Revere Beach is a public

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

Revere, Massachusetts Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from Downtown Crossing, downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War Patriot (American Re ...

, located about north of downtown

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 ...

. The beach is over long. In 1875, a rail link was constructed to the beach, leading to its increasing popularity as a summer recreation area, and in 1896, it became the first public beach in the United States. It is still easily accessible by the

MBTA 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 ...

Blue Line from Boston, and can accommodate as many as one million visitors in a weekend during its annual sand sculpture competition.

History

Colonial to early development

In the 1620s, the area was first traversed by Europeans settlers. Within the decade, the area thrived as a farming community and after being annexed to

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 s ...

from Boston, Massachusetts, the area became known as Chelsea Beach. In 1875, the

Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachus ...

, known as the "Narrow Gauge", came to Chelsea Beach, making it easily accessible to visitors from Boston and elsewhere. Various beach-related and recreational buildings sprang up along the beach itself, which was constrained by the nearness of the railroad to the high tide mark. Several years later in 1881, locals voted to change the name of the beach to Crescent Beach. On October 1, 1896, the Metropolitan Park Commission (now part of the Massachusetts

Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...

) assumed control over the beach. Following the design of

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

Charles Eliot, the railroad tracks were moved from the beach itself to the alignment now used by the

Blue Line, and hundreds of structures were removed from the beach. On July 12, 1896, Revere Beach was opened as the first public beach in the nation. An estimated 45,000 people showed up on opening day. Only a few weeks later, tens of thousands more fled to the beach to escape the heat wave of 1896. Pier Dancing Pavilion, Revere Beach, MA

In the following decades, Revere Beach developed many attractions, including

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...

s and

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

roller skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

rinks,

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

s, and

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

s. Three roller coasters were particularly well-known: the

Cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

, a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...

that was the tallest roller coaster ever built at the time of its construction in 1925; the

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

, another wooden roller coaster; and the

Derby Racer Derby Racer was the name of two wooden roller coasters that operated at Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts. The first coaster was built in 1911 and demolished in 1936. The second coaster of the same name was built in 1937 and demolished in 194 ...

, a

racing roller coaster A dual-tracked roller coaster is a roller coaster that consists of two tracks. They can be configured as racing, dueling, or Möbius loop roller coasters. Some dual-track coasters operate only one track side at a time, including Rolling Thunde ...

. All have since been torn down.

Revere Beach riot of 1920

On the night of August 8, 1920, a riot broke out in Revere Beach when a police officer arrested a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

sailor on the charge of drunkenness. Sailors who were on

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

for the weekends saw what happened and attempted to wrestle control of their comrade from a police officer, and the riot ensued.

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

and a few

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldiers joined the sailors and surrounded the police station in attempt to free their drunken comrade. Numbering to about 400, mobs of servicemen pelted the station with rocks and fired stolen shooting-gallery weapons at it. Request for assistance was summoned to Federal troops from Fort Banks and 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 ...

, and the Chelsea Police Department.Revere Beach Riot, 1920
/ref> A detachment of 200 Army soldiers from Fort Banks arrived with fixed bayonets and assisted police in clearing the beach. The Navy gave orders to its

master-at-arms A Master-at-Arms (US: MA; UK & some Commonwealth: MAA) may be a naval rating, responsible for law enforcement, regulating duties, security, anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) for/of a country's navy; an army officer responsible for physical ...

personnel that every sailor in Revere was to be arrested. More than 100 had been placed under arrest and by August 9, military and police authorities finally kept the disorder under control. Many injuries inflicted upon policemen and civilians as well as a mob of five sailors were minor, mostly from flying stones when the mob hurled objects at the police station. The windows were smashed and much of the furniture in the station was broken.

Decline and renewal

The popularity of Revere Beach began to decline in the 1950s as the facilities at the beach deteriorated. In February 1978, a large blizzard destroyed many of the remaining structures, the sidewalks, and the sea wall. After a significant revitalization effort by city of Revere and the state of Massachusetts, the beach reopened in May 1992. On the weekend of July 19, 1996, Revere commemorated the centennial of the first opening of Revere Beach with a three-day celebration, and on May 27, 2003, Revere Beach was designated 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 2007, Revere Beach Boulevard was redesigned with new landscaping and sidewalks, and improved parking. Fairywings

New England Sand Sculpting Festival

The New England Sand Sculpting Festival has taken place at Revere Beach each July since 2004. During the festival, an area of the beach is fenced off, creating a temporary art gallery for visitors. Event organizers have proclaimed that the festival is the largest sand-sculpting contest in New England. A total of $15,000 in prize money was available for the 2010 event. The annual contest draws approximately one million visitors each year.

Water quality

Starting with the passage of the BEACH Act in 2000, a concentrated effort has been made to improve the water quality of Revere Beach and other beaches in Massachusetts. This includes a public website with water quality results and notifications of beach closures due to waterborne pathogens. Revere Beach undergoes routine testing for

Enterococcus ''Enterococcus'' is a large genus of lactic acid bacteria of the phylum Bacillota. Enterococci are gram-positive cocci that often occur in pairs (diplococci) or short chains, and are difficult to distinguish from streptococci on physical char ...

, a pathogen indicating bacteria responsible for illnesses as slight as sore throat to

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

, and

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

. The water is tested on a weekly basis at four different sites throughout the summer, from June to August. These sites are Oak Island, Revere Beach Bathhouse (state police station), Beach Street, and Point of Pines. This data is collected by the

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in th ...

Wildlife

Piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...

s, an endangered species of bird, are known to build their nests along Revere Beach in the Spring. During the birds' nesting season, string and fence enclosures are constructed to protect the birds and their eggs, the latter of which are so small as to blend in with the sand.

References

External links

Revere Beach Reservation
Department of Conservation and Recreation
City of Revere Official Website

Revere Chamber of Commerce

Revere Beach.com

Revere Beach Partnership

Revere Public Library
{{authority control 1895 establishments in Massachusetts Beaches of Massachusetts Landforms of Suffolk County, Massachusetts Parks in Suffolk County, Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1895 Revere, Massachusetts State parks of Massachusetts