Bowdoin Street 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 ...

extends from the top of

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...

, down Beacon Hill to Cambridge Street, near the West End. It was originally called "Middlecott Street" as early as the 1750s. In 1805 it was renamed after the Governor

James Bowdoin James Bowdoin II (; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American political and intellectual leader from Boston, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealthy ...

Location and description

Bowdoin is situated on the north side of Beacon Hill, and runs north to south. It is primarily a residential street. Topographically, Bowdoin Street is a hill from Cambridge Street at the bottom to its north, and Beacon Street at the top to its south.

Residences

The street is flanked on both sides by apartment complexes. Lindsay Place dominates the western side, with four buildings built in 1886 which are protected historic buildings. Bowdoin Place, completed in 2003, extends along the street's eastern half. In the 18th century Governor James Bowdoin lived at the corner of Beacon and Bowdoin Streets. He had "one of the largest gardens of that day

n Boston N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

... a large house and an extensive lot of land. ... He had a garden abounding in the finest fruits—pears and peaches, apples and grapes." At the turn of the 19th century, Joseph Coolidge, Sr., lived here in a large house built by architect

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

. Bulfinch himself lived on Bowdoin Street, briefly. From 1946 to his death,

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

kept an apartment at 122 Bowdoin Street. DanielWebsterStatue 1859 Boston

Government Buildings

The

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...

faces Beacon Street with several entrances from Bowdoin Street. Ashburton Place, which contains other state and local offices, is also accessible from Bowdoin.

Businesses

The few businesses on Bowdoin are restaurants, including Grotto (between 33 and 45 Bowdoin) and the

Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...

at the corner. Duck-Boat operators' patter refers to the coffee shop as "the only place in town where you can get a cappuccino and sushi at once." The Osaka Sushi place shares the building with the doughnut shop and a deli. There are two bars on the street. At the north end, the Red Hat, known for its pitchers of Mud Slides and other frozen drinks, is referred to as "Old Scollay's Red Hat." The other bar, at the south end, is the "Twenty-First Amendment," named for the

Constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

to repeal alcohol

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

in the United States.

Church

St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church is on Bowdoin Street.

Solomon Willard Solomon Willard (June 26, 1783 – February 27, 1861) was a carver and builder in Massachusetts who is remembered primarily for designing and overseeing the Bunker Hill Monument, the first monumental obelisk erected in the United States. Backgr ...

designed it. "The church building, made of stone in a gothic style, was erected in 1831 by Congregationalist Christians. From 1863–83, it was occupied by the Church of the Advent (which afterwards moved to its current location on Brimmer Street). In 1883, the building became the Mission Church of St. John the Evangelist under the auspices of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, a monastic order. After building a new monastery on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, the SSJE brothers continued their mission work at St. John's. In 1985, almost a century after the brothers established the mission church here, St. John's became a Parish Church in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts."

The Square

Bowdoin Square was put to rest in about 1955, but lives on as a subway station, called appropriately, "Bowdoin." It is at one end of the Blue Line of 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 ...

Gallery

Image:2885438724 BowdoinSt Boston.jpg, Beacon Hill, with Mr. Thurston's house, from Bowdoin Street, ca.1811 Image:1816 furniture BowdoinSt BostonDailyAdvertiser April17.png, Advertisement for furniture auction, 1816 Image:1834 BowdoinStChurch Boston.png, Order of services for the Fatherless and Widows' Society, Bowdoin Street Meeting House, 1834 Image:1845 Wilkes BowdoinSt Boston.png, Mr. & Mrs. Wilkes' establishment for young ladies, 1845 Image:2010_BowdoinSt_Boston8.jpg, Corner of Cambridge St. and Bowdoin St., 2010 Image:2010_LeverettSaltonstallPlace_Boston4.jpg, Leverett Saltonstall Place, off of Bowdoin St., 2010 Image:2010_BowdoinSt_Boston5.jpg, View of church, Bowdoin St., with Cambridge St. in the distance, 2010

References

External links

Bostonian Society
has materials related to the street.
Google news archive
* https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003654251/ * https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95860749/ {{coord, 42.3597, -71.0629, region:US-MA, display=title

Bowdoin Street Bowdoin Street in Boston, Massachusetts extends from the top of Beacon Street, down Beacon Hill to Cambridge Street, near the West End. It was originally called "Middlecott Street" as early as the 1750s. In 1805 it was renamed after the Governor ...

Beacon Hill, Boston