Long Wharf is a historic American pier in Boston, Massachusetts, built between 1710 and 1721. It once extended from State Street nearly a half-mile into

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

; today, the much-shortened wharf (due to land fill on the city end) functions as a dock for passenger ferries and sightseeing boats.

History

18th century

Construction of the wharf began around 1710. As originally built the wharf extended from the shoreline adjacent to

Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others ...

and was one-third of a mile long, thrusting considerably farther than other wharves into deep water and thus allowing larger ships to tie up and unload directly to new warehouses and stores. "Constructed by Captain Oliver Noyes, it was lined with warehouses and served as the focus of Boston's great harbor." Over time the water areas surrounding the landward end of the wharf were reclaimed, including the areas now occupied by

Quincy Market Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed between 1824 and 1826 and named in honor of mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. The market is ...

and the

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

. "At the wharf's head in the 18th century was the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern. The painter

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...

spent his childhood on the wharf, where his mother had a tobacco shop." The 1760s Gardiner Building, once home to

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

counting house A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment. As the use of ...

and now a Chart House restaurant, is the wharf's oldest surviving structure.

19th century

Among several similar structures, a grand granite warehouse known as the Custom House Block was built in 1848 atop the wharf; it has survived into the 21st century. The mid-19th century was the height of Boston's importance as a shipping center, lasting roughly until the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Long Wharf was the central focus of much of this economic activity. In the late 1860s, as the city's port began to decline in importance as an international shipping destination, Atlantic Avenue was cut through this and other wharves, changing the face of the waterfront.

20th century

The construction of the elevated

Central Artery The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3. The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after ...

along Atlantic Avenue in the 1950s separated Long Wharf from Boston's business district. The wharf and the 19th-century Custom House Block were recognized as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in recognition for the role they played in the history of Boston and its importance as a major 19th-century shipping center.

21st century

The

Big Dig The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4& ...

put the Central Artery below ground level, which partially restored the original close relationship between Long Wharf and downtown. Since ca.1990, Long Wharf has been transformed from a failing commercial waterfront area into a recreational and cultural center. Today, Long Wharf is adjacent to the

New England Aquarium The New England Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, weedy seadra ...

, and is served by the Aquarium station on MBTA's Blue Line subway. MBTA boat services link the wharf to the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

in Charlestown,

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 ...

, Hull, and Quincy. Other passenger ferry services operate to the islands of the

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a national recreation area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsul ...

, and to the cities of Salem and

Provincetown Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

. Cruise boats operate various cruises around the harbour. The wharf itself is occupied by a hotel, several restaurants and shops. At the seaward end, there is a large plaza with extensive views of the harbor. Now much shortened by

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

at its landward end, today it serves as the principal terminus for cruise boats and harbor ferries operating on

Custom House Block

The Custom House Block (), built in 1845-87 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, is a former warehouse on Long Wharf, at the end of State Street. Architect

Isaiah Rogers Isaiah Rogers (August 17, 1800 – April 13, 1869) was an American architect from Massachusetts who eventually moved his practice south, where he was based in Louisville, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio. He completed numerous designs for hotels, ...

designed the four-storey building, constructed of granite and brick. In its 19th-century heyday, it contributed to the life of "Boston's busiest pier, commercial port, and embarkation point for travelers." Today private owners maintain the site. The building was renovated in 1973 by Anderson, Notter, Feingold.

Gardiner Building

The Gardiner Building (), located on Long Wharf, is a brick Colonial style warehouse built in 1763 and rebuilt in 1812. At one time it was used as

. Long Wharf was once filled with this kind of building, but this is the only one remaining; it is the wharf's oldest surviving structure. The building was renovated in 1973 by Anderson, Notter, Feingold. It is currently a Chart House seafood restaurant. The Gardiner Building features a

slate roof Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

and "six-over-six" windows with shutters. The lintels and sills are granite.

Services

The following marine services operate from the Long Wharf: *

MBTA Boat The MBTA boat or MBTA ferry system is a public boat service providing water transportation in Boston Harbor. It is operated by Boston Harbor Cruises (BHC) under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In , the system h ...

(north side) * Ferries to the

(north side) * Ferry to

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

(north side) * Ferry to

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

Water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

harbor tours (south side) – Aquarium itself is on Central Wharf to the immediate south * Various harbor cruises * Docks for private vessels

References

External links

Google news archive
Articles about Long Wharf.
Harvard Business School
Proprietors of the Boston Pier, or Long Wharf records, 1762-1903 {{Authority control 1710 establishments in Massachusetts Boston Harbor Landmarks in Financial District, Boston Wharves in Boston Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts History of Boston National Historic Landmarks in Boston Wharves on the National Register of Historic Places Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston Buildings and structures completed in 1710