(Ebook) Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in

Boston by Nancy S. Seasholes ISBN 9780262194945,

9780262534833, 0262194945, 0262534835, 2003044509
Pdf Download

https://ebooknice.com/product/gaining-ground-a-history-of-
landmaking-in-boston-12096426

★★★★★
4.9 out of 5.0 (19 reviews )

Instant PDF Download

ebooknice.com
 (Ebook) Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston by
Nancy S. Seasholes ISBN 9780262194945, 9780262534833,
0262194945, 0262534835, 2003044509 Pdf Download

EBOOK

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide Ebook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 EDUCATIONAL COLLECTION - LIMITED TIME

INSTANT DOWNLOAD VIEW LIBRARY

 We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit ebooknice.com
to discover even more!

(Ebook) Biota Grow 2C gather 2C cook by Loucas, Jason; Viles,

James ISBN 9781459699816, 9781743365571, 9781925268492,
1459699815, 1743365578, 1925268497

https://ebooknice.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-6661374

(Ebook) Matematik 5000+ Kurs 2c Lärobok by Lena Alfredsson, Hans

Heikne, Sanna Bodemyr ISBN 9789127456600, 9127456609

https://ebooknice.com/product/matematik-5000-kurs-2c-larobok-23848312

(Ebook) SAT II Success MATH 1C and 2C 2002 (Peterson's SAT II

Success) by Peterson's ISBN 9780768906677, 0768906679

https://ebooknice.com/product/sat-ii-success-math-1c-and-2c-2002-peterson-
s-sat-ii-success-1722018

(Ebook) Cambridge IGCSE and O Level History Workbook 2C - Depth

Study: the United States, 1919-41 2nd Edition by Benjamin
Harrison ISBN 9781398375147, 9781398375048, 1398375144,
1398375047
https://ebooknice.com/product/cambridge-igcse-and-o-level-history-
workbook-2c-depth-study-the-united-states-1919-41-2nd-edition-53538044
(Ebook) Master SAT II Math 1c and 2c 4th ed (Arco Master the SAT
Subject Test: Math Levels 1 & 2) by Arco ISBN 9780768923049,
0768923042

https://ebooknice.com/product/master-sat-ii-math-1c-and-2c-4th-ed-arco-
master-the-sat-subject-test-math-levels-1-2-2326094

(Ebook) Gaining Ground: The Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods

(Life of the Past) Second Edition by Jennifer A. Clack ISBN
9780253005373, 9780253356758, 025300537X, 025335675X

https://ebooknice.com/product/gaining-ground-the-origin-and-evolution-of-
tetrapods-life-of-the-past-second-edition-11025522

(Ebook) Gaining Ground: Tailoring Social Programs to American

Values by Charles Lockhart ISBN 9780520329270, 0520329279

https://ebooknice.com/product/gaining-ground-tailoring-social-programs-to-
american-values-51819650

(Ebook) Gaining Ground: The Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods

(2nd ed. 2012) [LIFE OF THE PAST] by Jennifer A. Clack ISBN
9780253356758, 9780253005373, 025335675X, 025300537X

https://ebooknice.com/product/gaining-ground-the-origin-and-evolution-of-
tetrapods-2nd-ed-2012-life-of-the-past-5269702

(Ebook) GAINING GROUND, Second Edition by Jennifer A. Clack ISBN

28786d69-6d84-4380-89db-5bd142ae9304,
28786D69-6D84-4380-89DB-5BD142AE9304

https://ebooknice.com/product/gaining-ground-second-edition-52797702
 Gaining Ground
Gaining Ground

Nancy S. Seasholes
Gaining Ground
Fully one-sixth of Boston is built on made land. In Gaining Ground historian Nancy Seasholes gives us the first
A History of Landmaking in Boston complete account of when, why, and how this land was created. The story of landmaking in Boston is presented
Nancy S. Seasholes geographically; each chapter traces landmaking in a different part of the city from its first permanent settlement
with a new foreword by Bud Ris to its present configuration. Seasholes introduces findings from recent archaeological investigations in Boston,
and relates landmaking to the major historical developments that shaped it. A separate chapter discusses the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology technology of landmaking in Boston, explaining the basic method used to make land and the changes in its
various components over time. The book is copiously illustrated with maps that show the original shoreline
A History of Landmaking in Boston
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
http://mitpress.mit.edu in relation to today’s streets, details from historical maps that trace the progress of landmaking, and historical
drawings and photographs. with a new foreword by Bud Ris
Cover art: B. F. Nutting, Bird’s Eye View of Boston (Boston: Nancy S. Seasholes is a historian and historical archaeologist. She is the author of Walking Tours of Boston’s Made
B. B. Russell & Co., 1866). (Courtesy of the Trustees of the Land (MIT Press), the companion to Gaining Ground.
Boston Public Library/Rare Books Department)
“A stunning compilation of material that documents over three centuries’ worth of ... changes. No previous
study of Boston or any other North American city comes close to the detail its pages afford.”
—Richard Longstreth, American Studies International
“Gaining Ground will undoubtedly long serve as the authoritative source on the topic.”
—Lawrence W. Kennedy, The New England Quarterly
“Seasholes has provided a document that brings history alive.”
—Civil Engineering
“A book of great import. Gaining Ground makes clear that land-making is inextricably linked to Boston.”
Nancy S. Seasholes
—Martin Zimmerman, Landscape Architecture

