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Boston ( US: / ˈbɔːstən / [9] ), officially the City of Boston, is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km 2) [10] and a population of ...
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- Boston, Lincolnshire
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Boston, city, capital of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and seat of Suffolk county, in the northeastern United States. It lies on Massachusetts Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The city proper has an unusually small area for a major city, and more than one-fourth of the total—including part of the Charles River, Boston Harbor, and a portion o...
The area, the people, and the institutions within its political boundaries can only begin to define the essence of Boston. Its nickname “Beantown” has its origin in colonial times, when Boston, as a stop on a major trade route with the West Indies, had a steady supply of molasses from the Caribbean, thus leading to the creation of a popular dish th...
The Boston region’s topography was largely shaped by the glaciers that covered the land during the last ice age. The city and its sheltered deepwater harbour sit in a basin that extends to Lynn in the north and Quincy in the south and is ringed by modest hills: the Middlesex Fells (north) to the Blue Hills (south). There are harder, higher surface rocks (mostly granites) on those northern and southern edges, while inside the basin the lower-lying rocks—commonly known as pudding stone—are found mostly below the surface in such areas as Roxbury, Newton, Brookline, Mattapan, West Roxbury, and Dorchester. The land, enormously compressed by the vast accumulation of glacial ice on it, has since been rebounding (rising up) at an extremely gradual rate.
Numerous drumlins (mounds of glacial debris) form low hills in the city and islands that dot the harbour. At the beginning of English settlement in the 17th century, the Shawmut Peninsula was called Trimountain (or Tramount) because of its dominating three-topped hill on the northwest corner near the mouth of the Charles River. Beacon Hill is its only surviving, though greatly reduced, remnant. The other portions were leveled to become landfill that added to the city’s area in the 19th century.
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The hilly Shawmut Peninsula, upon which Boston was settled, originally was almost completely surrounded by water. It was connected with mainland Roxbury to the south by a narrow neck of land along the line of present-day Washington Street. To the west of the neck were great reaches of mudflats and salt marshes that were covered by water at high tide and known collectively as the Back Bay. The Charles River flowed through the Back Bay to Boston Harbor and separated the peninsula from the mainland to the north and west. To the east, Town Cove indented Boston’s harbour front and divided the city into the North End and the South End. The centre of the colonial town was at the Old State House (built 1711–47).
Although that original centre and the colonial South End have long been given over to offices and retail stores, a few 18th-century buildings remain: Faneuil Hall (1742–1805), the Old Corner Bookstore (1718), the Old South Meeting House (1729), and King’s Chapel (1750). The North End is the only part of the early town that has remained residential since the 1630 settlement. Colonial survivals such as the Paul Revere House (c. 1680) and Christ Church (1723)—the Old North Church from which lanterns revealed the route of the British march to Lexington in 1775—coexist with the busy life of a traditionally Italian American community.
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- Buy the Boston Go Card. The Boston Go Card is an all-inclusive pass that gets you into most attractions in the city and in nearby towns, like Plymouth, Lexington, and Concord.
- The Freedom Trail. If you do one thing in Boston it should be a walk on the Freedom Trail. The American Revolution began in Boston. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile route that takes you to 16 historical sites that were important during this war.
- Fenway Park. Fenway Park is another must-see site in Boston. If you are here during the summer months, consider watching a game here. Even if you are not a baseball fan, a visit to Fenway Park is still well worth your time.
- Take in the View from the Skywalk Observatory. For an aerial view over the city, visit the Skywalk Observatory. Get 360° views over Boston. There are lots of included exhibits about the history of Boston.
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Mar 7, 2019 · Boston, the largest city in New England, is located on a hilly peninsula in Massachusetts Bay. The region had been inhabited since at least 2400 B.C. by the Massachusetts tribe of Native Americans ...
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- Museum of African American History. Visit website Get directions. The African Meeting House and the Abiel Smith School are the two buildings comprising the Museum of African American History in Boston.
- Symphony Hall. Visit website Get directions. Opened in 1900, Symphony Hall is one of the most famous Boston buildings and is considered one of the top concert halls in the world.
- Boston Common. Visit website Get directions. Boston Common is America's oldest park, stretching back to colonial and pre-revolutionary times. Before it was full of frog ponds and ballparks, it was alternatingly an encampment for the British Redcoats, a common grazing area, and the town gallows.
- Boston Irish Famine Memorial. Get directions. When famine struck Ireland in the 1840s, Boston became a major entry point for the refugees flooding into the country.
Apr 10, 2023 · The Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail starts at the Boston Common, the oldest public park in the United States, following a red brick path lined with 16 historic landmarks, which paint a picture of ...
Apr 9, 2022 · With a 2020 population of 696,959, Boston is the largest city in Massachusetts and the twenty-first largest city in the United States. Boston's population has increased by 12.85 % from the 2010 census, which reported a population of 617,594. Higher education, health care, and finance all play important roles in the Boston economy.
