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27-610: The Harborwalk is a cooperative project of the City of Boston, the Boston Planning and Development Agency , the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection , The Boston Harbor Association , and private property developers. Since 1984, the project has established parks, walking paths, educational sites, transportation facilities, and other amenities along the harbor. Many developers of private land along

54-798: A 0.7-mile shared-use path from Tenean Beach on the Neponset River Reservation to Morrissey Boulevard and that will connect the Lower Neponset River Trail with the Harborwalk via Morrissey (including a 670-foot boardwalk in the salt marshes near the National Grid gas tank ) that will be included in the $ 9.5 billion in federal funds the state government received under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . In May 2023,

81-602: A Korean War Memorial at Shipyard Park in the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown; and a United States Maritime Service memorial in the North End's Langone Park . Along the Harborwalk are several indoor and outdoor displays of historical materials, some of which are available for view 24 hours a day. A selection from the archive of Norman B. Leventhal's collection of Maps of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay

108-536: A development proposal on a site adjacent to Pier 4, was opposed by an environmental group that argued that the proposal's accommodation of the Harborwalk was inadequate. Construction began in 2019. In October 2018, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a comprehensive climate change adaptation proposal to protect the Boston Harbor coastline from flooding . In February 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced an $ 8.2 million project to construct

135-552: A friendlier face to a bureaucratic agency that rules upon major construction in the city. Michelle Wu promised during her successful mayoral campaign to abolish the BPDA. In February 2022, she asked the city council to terminate some of the agency's planning urban renewal districts. Maverick (MBTA station) Maverick station (also known as Maverick Square ) is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts . It serves

162-574: A seven-person body appointed by the Mayor of Boston . Some consider the BPDA's roles as both real estate owner and developer, and approval authority over private development projects, to be a conflict of interest . One of the first projects the BRA took on was the demolition of the West End of Boston , in an infamous urban renewal project that generated a considerable negative reaction locally and across

189-668: A working industrial shipyard, the East Boston Shipyard and Marina. An interactive musical sculpture, "Charlestown Bells," by Paul Matisse (grandson of the painter Henri Matisse ) is located along the walkway of the Charles River Dam . The bells were installed in 2000, but had fallen into disrepair before a 2013 restoration. Memorial sculptures found along the Harborwalk include a memorial to firefighter Robert M. Greene at Castle Island in South Boston;

216-676: Is located in the lobby of the Boston Harbor Hotel. In the lobby of Building 114 at the Boston Navy Yard is an exhibition of boat models, photographs and boat building tools. The Maritime Museum at Battery Wharf was built by the developers of the Battery Wharf Hotel as "mitigation" under the state's Chapter 91 law, to compensate the public for private use of waterfront land. The Harborwalk is served by many MBTA bus lines. Many public parking lots and garages are nearby. The following subway and commuter rail stops serve

243-731: The Boston City Council in 1957, superseding the authority of the Boston Housing Authority . Its primary goal is to work with Boston businesses and developers in order to provide direction for development in the city of Boston. Its statutory authority was set forth in the Massachusetts General Laws chapter 121B, section 4 , and amended by the Session Laws of 1960, chapter 652, section 12. The agency's redevelopment authority includes

270-489: The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a Massachusetts public agency that serves as the municipal planning and development agency for Boston , working on both housing and commercial developments. As an agency concerned with urban planning , the BPDA does not consider requests for zoning variances from individual property owners. These are heard by the city's own Zoning Board of Appeals,

297-576: The MBTA 's Blue Line and is located at Maverick Square in East Boston . It is the easternmost underground station on the Blue Line and a transfer point to various buses. A center island platform provides access to the surface in the middle of Maverick Square. In the station, a track map lined with light bulbs shows the position of the trains on the Blue Line between Bowdoin and Orient Heights . It

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324-626: The University of Massachusetts Boston campus. Between the Institute of Contemporary Art and the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse , a series of artworks by Ross Miller evoke moments in the history of Fan Pier. "Untitled Landscape" by David von Schlegell is located at Harbor Towers . The East Boston part of the walk travels through an outdoor sculpture park, HarborArts , situated in

351-614: The East Boston Tunnel, was awarded on May 5, 2005. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on October 4, 2005. The work included extension of the platforms for six-car trains, replacement of the Maverick Square headhouse, addition of a new headhouse on Lewis Mall, and the creation of a dedicated busway in Maverick Square. Both headhouses included an elevator to make the station fully accessible . The Lewis Mall headhouse opened on September 22, 2007, allowing

378-658: The Harborwalk through the East Boston Greenway to Constitution Beach . The Harborwalk connects with many other trails. From north to south, these include the following: Sculptures and memorials, including some by noted artists, have been placed at many locations along the Harborwalk. Playful fish sculpture benches by Judy Kensley McKie and sculptures by Susumu Shingu and David Phillips have been created for Eastport Park, South Boston. Sculptures by Tony Smith , Willem de Kooning , Luis Jimenez , Dennis Oppenheim , William G. Tucker , and Sol LeWitt are located on