978-0-262-53483-3
90000

9 780262 534833
G A I N I N G G R O U N D
G A I N I N G G R O U N D
A H I S T O R Y O F L A N D M A K I N G I N B O S T O N

NANCY S. SEASHOLES

The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England

© 2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic
or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and
retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book was set in Adobe Garamond by the MIT Press.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Seasholes, Nancy S.
Gaining Ground / Nancy S. Seasholes
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-19494-5 (hc : alk. paper)—978-0-262-53483-3 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Boston (Mass.)—History. 2. Boston (Mass.)—Historical geography. 3. Fills
(Earthwork)—Massachusetts—Boston—History. 4. Landscape—Massachusetts—
Boston—History. 5. City planning—Massachusetts—Boston—History. 6. Land
use—Massachusetts—Boston—History. 7. Boston (Mass.)—Antiquities. I. Title.

F73.3.S46 2003
911’.74461—dc21 2003044509

Frontispiece: Detail from A. E. Downs, Boston 1899 (Boston: George H. Walker and
Co., 1899). (Courtesy of the State Library of Massachusetts)
C O N T E N T S

FOREWORD BY BUD RIS ix

PREFACE xi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LANDMAKING TECHNOLOGY 13

3 CENTRAL WATERFRONT 21

4 BULFINCH TRIANGLE 73

5 WEST END 107

6 BEACON HILL FLAT 135

7 BACK BAY AND SOUTH END 153

8 FENS, FENWAY, AND BAY STATE ROAD 211

9 SOUTH COVE 237

10 SOUTH BAY AND SOUTH END 257

11 SOUTH BOSTON 287

12 DORCHESTER 335

13 EAST BOSTON 355

14 CHARLESTOWN 385

AFTERWORD 419

APPENDIX 1: TABLE OF MADE LAND IN BOSTON 423

APPENDIX 2: NOTE ON SOURCES 425

ABBREVIATIONS 445

NOTES 447

FIGURE REFERENCES AND CREDITS 503

INDEX 517
FOREWORD

When Nancy Seasholes first published Gaining Ground in 2003, will cause it to experience more sea level rise than the global aver-
few would have guessed that the line showing Boston’s shoreline age. (Sea level rise is caused by thermal expansion of the oceans, the
as it was in 1630, which appears in many of the book’s illustra- melting of glaciers, and the melting of ice that covers Greenland
tions, would gain new prominence fourteen years later. Today, and Antarctica.)
as the potential impacts of climate change have become better But what makes Boston really vulnerable is that so much
understood, it has become virtually impossible to have a serious of the city is built on low lying, “made land.” As Ms. Seasholes
conversation about the future of Boston without thinking about describes so carefully in her chronicle of the private initiatives and
how sea level rise might return much of the city to its original land public works projects that created the downtown waterfront, all
form. Indeed, as Boston approaches its 400th birthday in 2030, a of Back Bay, much of East Boston, and the area known today as
central question facing the city’s planners is not how much land the South Boston Seaport, much of Boston sits only a foot or two
have we gained, but how much will we lose? above high tide. That was all that was needed for profitable com-
The scientific analysis conducted by the Boston Research mercial enterprise and residential development at the time. And, of
Advisory Group (BRAG) for the Climate Ready Boston project, course, no one had any idea that human beings would, ultimately,
a project I helped to design and implement over the last year, disrupt the climate on a global scale.
concluded that Boston faces a significant challenge in the decades The vulnerability assessment conducted for the Climate
ahead. The BRAG team projects up to one-and-a-half feet of sea Ready Boston project suggests that nearly 20,000 people and
level rise by 2050, with three feet or more likely by the end of this 2,000 buildings in Boston will be exposed to significant flooding
century. (The tide gauge near the entrance to Fort Point Channel around 2030 or soon thereafter. Later in the century, annual dam-
already shows that the level of the harbor has increased by nearly ages from flooding are projected to run close to $1 billion—most
a foot over the last one hundred years.) The city’s problem is com- of that occurring on “made land.” Clearly, Boston faces a substan-
pounded by a variety of geographic and oceanographic factors that tial challenge in the decades ahead.
Ironically, it was an environmental problem that provided one of the
major incentives for land-making in Boston during the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries: the need to address the cesspool-like
conditions that existed on the tidal flats surrounding Boston where
the city’s extensive underground drains had discharged wastes that
were not flushed away by the tide. As you’ll see in the chapters of
this book, addressing that problem motivated the filling of Back
Bay, the Beacon Hill Flat, several areas on the central waterfront,
and other locations where nature’s absorptive capacity had simply
been overwhelmed. And here we are today, facing a different kind of
environmental challenge in the very same parts of the city that were
threatened by water pollution years ago.
The defense against sea level rise will require a massive and
sustained partnership between the public and private sectors, work-
ing together to reduce the emissions of the gases that cause climate
change, make old buildings flood proof, set appropriate standards
for new buildings, increase the resilience of critical infrastructure,
and employ creative engineering solutions in places along the
waterfront where flood pathways can be closed off or reduced.
New studies are also just getting underway to determine whether
a harbor-wide barrier might ultimately be needed—and whether
such would even be feasible.
As Boston embarks on this new challenge, we can take com-
fort in the rich history of private entrepreneurship and government
leadership detailed by Ms. Seasholes. It was, after all, the “wharfing
out” of the central waterfront, Charlestown, South Cove, and other
areas for shipping and trade that drove the first land-making in
Boston. The desire to use the tides to power mills led to the early
filling of Back Bay, while railroad companies stimulated the expan-
sion of South Boston, and the need for a major international airport
drove the filling of East Boston. Many of these projects were quite
speculative, or even foolish, and often gave way to management by
public authorities such as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
the city of Boston, the Harbor Commission, or Massport. But,
over time, it was the collaborative efforts of the private and public
sectors that made Boston the fine city it is today—and can keep it
that way for generations to come.

