Boston Harborwalk - Points Of Interest

As a Boston Harborwalk Proud Property, the Battery Wharf Hotel Boston Waterfront, the best hotel on Boston Harbor is honored to be the centerpiece of the rebirth of the North End. 

Battery Wharf, through the years, has changed owners and names. It became longer and wider. It was converted to stone in 1744. It has been built upon and rebuilt on numerous occasions. It was demolished in 2001 to make way for Boston Harbor improvement projects. 

The North Battery was erected at the mouth of the Charles River in 1646. On the shoreline, it was poised to fortify the river against incursions from the harbor, and continued to do so through the American War for Independence. The North Battery gained a wharf in 1706 when it was rebuilt, connecting it with the shore. The area behind the wharf became a shipyard for the Colony’s burgeoning shipping and shipbuilding hub, and through the years the immediate surroundings have served many commercial purposes. 

On The Boston Harborwalk
The decades-long, ongoing rejuvenation of the Boston Waterfront has been a partnership between public and private entities, businesses and nonprofits, and city, state, federal, and quasi-government agencies. This collaboration has restored Boston Harbor to the people of the city, the state, and to the millions of visitors who come from around the world to take in the sights of the cradle of the American Revolution. 

Boston Harbor’s Renewal
The vision of the project’s planners was to restore Boston’s historic waterfront to a time before it became squalid and polluted. The Harbor was harmful to swim and fish in. Disease and injuries from a dip in the water usually resulted in a trip to the hospital.

For example, four miles off the coast, Spectacle Island served as a site for horse rendering, rubbish disposal, and waste incineration. In the 1950s a bulldozer succumbed to the mountain of trash, sinking in until it disappeared. Until the mid- to late-1960s, it was smoldering and uninhabitable. The island was filled in with the earth excavated from the Big Dig project of the 1980s and 1990s; it was then capped and covered with topsoil. With the landscape and shoreline restored to nature, Spectacle Island is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. Ferry service is available from Long Wharf North, next to Christopher Columbus Park.

Near Boston Haymarket
The 300-year old Boston Haymarket is a sight to behold. Located near the Battery Wharf Hotel Boston Waterfront, is a throwback to the old open-air markets of yesteryear. In addition to produce and seafood, the Haymarket offers ethnic groceries, pubs, and restaurants. The produce market is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays, from 4 am to 7 pm. Review the rules beforehand for a smooth visit! 

Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a group of four historical buildings serving as an indoor/outdoor market, including Faneuil Hall: North Market, Quincy Market, and South Market. This successful European Festival-style marketplace inspired similar projects around the US in the 1970s. In addition to the requisite big-name shops and eateries, there are musicians, magicians, and street performers. 

The Boston National Historical Park consists of 8 sites, all National Historical Landmarks, that highlight Boston’s prominence in the American Revolution. They are the Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown Navy Yard, Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, the Old South Meeting House, the Old State House, and the Paul Revere House. Dorchester Heights is the only site not found along the Freedom Trail.

The Boston Tea Party Museum, Congress Street, features replicas of the two ships involved: the Eleanor and the Beaver. Its permanent collection contains one of the original tea chests from the historic act of rebellion against the British Monarchy and Parliament.

Plan your day on the Boston Waterfront at: Harbor Walk Map

Want to learn a secret or two? Friends of the Boston Harborwalk: The Boston Harborwalk Secret Places Tour.

Don’t lose your car! Here are some nearby Parking options.  Or, book a room now at the Battery Wharf Hotel Boston Waterfront, so you can step right onto the Harborwalk, first thing in the morning.