405-878: The Harborwalk: Maverick Square in East Boston ; North Station , Haymarket , Aquarium , and South Station in Downtown Boston ; Courthouse , World Trade Center , and Silver Line Way in South Boston ; and JFK/UMass and Savin Hill in Dorchester . MBTA Boat services stop at the Navy Yard in Charlestown , at Logan Airport in East Boston , and at Long Wharf and Rowes Wharf downtown. New segments continue to be added to

432-623: The country. At the same time, nineteenth-century buildings around Scollay Square were demolished to make way for the new Government Center . Many consider the finished project (which includes Boston City Hall ) an eyesore, and the surrounding large brick plaza as an uncomfortable place to be. Another urban renewal project was the Prudential Tower development over the Boston and Albany Railroad right-of-way in Back Bay ; as part of this project, Mechanics Hall on Huntington Avenue

459-480: The current status of the route. An interactive map highlights sights along a portion of the walk in downtown Boston. As of 2016, 38 of the originally planned 47 miles (76 km) of trail have been completed. Following the September 11 attacks , plans to extend the Harborwalk to the four miles of shoreline around Logan Airport were abandoned. As an alternative, planners are now considering an inland route connecting

486-558: The day before the Revere Extension to the rapid transit line opened. The streetcar loop and portal have since been closed, with parts of the incline now used for pedestrian access. The station has an extra-wide platform as a result of filling in the former streetcar tracks. The abandoned streetcar loop west of the station remains extant. The MBTA began design work of a renovation of the station in 1998. A $ 30.8 million construction contract, which also included ventilation work in

513-524: The harbor have been required under the provisions of the Boston Zoning Code and of Chapter 91 of Massachusetts state law to set back new buildings from the water and to provide publicly accessible waterfront pathways. A map of the proposed route shows that the completed Harborwalk will consist of a continuous trail from Charlestown in the north to Dorchester in the south, plus many other discontinuous trail segments. A map and trail guide describe

540-609: The jurisdiction to buy and sell real estate , acquire real estate through eminent domain , and grant tax concessions to encourage commercial and residential development. On September 27, 2016, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh changed the name of the development agency from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA). This change was part of a broader goal to make city government more transparent and to put

567-529: The land disposition process in order to achieve neighborhood-based community development goals. Another example of the BRA's work involves collaboration with the State Coastal Zone Management Department for waterfront planning and redevelopment of privately owned and MassPort-owned properties. An example of municipal harbor planning involves the "East Boston Municipal Harbor Plan" where properties of varied ownership along

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594-728: The route for the Morrissey-Neponset walking trail connection was in the process of being cleared by Massachusetts Department of Transportation contractors . In March 2024, UMass Boston graduate students and Friends of the Boston Harborwalk held a virtual public meeting to discuss and formulate a proposal for potential locations along the Dorchester segment of the Harborwalk for new signs and visual displays. Boston Planning and Development Agency The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly

621-434: The walk as development occurs along the edge of the harbor. A 2012 report prepared for The Boston Harbor Association concluded that approximately 60% of the total possible length of the Harborwalk has been completed. In 2019, construction was completed on a residential building on the site of the former Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant in South Boston. The Harborwalk extends around the new building. The St. Regis residences,

648-581: The waterfront are currently being developed and Fort Point Channel development. The BRA has also undertaken improvements on Columbia Road in Dorchester , a narrow stretch of green space that Frederick Law Olmsted once envisioned as The Dorchesterway , the final link in the Emerald Necklace park system. Officially a "public body politic and corporate," the BRA was established by the Massachusetts General Court and

675-430: Was no station at Maverick; streetcars simply left the portal and continued north on Meridian Street or southeast on Maverick Street. On April 18–21, 1924, the tunnel was converted to rapid transit and Maverick station opened, with the streetcar loop between the rapid transit platforms. The last streetcar lines to use the underground loop were the 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 and 121 ; these last ran January 4, 1952,

702-578: Was one of the last stations to be converted to 6-car train service as part of the MBTA's Blue Line Renovation Project. Maverick is a terminal for MBTA bus routes 114 , 116 , 117 , 120 ,   and   121 . When the East Boston Tunnel originally opened on December 30, 1904, it was a streetcar tunnel with a portal at Maverick, known as Maverick portal or the Maverick incline . There

729-658: Was taken by the city using eminent domain and demolished in 1959. The BRA also collaborated with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy on various development projects such as the Rose Kennedy Greenway , which was developed atop the Big Dig . The BRA owns real estate throughout the city and together with community participation through planning initiatives, issues Requests for Proposals as part of

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