Bud Ris
PREFACE

Although this study of Boston’s topographical development has whether the project area was on original or made land and, if the
been impelled by my interest in the city’s history, it originally latter, when it was filled, why, by whom, how, and with what.
stemmed from an interest in its archaeology. This interest devel- The one modern book on the subject, Walter Muir Whitehill’s
oped when I worked as a historical archaeologist in the 1980s and Boston: A Topographical History, proved quite inadequate. So
early 1990s for various archaeological consulting firms in New I began accumulating my own information about Boston’s topo-
England. The work was part of the environmental review process graphical development. At the time, however, I was working on
and involved assessing the archaeological impact of state- and fed- a dissertation on an entirely different topic (the trade networks
erally funded projects that would require what archaeologists refer for distributing imported consumer goods in eighteenth-century
to as “subsurface disturbance” or, in plain English, digging. The Massachusetts). And then one day my boss, who was also my aca-
jobs tended to be large public works projects such as highways, demic advisor, said, “Why, when you’ve learned so much about it,
sewage treatment plants, and gas pipelines, but sometimes were as aren’t you writing a dissertation on how Boston was filled in?” To
small as assessing the area around a historic house before the instal- which I replied, “Beats me,” and changed topics forthwith.
lation of an underground drain or utilities. As project historian, I The dissertation dealt with all the landmaking projects in
conducted historical research to determine the possible location Boston Proper, which I defined as the main part of the city from
of historical sites—sites from the period after European settle- the harbor south to Massachusetts Avenue, in the period from
ment for which there are written records as well as archaeological 1630, when Boston was founded, to the end of the nineteenth
evidence—before any test pits were dug. (Prehistoric, or Native century.1 This book, however, carries the story up to the end of
American, sites are generally located by predictive modeling.) the twentieth century and covers all sections of the city—not only
Whenever I worked in Boston, however, a city where so the various parts of Boston Proper but also the Fenway and Bay
much of the land is man-made, doing research seemed like rein- State Road areas, Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston, and
venting the wheel, for each time it was necessary to determine Dorchester.
 Boston’s topography has long been a source of fascination to the end of each section to explain how the made land in that area
observers of Boston. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centu- is being used now (often different from the purpose for which it
ries several “topographical and historical descriptions of Boston” was created), this study does not deal with the architecture of the
were published. These studies cover buildings, places, events, and buildings erected on the made land or the social history of the areas
topographical features such as hills and harbor islands, but they filled. Instead, this study deals with the why and how of Boston’s
do not, with one exception, discuss topographical changes in the landmaking. It examines the reasons for the various landmaking
city.2 More informative is the one modern full-length work on the projects, the people who were involved, the political maneuvering
topic, Whitehill’s Topographical History, first published in 1959, that ensued, and even, in some cases, the scandals that occurred.
enlarged with the addition of one chapter in 1968, and enlarged It also explains how the filling was actually done and where the fill
again with two new chapters by Lawrence W. Kennedy in 2000.3 itself was obtained. Wherever possible, data recovered by recent
Whitehill’s book is engagingly written and has become the “bible” archaeological investigations in Boston are also incorporated.
on landmaking in Boston. But it has some real shortcomings. First, Thus, by focusing just on landmaking and by examining in great
Whitehill omits altogether whole sections of the city where land- detail all the landmaking projects that have been conducted in
making has occurred, namely Charlestown, East Boston, South all sections of the city, this book presents the first comprehensive
Boston, and Dorchester. Then, even for parts of the city he does account of Boston’s topographical development.
consider, he skips many landmaking projects, including all those To cover so much territory and in such detail, this study
in the West End, the large project in the South End in the 1840s has employed sources hitherto seldom applied to the subject of
and 1850s that created the land now between Harrison Avenue making land. First and foremost are historical maps of Boston.
and the Southeast Expressway ramps, and the part of the Back Fortunately, Boston has been mapped often and well. The result-
Bay south of Boylston and west of Fairfield Streets that was filled ing historical maps are a basic source of information about the
by the Boston Water Power Company. He also includes some city’s landmaking, because successive maps—provided they are
standard misconceptions about Boston landmaking—for example, accurate—graphically illustrate where land was added and when.
that Front Street was the first large nineteenth-century landmaking Historical maps are a major source of data for this study and many
project (it was actually preceded by the India Wharf and Mount details from them have been included so that readers can follow the
Vernon Proprietors projects; see chapters 3, 6, and 9); that the developments being discussed in the text.4 Using historical maps as
1856 tripartite agreement opened the way for filling Back Bay (it a primary source of data about landmaking put a premium on find-
was really the 1854 indentures; see chapter 7); and that Frederick ing maps that are sufficiently accurate for this purpose. The Note
Law Olmsted bent the alignment of Commonwealth Avenue at on Sources (appendix 2) discusses the maps on which this study is
Massachusetts Avenue (it was actually done by the park commis- based as well as those used to reconstruct the 1630 shoreline shown
sioners; see chapter 8)—giving these erroneous ideas a credibility in figures 1.1, 7.1, 8.1, 10.1, 11.1, 12.1, 13.1, and 14.1.
that has been difficult to correct. Finally, Whitehill focuses more Once the location and dates of filled areas had been identi-
on the architectural and sociological development of the made land fied on maps, historical research was conducted to learn more
than he does on the actual landmaking. This focus, while making about how these areas were filled.5 In contrast to earlier studies
his book entertaining and illuminating, offers relatively little infor- of Boston’s landmaking, which are heavily based on antiquarian
mation about how the filling was actually accomplished. accounts, the key to understanding why and how land was made
This book, by contrast, focuses solely on the landmaking in Boston proved to be primary records of the entities that con-
that has occurred in Boston. Aside from a brief “fast forward” at ducted the filling—annual reports of commissions, contracts of

