Walking Tours of Boston's Made Land (Paperback)

by Nancy S. Seasholes (Author)
Key Phrases: town dock, embankment road, emerald necklace, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South Bay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"... a richly detailed guide to 12 walks through land 'made' as Boston's original shoreline was filled and expanded outward."
— Michael Kenney, Boston Sunday Globe

"[Seasholes'] guide is valuable not only for the visitor to Boston but for anyone wanting a feel for early Boston history and the creation of a port city."
— Library Journal

Product Description
At its founding, Boston was a small peninsula; over the last 375 years the city has doubled in size by filling in the surrounding tidal flats—areas covered with water at high tide and exposed at low. In Walking Tours of Boston's Made Land, historian Nancy Seasholes outlines twelve walks that trace where and why Boston's man-made land was created, and, along the way, uncovers fascinating and little-known pieces of Boston history. In the course of these walks—around the central waterfront, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, Charlestown, and elsewhere—she shows us how Boston's past is always just below the surface of its present.

Each walk is accompanied by a map that shows the route and original shoreline. The walks are illustrated with historical maps, historical photographs and views, and current photographs. All walks are accessible by public transportation.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262693399
• ISBN-13: 978-0262693394
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #833,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best recent walking guide to Boston's cityscape and architecture, October 18, 2007

By	Dinornis (New England, USA) - See all my reviews

Boston is a city with an extremely rich history; Baedeker's 1909 United States Guide called it "the city with the greatest amount of historical interest in North America." Almost one hundred years later, Nancy Seasholes has performed the city a tremendous service with her illuminating, entertaining, and informative guide to Boston's made land.

Unique among American cities, Boston is a city with so much "made land" (i.e. landfill or artificial land) that a guide to made land essentially constitutes a guide to the city itself. Readers of Seasholes' book will find the history and buildings of familiar districts like the waterfront, Faneuil Hall, Beacon Hill, and Back Bay described as they have never been before- as constructed pieces of the Boston cityscape- as well as equally interesting (and beautiful) areas like Charlestown, the Leather District, and Bay Village that are a bit further from the tourist trail. The section on the South End, in particular, is rich in detail and provides an entirely new perspective on this urbane and diverse area of the city.

Not since the AIA Guide to Boston, published in the 1980s, has the cityscape and urban design of Boston received such an informative and entertaining treatment. Those interested in the built history of Boston, and in the city's ever-changing relationship with its waterfront and rivers, will find no better guide than Seasholes' book. Best of all are the puzzled looks you will get from passers-by as you examine a seemingly innocuous rowhouse or section of wall that once absorbed the waves of Boston Harbor or the Charles River a hundred or more years ago.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little fact oacked book, July 10, 2008

By	econmdhoncho - See all my reviews

I took the author's course on land making at Harvard Extension School and have read her book on the sane subject. This easily portable book is full of salient facts and diagrams which neatly summarize the history of the area in which the walk takes place and does so in a very easily understood way. For anyone interested in this suject or someone who enjoys walking and learning the history of the area in which they are walking I would highly recommend this guide. The book is well organized and is a bargain at the price