Harbor Walk -2013

Bostonians have always had a love-hate relationship with Boston Harbor and the waterfront. We     Alternately embrace it and shun it; thrive on its wealth and beauty and then pollute and isolate it.  But the bond remains. Over the past 30 years we've started to better appreciate the treasure in our backyard.  The wharves are being reborn to lure people back, along with the allure of the aquarium, restaurants, housing, and hotels. The Harbor Islands, forgotten treasures, have been rediscovered.  In the past ten years pollution has been cut to a fraction of its former levels.  And of course the Central Artery has been replaced with parkland, reknitting the city and the waterfront.  To see it all, there 's the Harborwalk, hugging the water's edge along much of the waterfront, offering views of the harbor up close. 

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The Harborwalk

Harbor Towers: Designed by I.M. Pei in 1971 -
Built on India Wharf.

 

has changed as it winds through the city's waterfront neighborhoods and downtown district, stretching from Chelsea Creek to the Neponset River, through East Boston, Charlestown,

North End, Downtown, South Boston and Dorchester. 

Part of the richness of the HarborWalk is its variety, reflecting the various activities and urban texture of adjacent land.  The HarborWalk's design guidelines allow for the expression of diversity and a variety of active and passive uses.   

The HarborWalk is designed to connect the public to a clean and restored Boston Harbor.  The HarborWalk links the water's edge to the city's open space system.

Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse -
 Designed by I.M. Pei's firm in 199

Along some areas of the waterfront, the HarborWalk extends into maritime industrial areas.  In these areas the HarborWalk may  be a series of

observation points, rather than a linear path, where the public has the opportunity to view at a close range the exciting operations of a working industrial port.

Rowe's Wharf - Built in the late 1890's as a
luxury hotel/condo/office complex,

Custom House Tower (distant background-left) The Cape Anne
granite-clad tower was the city's tallest when it was built in 1915.

 

Commercial Wharf: Granite wharfs were built during
Boston's maritime prosperity (1830-1860) Most are
built of Quincy granite, located on piers to allow direct
merchant ship access.  Original businesses included
sail and rope making, and general suppliers and
provisioners for long sea journeys.  

 

          The HarborWalk also connects to new and existing networks of inland trails, which will link the HarborWalk to established parkways  and open space networks, including the Emerald Necklace system, the Charles River Esplanade, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

  In the future, the South Bay Harbor Trail will offer Boston residents a new and exciting way to access the Boston Harbor on foot or bicycle.  The trail will

extend from the Ruggles MBTA station and winds its way  through Lower Roxbury, the South End, and Chinatown to reach the HarborWalk at the Fort Point Channel.
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WalkBoston.org has provided a free google map and narrative for this self-guided tour.  
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North End: One of the city's oldest
neighborhoods,
the North End retains some of the scale of
18th - and 19th - century Boston.
Historically the first stopping point for the
thousands of immigrants who arrived
in the city. It is now becoming gentrified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HarborWalk start: Main entrance to South Station

HarborWalk finish: Commercial Street at Battery Street

Approx. time: 1.5 hours

Distance: 3 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Accessibility: Fully wheelchair accessible

Restrooms: South Station

 

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ALL TEXT KINDLY PROVIDED BY

WALKBOSTON.ORG

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ALL PHOTOS by: M.O'S