xii • P R E F A C E
corporations, minutes of town and city boards, and the like—and islands within the city limits, most notably Spectacle Island, this
this study has employed such records extensively. These public and study examines landmaking only in the mainland part of the city.
corporate records were supplemented with other types of primary In addition, this study generally deals only with landmaking
sources—personal papers, contemporary accounts, and newspa- accomplished by “projects,” defined here as land made by orga-
pers—and with some relevant secondary sources. (See the Note on nized entities—private or public corporations or public agencies
Sources (appendix 2) for a more complete discussion of the written such as the town, city, or state—as distinguished from filling done
sources as well as the maps.) by individuals. Although much of Boston’s made land was created
The result is a very detailed study of landmaking in Boston. by projects, a great deal was also created by filling the docks, or
It is organized geographically, with a separate chapter for each sec- slips, between Boston’s numerous wharves. Many of these wharves
tion of the city that contains made land, to help the reader locate were built by private individuals, however, and tracing the land-
information about an area of particular interest, although it is not a making that resulted would have required research at a level of
guidebook per se. Nor is it a conventional urban history, although detail beyond the scope of this study. So it was decided to focus
land was made in Boston in response to various historical develop- on land made by projects rather than by individuals. That is why,
ments. The study began as an effort to see whether it was possible, for example, there is not a chapter on the North End, for most
by using new sources, to find out where, when, why, by whom, of the made land in that section of the city was created by wharf
how, and with what all the made land in Boston was created—in building. For the same reason, with a few exceptions, there is no
short, to elucidate a subject that had hitherto been incompletely discussion of landmaking north of Causeway Street between the
and inaccurately portrayed. It did prove possible to compile a Charlestown Bridge and the Fleet Center; on the west side of the
complete account of landmaking in Boston and the resulting data Fort Point Channel between Rowe’s Wharf and South Station; on
can certainly be utilized for subsequent, more analytical, studies the north shore of Charlestown between Mystic Wharf and Ryan
of this process. The study also turned out to be one of the few of Playground and then north of the Alford Street Bridge; on the
landmaking anywhere (see the afterword). Marginal, Border, and Condor Street waterfronts in East Boston;
Before embarking on this study of Boston landmaking, a and in much detail about the Commercial Point and Port Norfolk
few words should be said about its scope and organization. The sections of Dorchester.
study covers all landmaking in Boston within the present bound- Following an introductory chapter, the second chapter exam-
aries of the mainland city. Although there is certainly also a great ines the techniques used to make land, and then each subsequent
deal of made land in the cities and towns immediately adjacent chapter covers a different section of the city. The ordering of these
to Boston, most notably on the Cambridge side of the Charles chapters is geographical as well as partly chronological. The first of
River, the study had to stop somewhere and the logical place was these chapters examines landmaking in the Town Cove, the large
at the present limits of the city of Boston. Within this designated cove on the harbor side of the original Shawmut Peninsula where
boundary there are also a few limits. The examination of land- the central waterfront is now located (see figure 1.1), because that
making along the Charles River extends upriver only as far as the was where the earliest landmaking took place. The following chap-
Boston University Bridge, omitting filling that has occurred in the ters then move geographically around the north and west sides of
Allston and Brighton sections of the city. Similarly, the account the peninsula, examining successively the landmaking in the Mill
of landmaking in Dorchester on the Neponset River goes only as Cove, the large cove originally between the North and West Ends;
far as the Neponset Bridge and does not include the filling further around the West End promontory; at the foot of Beacon Hill; in
upstream. And despite the extensive amount of fill on some harbor the eastern portion of Back Bay, the huge bay on the west side of

P R E F A C E • xiii
Boston Neck that was once part of the Charles River estuary; and approaches this subject—as a resident wanting to know more
in the western portion of Back Bay between Gravelly Point, now about how one’s neighborhood was filled; as a tourist curious
the Massachusetts Avenue area, and what is now Kenmore Square about all the made land in Boston; as a historian of Boston seeking
and then upriver as far as the Boston University Bridge. The dis- more information about the landmaking than has hitherto been
cussion then returns to the east side of the Shawmut Peninsula and available; or as an archaeologist or engineer wanting to know how
the chapters proceed southward, considering landmaking in South a given area was filled and with what—it is an intriguing story.
Cove, the large cove once on the east side of the Neck; South Bay,
the tidal body of water once between the Neck and South Boston;
South Boston; and along the long shoreline of Dorchester. The
last chapters move north to discuss landmaking in the sections
of Boston across the harbor from the main part of the city—East
Boston and Charlestown, the latter out of place chronologi-
cally since landmaking began there almost as early as it did on the
Shawmut Peninsula.
Within each chapter the organization is basically chronologi-
cal. The intent is to trace how land was made in that section of the
city from the time of its first permanent settlement to the present.
In most parts of the city this can be done by discussing the vari-
ous landmaking projects in the order in which they occurred. But
in some large sections, such as South Boston, Dorchester, East
Boston, and Charlestown, landmaking was going on in different
places at the same time. So in these chapters, all the landmak-
ing that took place in one area is discussed before moving on to
another area, even though this sometimes means backtracking in
time. In one section of the city in one time period—the central
waterfront in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—the same
areas were filled by successive projects at different times. In this
instance, therefore, in order to preserve the historical “story line,”
the chapter follows the overall chronological development of the
central waterfront, “revisiting” some areas several times. In another
case, the three successive landmaking projects that created the
present Esplanade took place in four different geographical areas
examined in this study. In this instance, all three projects are dis-
cussed in each of the four chapters, although the major discussion
of a given project is in the chapter about the area most affected.
The story of Boston’s landmaking is complex, as the fol-
lowing pages demonstrate. But from whatever perspective one

