parts of the 1800s brought a wonderful array of brick row houses of many different architectural styles to the South End. After Back Bay provided a newer and more fashionable place to live, the South End evolved into an area occupied by many different immigrant groups. Major institutions, like the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Boston City Hospital, came into the South End to serve these new populations. Now known for its wonderful restaurants, funky boutiques, artist lofts and theaters, there is so much to see and explore in this neighborhood. find out more

Look into the past for a tour of Boston’s Old West End. Once a thriving multi-cultural neighborhood representing 23 nationalities, The West End was transformed during a Government-sponsored Urban Renewal Program starting in the late 1950s and lasting through the 1960s. The project displaced over 2,500 families amounting to over 10,000 people. Concurrently, the City Hall Plaza project (through separate funding) forced the demise of Scollay Square - the commercial, entertainment and cultural center of the neighborhood. Lost were relics such as the Old Howard, The Boston Museum (think P. T. Barnum), and the Elizabeth Peabody House. In its place, just a few small plaques commemorate 300 years of lost history. Highlights include: The West End Museum, The Last Tenement Standing, The West End Settlement House, The Old West End Church, The West End Library, Bowdoin Square and Scollay Square. This tour encompasses the old neighborhood and recreates the fabric of the era before Urban Renewal and City Hall Plaza. find out more

Everyone knows MIT as a Cambridge institution with a global reputation. But for its first 55 years, MIT called the Back Bay home. 101 years ago, MIT made the move from Back Bay to Cambridge. Join us as we trace “Boston Tech” from its founding to its relocation across the Charles River. This tour will feature some of the sites of the original Back Bay campus while discussing the drivers and the drama leading to the construction of its new campus. find out more

See two of Brookline's most delightful neighborhoods. Longwood and Cottage Farm provide a quiet, bucolic setting apart from its urban borders. This walking tour showcases a remarkable collection of romantic English country style cottages and picturesque churches. Founded by two families, the Sears and Lawrence families, as places where they and their friends could live, these two historic districts boast beautiful homes, several 19^th century churches, and a surprise or two, such as one of the first International Style homes built in the Boston area, and the home of the subjects of one of the most well-loved paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts The Longwood and Cottage Farm historic districts span some 119 acres and are comprised of sophisticated suburban homes and cottages designed in the Gothic Revival, Mansard, Queen Anne, and Georgian Revival architectural styles. find out more

The Jewish history of Boston is somewhat different than the other early port cities of the eastern United States. Few Jews lived in Boston in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and a permanent Jewish community didn’t establish itself here until the 1840s. The wave of migration from Eastern Europe of the late 19^th century greatly enlarged the Jewish community of Boston, and many of the new immigrants of this period ended up living in the North End. This historic residential neighborhood also includes links to the lives of Jewish Bostonians from earlier centuries as well. This tour will explore some of the stories of Boston’s Jewish experience from the 17^th century through the early 20^th century. find out more

This walking tour is inspired by Samuel Eliot Morison's childhood memoir One Boy's Boston . Discover Morison's neighborhood on this tour through one of Boston's least known and most delightful areas. The Flat of Beacon Hill is built on 19th century-made land along the Charles River. The Flat is geologically part of Back Bay and culturally part of Beacon Hill, with the architecture of both. This intimate patch of real estate soon acquired carriage houses and horse stables owned by the wealthy families living on Beacon Hill. Today, many of these edifices have been converted into charming residences and seamlessly blend among the notable landmarks such as the Charles Street Meeting House, the Church of the Advent, and the Sunflower Castle . What do Sam Mayday Malone, a private-eye named Spenser, and a Fox Terrier named Igloo have in common? They all know the Flat is where it's at! find out more

Learn about the vibrant neighborhood of Davis Square. An eclectic mix of the old and new, the once commercial area of West Somerville is now a rich mix of theaters, restaurants, shops, artists, and students and listed as one of the hippest places to live in the United States. find out more

On this guided tour, explore how Boston’s back bay was filled in to become one of the United States’ richest collections of art and architecture. The treasures of this Back Bay tour include Trinity Church, the Boston Public Library, Old South Church and grand Back Bay townhouses. Walk back in time to uncover splendid examples of Victorian architecture. find out more

Join us to explore the rich past, present and future of Boston’s Leather District, nestled between South Station and Chinatown. Once part of South Cove and largely built after Boston’s Great Fire of 1872, this commercial district was the hub of New England’s leather and shoe industries at the turn of the 20th century. Walk past handsome historic brick and stone buildings, some with fanciful details honoring the cattle the leather trade depended on. We’ll also introduce you to Boston’s first dog catcher, celebrate America’s Community Health Center movement, and salute South Street Diner, an enduring favorite of clubgoers and other night owls. The tour begins and ends at South Station, another star of our story with an outsized impact on the fortunes of the Leather District and one of several high-rise development sites that now hover at its edge. find out more

Upham’s Corner is one of Boston’s oldest crossroads. Join us to explore this fascinating section of Dorchester. Find out why part of the Emerald Necklace did not get built here as planned. Learn about Amos Upham and what inspired him to open his store in 1804. And why Upham’s Corner was home to the country’s first supermarket. See Dorchester’s oldest cemetery, the North Burying Ground, as we talk about exciting future plans for this neighborhood in the Imagine Boston 2030 plan. This tour is presented in partnership with Upham's Corner Main Street , an organization whose mission is to improve quality of life in the Upham’s Corner business district by helping neighborhood businesses thrive. find out more

