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Monday, August 13, 2012

Boston by Boat (Tour)

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to the city of Boston, MA. It’s home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.boston harbor collage2Our recent 1-day Boston trip, included an Old Town trolley tour, AND a narrated Boston Harbor tour. We learned a lot about this waterway, including some of this information.
It’s now home to the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. This US Navy wooden-hulled, 44-gun, three-masted heavy frigate was named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the US.old ironsides collageAbove are three similar photos; the middle is an unaltered shot and the other photos were transformed in Picasa; cross process on the left and sketch pencil on the right.IMG_0339Constitution, called Old Ironsides, is renowned for service during the War of 1812 against Great Britain. She was given the nickname after shots were said to bounce off the ship’s sides, which are not made of iron, but heavy oak. The ship is open for free guided tours given by several of its active duty US sailors.
IMG_0354The US Coast Guard operates all over Boston, largely from its headquarters in the North End waterfront. The Coast Guard recently marked the 222 anniversary of its founding date on August 4, 1790. IMG_0367Boston Harbor has been an important American port since its 1614 discovery by Captain John Smith. It was the site of the Boston Tea Party and continuous backfilling of the harbor until the 19th century. Boston’s Back Bay is one of the city’s most expensive residential neighborhoods, yet was once part of the harbor.

By 1660, most imports came to the greater Boston area and the New England coast through the harbor. But, as the population increased, the health of the harbor decreased and people weredrains to harbor advised not to swim or fish there. 

Throughout its history, Boston Harbor has had issues related to raw sewage being pumped in it. Plaques like the one here are seen on city sidewalks. The Charles River was so polluted that in 1966 the Standells, a punk rock band, released Dirty Water; it’s popular with Red Sox fans and played regularly at Fenway Park.

Cleanup projects begun in the 1980s, including creation of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority have transformed Boston Harbor from one of the nation’s worst to one of the cleanest.boston harbor collage3

10 comments:

possum said...

AH, good old Bahstin... Takes me back to my kidhood when my Aunt Thelma dragged us onto Old Ironsides every year and to every other histerical site in the town while my cousins and I tried to find ways to entertain ourselves and avoid the history lessons. All we wanted was to get back in the pool. AH, kids......
Your tour was quite painless... Thanks for the memories!

Out on the prairie said...

What a fun town to play in I am envious.

Anonymous said...

I love your photos. My brother and his son visited Boston several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Have a good day!

Anonymous said...

I do like those old ships made from tree! We have two in Gothenburg and one is a replica of an East India ship that sunk just outside Gothenburg. The owners did it to get insurance money and still bring up most of what it brought from China :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

Charlotte Wilson said...

Looks like Y'all had a blast! You make me want to go on a vacation too.
:o)

♥charlotte

Connie said...

Great pictures and interesting information, Beatrice. Sounds like you had a good time.

CountryDew said...

Nice shots, and an interesting read! Great entry.

Elaine said...

It appears you had a sunny day for your harbor tour. That always makes it more fun. Lovely photos!

Montanagirl said...

I always learn something from your posts! And nice photos to accompany as well.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Nice day for a boat ride because it certainly shows in the pictures!...:)JP