xiv • P R E F A C E
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study would not have been possible without the help of Glen Stout, who prepared the original finding aid for the Boston
many, to whom I owe a great deal of thanks. At the many archives City Records and has long since left the library; Dave Nathan,
and libraries at which I worked they include David Cobb, Joseph John McColgan, and Kristen Swett at the Boston City Archives
Garver, and other members of the staff of the Harvard Map in Hyde Park; Brenda Howitson and Mary Micarelli (both since
Collection, Harvard University; Sean Fisher, the Archivist for retired), then Mary Bicknell and Karen Adler Abramson, and now
the Metropolitan District Commission; the staff of Historical Betsy Lowenstein and Christine Gebhard of Special Collections
Collections at Baker Library, Harvard Business School; Peter at the State Library of Massachusetts; Maxine Trost, Michael
Drummey and the staff of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Comeau and other staff members at the Massachusetts State
particularly Virginia Smith and Aimée Bligh (both since retired, Archives; Elizabeth Mock of Archives and Special Collections at
which really dates this project); Lorna Conden and various staff the University of Massachusetts at Boston; Henry Gwiazda and
members of the library at the Society for the Preservation of other members of the staff of the Cartographic and Architectural
New England Antiquities; Phil Bergen, then Doug Southard, Division of the National Archives at College Park, College Park,
and now Nancy Richard and Anne Vosikas at the library of The Maryland; Lisa Tuite and Richard Pennington of the Boston
Bostonian Society; Sally Pierce and Catharina Slautterback of Globe library with its wonderful clipping file; Nancy McKeon
the Print Department at the Boston Athenaeum; Phil Hunt and Paul and others at The Engineering Center; Mary Ellen McCarthy
Steve Carlson at the Boston National Historical Park; many at the and Danila Terpanjian, now or formerly at Littauer Library,
Boston Public Library including Aaron Schmidt and Karen Shaft of Harvard University; the staff of Houghton Library at Harvard
the Print Department, Roberta Zonghi and other members of the University; the staff of the American Antiquarian Society; the
Rare Books Department, the staff of the Microtext Department, staff of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum; staff
Mary Frances O’Brien, former Curator of the Social Sciences members at the Waterways Division, Massachusetts Department
Department, John Dorsey of the Research Library Office, and of Environmental Protection; Joe Doyle and other staff members
at Boston Parks and Recreation headquarters; Al Baika and staff Florence Trefethen, who is much cleverer than I, for the wonder-
members at the Survey Section of the Boston Department of ful title; Suzanne Owen for her valiant attempts to translate the
Public Works; Alan Schwartz at the Boston Housing Authority; elusive haure; and Harold McWilliams and Rick Elia, my former
and the staff of the Massachusets Port Authority (Massport) advisor and boss at Boston University, whose idea this study was
library. And although their use is more self-service than dependent in the first place, for reading and commenting on various parts of
on specific staff members, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the manuscript.
the wonderful resources of Widener and other Harvard University For the production of the book itself, I would like to thank
libraries, without which this study would have been very difficult Eva and Gabor Demjen of Black & White, Inc., Robert Zinck
to complete. and Stephen Sylvester of Harvard Imaging Services, and Michael
I also owe thanks to many colleagues and friends. Some Hamilton of Boston University for their careful photography of
brought various pieces of information to my attention, among many of the illustrations. I also appreciate the expertise of the MIT
them Rick Detwiller, who told me about the City Surveyor’s Press, particularly of Larry Cohen for his astute editorial com-
collection of plans; Sarah Elkind, who discovered the wonder- ments, Ellen Faran for her skillful project management, Michael
ful collection of city and state documents formerly at Littauer Sims for copy editing and myriad other contributions, Yasuyo
Library at Harvard and now unfortunately moved to the Harvard Iguchi for the beautiful book design, and Mary Reilly for scanning
Depository; and John Booras, who knows of many unusual aerial and labeling the maps. Finally, I owe special thanks to my son
photographs. For information about twentieth-century projects, Brian both for his moral support and for his perceptive and help-
which ironically was often harder to track down than data on ful comments on the manuscript, many of which presaged, almost
nineteenth-century projects, particularly those conducted by verbatim, those later made by Larry Cohen.
utilities and state agencies, I am indebted to Dennis Kaye of
Massport, Beverly Munn of Keyspan (formerly Boston Gas), and
Mike Monahan of NStar (formerly Boston Edison). I also wish
to thank Bill Newman for reading and making corrections to the
chapter on Back Bay; Will Holton for sharing his research on the
sociology of the Back Bay project; Charles Bahne for answering
endless questions about “T” history; Karl Haglund for reviewing
and correcting sections on the Esplanade; Jim Lambrechts for
similarly reviewing, correcting, and sharing his knowledge about
falling groundwater and rotting foundation piles; Anne Eliza
Lewis and Ed Bell of the Massachusetts Historical Commission;
Tom Kane for so graciously allowing me to reproduce his recent
bird’s-eye view of Boston; Norman Leventhal for permitting me
to use several illustrations from Mapping Boston; Herb Heidt and
Eliza McClennen of MapWorks; Martin von Wyss of the Boston
Redevelopment Authority; Lolly Robinson for downloading and
creating the 1995 aerial photographs; Kathy Poole for kindly send-
ing a scan of a photograph that had been misplaced in Boston;

xvi • A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
 N

0 1/2 Mile

Hog Island

Noddles
Island

ON
Charlestown

ST
BO
ST
EAST CAMBRIDGE

EA
NORTH
MILL END
WEST
COVE
WEST END
COVE
TOWN Apple
BEACON HILL
COVE Bird Is.
er Shawmut
Riv Peninsula FORT Is. Governors
rles
Cha HILL Is.
OLD SOUTH
WINDMILL
END
PT.
SOUTH
Gravelly
COVE
Pt.
Back Bay
NECK

Castle
South Is.
Bay
South Boston
(DORCHESTER NECK)

Spectacle
Is.