Walk along South Boston’s main Broadway on this guided tour, exploring how the neighborhood has played a major part in Boston’s history. View many beautiful buildings and their architectural styles as we walk. See the oldest street clock in Boston at the former site of Blinstrub’s Village, and learn how the occupation of Dorchester Heights led to the evacuation of the British troops from Boston during the American Revolution. Visit the former sites of manufacturing companies that once dotted the neighborhood and played a key role in Boston’s economy. Learn how South Boston’s churches were built as places of worship for the many immigrants who came to this neighborhood. Finish the tour in Medal of Honor/ “M” Street Park where you can see the first Vietnam Memorial in the United States. find out more

Discover East Boston’s rich history and dynamic present by exploring the neighborhood of Maverick Square, East Boston’s oldest commercial center. Trace its roots back to Noddle’s Island and learn how the East Boston Company created a planned community that became today’s vibrant and diverse East Boston. This tour will examine the built environment, from the 1833 street grid laid to the new waterfront developments, to get a sense of the people and forces that have shaped East Boston. And discuss the crucial role of the waterfront, from its famed shipbuilding industry and extensive port facilities, to its contribution to East Boston’s proud immigrant heritage. Encounter the many forms of transportation that have shaped the development of East Boston, from the ferries that first brought people to the island, to the 20th century subway and vehicular tunnels, as we make our way to the marvelous Bremen Street Park across from the Airport T station. This tour is presented in partnership with the Boston Preservation Alliance , a nonprofit organization that protects and improves the quality of Boston's distinct architectural heritage through advocacy and education. find out more

In the last decade, the Bulfinch Triangle has been transformed from a hub of transportation and entertainment to a neighborhood with a growing number of residents and a place on Boston’s skyline. While our walk includes the historic landscape of the Mill Pond and the early 19th century street plan, we'll focus on the cycles of use since then. We will walk across the Triangle, exploring the area's industrial architecture and the transit elements that have shaped it. You'll see how the area continues to change today and how adaptive reuse is giving this former industrial district new life. find out more

During the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century, Boston's Back Bay was alive with social clubs and thriving cultural institutions. On this tour we will explore the favorite haunts of Boston's upper-class, often known as "Boston Brahmins. " Though "Brahmins" had a reputation for being exclusive and elitist, many of these men and women were active in making our city—and the whole nation—a better place to live. They fought to abolish slavery and to recognize women’s rights, and they built libraries, colleges, museums and orchestras. Though this elite generation of wealthy activists was often philanthropic, on this tour we’ll also discuss their limitations and shortcomings. find out more

Join us on a 90-minute walking tour exploring the city's rebirth after the Great Fire of 1872. Follow the route of the progression of the Great Fire, a disaster in Boston's commercial district that proved more costly than the legendary Chicago Fire the year before. Hear how the city's architectural design contributed to the spread and speed of the devastating conflagration, and learn how these fires reformed our fire prevention policies in America. find out more

From the beginning, the presence of the North and South Slopes of Beacon Hill have each had an important effect on the history and development of the other. We will explore the many different people who lived here and contributed to the story of Beacon Hill, including the Native Massachusett people, Boston’s African American community, Gay and Lesbian community, and 19th century immigrant populations. We will see some of Boston’s handsomest nineteenth century houses, and hear about the fascinating lives of the people who lived in them. find out more

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. find out more

Journey to Beacon Hill’s North Slope at the turn of the 20th century. Explore the lives of its Jewish residents during a period of cultural and architectural change. Uncover how Boston’s Jewish immigrants created an active community that blended customs from Eastern Europe and changes to the new world around them. Discover sites where Boston’s Jewish West End residents worked, lived and worshiped, including the sites of three synagogues within a few blocks of each other. NEW! Special Two-Hour Jewish History Tour - Jewish Beacon Hill & The Vilna Shul Join us on any of the following Sundays in 2023 for a unique two-hour Jewish History program that includes both Boston By Foot's guided Jewish Beacon Hill tour and a guided tour of The Vilna Shul: June 11 July 9 August 13 September 10October 1 November 12 This special Jewish History tour is open to all and is presented in collaboration with The Vilna Shul . Registration is limited to 20 people per guide. BBF members receive a $5 discount. find out more

Explore Boston’s oldest neighborhood, the North End, with our knowledgeable guide. Discover the charm of this unique, compact city space that has been home to immigrants for 400 years. Learn what brought waves of people from Ireland, Eastern Europe, and Italy to the North End; the difficulties they faced when they arrived; and how they made a difference in their new home! This tour begins at the waterfront and weaves through Boston’s famous ‘crooked and narrow’ streets. It will end in the heart of the North End, the perfect spot to enjoy an Italian treat after the tour! 2023 Member Add-Ons: Register for the tour on select dates using your membership code for a free tour Add-On option available to members - Sat May 13 add on a guided visit to the Holocaust Memorial after the tour- Fri July 21 add on a guided visit to Armenian Heritage Park after the tour- Sun Aug 20 add on a guided visit to Armenian Heritage Park after the tour- Sun Oct 15 add on a guided visit to the Holocaust Memorial after the tour Become a Boston By Foot member today to enjoy free tours and special members events and activities. find out more

The Kendall Square area has exploded with new development and is one of the hottest commercial real estate markets in the country. A center for innovation, it boasts offices for Google, Akamai, Biogen, Microsoft, Facebook, and more. This recent boom has been accompanied by the construction of new living spaces, restaurants, and hotels. In the early 20th century, Kendall Square was home to distilleries, electric power plants, soap and hosiery factories, and the Kendal Boiler and Tank Company. It remained MIT’s industrial backyard after it arrived in 1916. Once ​planned to be the home of NASA's Electronics Research Center, Kendall Square was a ghost town by the 1980s. Today, it boasts a thriving live/work/play environment that is integrated with its academic neighbor and home to many startups. find out more