Fort Point is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

or district of Boston, Massachusetts, and where a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

stood which guarded the city in colonial times.

History

Fort Hill was located near what is today the intersection of Oliver and High Streets. At least until 1675, (see

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

) the hill jutted out into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, hence the designation of being a "point". Its height and proximity to the sea made the hill an advantageous point to put defensive

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s. Between 1866 and 1872, the City of Boston undertook a redevelopment project on Fort Hill in attempt to add more land for business facilities. The project called for the Hill to be leveled, for the streets to be widened, and for all buildings to be razed. Today the land is flat and largely occupied by the towers of

International Place One International Place is a Postmodern skyscraper in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1987, and designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects – whose principals are Philip Johnson and John Burgee – it is Boston's ...

Landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

has also extended the shoreline outward, so the location of the old fort is no longer directly on the waterfront. The boundaries of the modern neighborhood of Fort Point are somewhat ill-defined. At its broadest extent, it includes the land a few blocks on either side of the

Fort Point Channel Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel separating South Boston from downtown Boston, Massachusetts, feeding into Boston Harbor. The south part of it has been gradually filled in for use by the South Bay rail yard and several highways (specif ...

(which due to landfill is considerably smaller than it was in colonial times). The Fort Point artists' community is located on the opposite side of the channel. This is also called the

South Boston Waterfront South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

. Real estate listings include "Fort Point" locations east of the channel and west of the

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is an exhibition center in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is among the largest exhibition centers in the Northeastern United States, with approximately 516,000 square feet (about 4.8 hect ...

and the Boston World Trade Center. (Further south is South Boston proper.) The

Boston Redevelopment Authority The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly 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 de ...

defines the Fort Point District within the neighborhood of South Boston as "an area of approximately defined by the Fort Point Channel to the west, Summer Street to the north, the Bypass Road to the east, and West 2nd Street to the south." The Summer Street Bridge, which crosses the channel, has a sign which welcomes eastbound travelers to South Boston, and westbound travelers to Fort Point. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

Bulk Mail Center Bulk mail broadly refers to mail that is mailed and processed in bulk at reduced rates. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for advertising mail. The United States Postal Service (USPS) defines bulk mail broadly as "quantities of mail prepare ...

at Fort Point Station is located between the channel and

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

. To the northwest is

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

. The northeastern section of the Fort Point neighborhood, on the east side of the channel, could be said to overlap with the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

. The Fort Point neighborhood was featured in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...

''. An alley between Thompson Place and Farnsworth Street provided the setting for the fictional address "344 Wash." The dramatic views of downtown Boston from the rooftops of Fort Point were prominently featured in the film. In 2001, the Fort Point District was petitioned as a Landmark District with the Boston Landmarks Commission. In 2007, a Mayoral-appointed Study Committee began drafting District guidelines. In December 2008,

Mayor Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

and the Boston Landmarks Commission voted in favor of the guidelines which were officially approved on January 28, 2009 by the Boston City Council.

Transportation

Fort Point is served by the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

via Broadway station and South Station as well as bus routes #7, #9, #11 and #47. The

Silver Line (MBTA) The Silver Line is a system of bus routes in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It is operated as part of the MBTA bus system, but branded as bus rapid transit (BRT) as part of ...

bus rapid transit (BRT) system serves parts of Fort Point. Several water taxi companies serve Fort Point locations along

such as Atlantic Wharf, Children's Wharf and the

John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, located on Fan Pier on the Boston, Massac ...

/Fan Pier connecting to

Rowes Wharf The current incarnation of Rowes Wharf (built 1987) is a modern development in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is best known for the Boston Harbor Hotel's multi-story arch over the wide public plaza between Atlantic Avenue and the Boston Harb ...

and

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

. With the rapid growth of Fort Point, private shuttles have supplemented public transportation to the neighborhood. The Southie Shuttle, Cultural Connector and Channel Center Shuttle are some of the private transportation services. In 2013, plans were announced that diesel rail service would connect the South Boston Waterfront to Back Bay.

Points of interest

*Grand Circle Gallery: 347 Congress Street *300 Summer Street Artist Building *

Artists for Humanity Artists For Humanity (AFH) is a non-profit youth arts and enterprise organization based at 100 West Second Street in South Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Artists For Humanity provides inner-city youth with keys to self-sufficiency through ...

*Art Basin: in Fort Point Channel * Boston Children's Museum *Design Innovation Gallery: 63 Melcher Street *Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC) Gallery: 300 Summer Street *Fort Point Pier *FP3 Gallery: 346 Congress Street *Hood Milk Bottle *

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is an art museum and exhibition space located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. The museum was founded as the Boston Museum of Modern Art in 1936. Since then it has gone through multiple na ...

*Midway Studios Artist Building *Midway Channel Gallery: 15 Channel Center Street *Northern Avenue Bridge *Walter Feldman Gallery: 15 Channel Center Street

References

External links

Fort Point Neighborhood Alliance official website

Fort Point Artist Community

Fort Point Theatre Channel

Seaport Alliance for a Neighborhood Design (SAND)

Fort Point Stage & Outdoor Movie Series

Fort Point Blog

Boston Public Library
- photos of Ft. Point from the Boston Wharf Company
Fort Point Channel Boston Blog

Seaport Boston History Pics
- Then-and-Now photos of Fort Point & Seaport {{BostonMA Neighborhoods in Boston