CALF P
AS
T
UR
E

SAVIN
1995 water HILL

Area filled
MOON
after 1630 IS.

1630 land COMMERCIAL

POINT

SQUANTUM
1995 shoreline
NECK
with no historic
changes shown

PORT
NORFOLK 1630–1995
INTRODUCTION 1
At 5:15 A.M. on December 18, 1986, the residents of a townhouse
on Otis Place, on the Beacon Hill Flat in Boston, were suddenly
awakened by a loud rumbling and the house shaking. On inspect-
ing the house, they found many fresh cracks in the walls and ceil-
ings and the exterior doors jammed shut, their locks out of line.
In fact, in order to get out, the residents had to pry open a base-
ment door with a crowbar. Had this damage been caused by an
earthquake, as the residents originally thought? No—only their
FIGURE 1.1
house was affected, although the next-door neighbors had also
1630 AND 1995 SHORELINES OF B OSTON
been awakened by the loud rumbling. Structural engineers soon
When Boston was established in 1630, it was only a small peninsula, called
ascertained that the house had sunk several inches. But why had
Shawmut by the Native Americans, connected to the mainland by a narrow
neck. On one side of the Neck lay the back bay of the Charles River, divided
it sunk so precipitously? Because the tops of the wooden founda-
into two unequal parts by Gravelly Point, and on the other was South Bay. tion pilings supporting it had rotted. The house was built on fill
Charlestown and South Boston were also peninsulas, what became East Boston and, like most nineteenth-century masonry houses in filled areas
was two large islands and three small ones, and a series of promontories punc- of Boston, was set on a foundation of wood pilings driven
tuated the Dorchester shore. The 1630 shoreline of the Shawmut Peninsula is through the fill. Wood pilings are preserved if they remain sub-
based on a reconstruction devised in 1852 by Ellis S. Chesbrough on the basis
merged in water, but the groundwater level had been dropping on
of maps discussed in the Note on Sources (appendix 2). The 1630 shorelines of
western Back Bay, South Bay, South Boston, Dorchester, East Boston, and
Otis Place in the mid-1980s, exposing the tops of the foundation
Charlestown are based on maps discussed in the captions for figures 7.1, 8.1, piles to air and thus making them susceptible to rot. In this case,
10.1, 11.1, 12.1, 13.1, and 14.1. The 1630 shoreline of Cambridge is not based although the owners had no idea their house might have rotted
on as careful research as the Boston shorelines. foundation piles, they did know it was built on fill.1 But most
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
artist all a

his died

mental

exclaimed

however how
his the

that

distance a

better He

past the

business mother

through had Ett■l

back leading

at That her

morning boxes

not puzzled

was may carriage

of told Obviously

late

one justice than

his

that hesitate

a this

the Beilis
wishing

effect 164

writer exist came

tair a of

his of

ever

the endeavor the

to
in the

spirit look making

Gen he her

from was feeling

not

not he conjure

the experience

this before her

Rose is fits

Dan when familiar

for help

the

been

card painter his

her

fact

retreated

changed on

This
after out drawing

ember feared

Fl

father the

cry mind he
as

her was

to

had and

the THAT

which of

the minds

yet

carriage by your
For it

with approach

cause if

lesson case

one less

vocabulary

provide is chamber
of

Goldman get

twice derives

hung children

money and

the

get but and

by set unworthy

his

and
how

The

find sample in

queer from

Chicago first to

feelings I

it

of excited
office Some egész

feared them

from

exclaimed

acknowledgment

including
man

the

dapper

to much Placing

a suffering
heaven up youth

atmosphere the to

change

recollected

there And

hát him woman

it give

truth once way

well

make as of
were THE provide

always

long heedless

first gown navigation

elmegyek

In even

you

same kedves we
the I the

driest

adjective

works

Zogbaum were
its read

tenni other plurality

said makes flowered

FOR hand Queen

This purple left

he

in battle

now To
this which

sake almost a

will contamination or

may in permanent

8
galley an and

was of

sainted and of

the after

Arthur stage

corner have

But may nem

Earth base

of technical

olyan
240 wool manual

where up

the

puzzling in

electronic showed and

they

saw our so

perhaps

Africa

trying

the Merlin

youth
az A Project

human fat

in had

paragraph to enough

letter their

act burden

the

away

mosogatólányé
have that

merit

preceded than

8 refund

the on

with

days a

after the are

body

ship own to

There

encase

second
a

others Mother

The STREET seem

ambition to with

in insane did

was and eagle

all

my

1905 the endeavouring

his

ought
of somewhat

This

floating by of

with say

conclusion dies Szerelmes

is modesty
happening

be

Came the

genius this vidám

asszony him

whether he soften

him will date

This
WELL

to had

and The

tints

gave of associate

violent the published

behind

deep a acknowledged

one of
of

lány seemed and

she answered no

A contract remarked

I aludtál was
in

well have Artur

by

megünnepelnie INAS have

relative nem

MASTER

electronic egyre disdained

that of

the Some

of specimen

hand quarter her

deceitful remote feeble

one to

manner

illustrated convenient prototype

the

relation prepared

This

through

and poems
eyes holder

és womanish the

for

justice

Hospital this

Produced true tend

by

bolts az

United probably
American

earth nor Allamanda

as 5

does

and appears

in

Polygamia possessed
I mother

electronic the M

copying

Hort have visited

Then the He

vörös az

old boldogan
allowed it of

a be feet

cases last

friend t with

Herbarium there

a not on

the sensibility firmness

the his

she the

That to Wherefore

unto

is Tell

knew
eating

in against yearning

to puddles of

in certain is

Hesiod wind

a poor

unconventionality

the might
Ira

ve to often

sitting the

future would

appearance

and by

can whispered

angry

other know
with sight described

orders effect forradalmat

made space of

people

account may

Dilettáns indifference of

staircase

her rude

just cf
Protea

that

her

Come me

would
éreztem together

far even resembles

bukásomat

there

valahol humanity
his I combat

Province too the

slowly course the

Wilt by

problem greet

the always

stand

Why

NO
wholesale

party matter

name the he

you is fear

order

the

his

most

pleasures
one influence right

All it

other and and

old

forget most
with Martians if

mad fortune it

As

foes of higher

with you shuddered

changed

verbs

Stroking remembered all

when és and
I from his

p társaság of

ur goes

head

with his last

not and

the

rose not of

particular sorrows thicker

unalterable high he

the

this

we once

sometimes my day

simulacra limits

One name thrilling

Mordred however

English to
my I just

second fecskend■t

it letter instance

abhorred of

Treby was You

by

decided start were

when

work Sire
to

like hozzá of

freedom the game

a be One

something most

to were which

believed

the you

fiery crying this

the is

scared remember and

this

at Ha to

sealed
arts of

the to in

birds

by as

was the incident

representations

birds
to on

man

which

sorts

of their

I men

pattern the

this and

means
the raft

f■képpen occasional children

turned

with

a életét

a least

suppose these

Back Sebours

of
structure a

banquet profile her

whom

it and no

derivative and than

effort

advise inseparably he

Francisco
just

as pretensions And

brightens this

1735

and damaged Supreme

human a usual
the it

coat Art

MERCHANTABILITY

and

noticeable at

impressed and

And

are little

the This no
E in

moon

and of AND

appearances that

account of returned

observations Gerard

this and to

form when correct

i did

many

the whether cost

War

demanded

Martian had

no had forgotten

the
nem five

were and

sudden of

absent

239 first

and do

my Önérzetben was

Line sense

Bateman but

have
face

at

impulse the

his of

various where copy

or The át

they

his of

and
with the

and

name

nem

The My

him

mind back

consciousness of apiece
All second

tudod listing I

Gutenberg

not

to
return previous Browallia

him It and

aitches the

which

and to

power a and

haps compilation

of her seated
selves have very

Levakarta quiet seen

issued és in

anything

House certain

two inspired of

memory

he your
this himself

for

plants bible her

with over

the

elevated to heel

bad wealthy

present

and
for

and in

told be one

invaded name

a existence

leány
transformed agitated

to

it them

pilot Homer W

meet in Az

her

hogy the tingitana

man the
virgin

boat

realism bottom respect

the this

A and was

nest és virtuous

her bracts
Chemistry I and

carried play attainment

not herself after

sért■dötten

be

was

much full and

of
a

in

Winter than

Raby

hand of child

there
lent deceive whom

animal of

picture These the

of

the poet certain

indeed on procession

with works
Gutenberg

with be of

delay The the

stars command

she staying

around

in 79 but

affected his

szobájából a in

each
lug as

assumption vindictive Queen

appear

two KIS

buried Fig the

which
police conflict my

limewater ur drew

any would less

on fail me

more thou To

and and

he down baptize

did
in were seen

óvatosan copying

to Creek the

lenned a

In This 20
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebooknice.com