Boston Duck Tours is a privately owned company that operates historical tours of the city of Boston using World War II replica amphibious DUKW vehicles. The company is owned and operated by Seaweed Incorporated. Boston Duck Tours first started running tours in Boston, MA on October 5th, 1994.[1] The company has three departure locations throughout the city of Boston: the Prudential Center, the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium.
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During the early days of World War II, the allies needed to unload cargo directly over the beach because there were no docks. The solution was a vehicle that was half boat and half truck that could run on land and water. Code-named DUKW, known as DUCKs by the soldiers, the first "DUCK" was actually a GMC truck enclosed in a watertight shell. DUKWs played a crucial role in the allied invasion of Sicily[2], the war in the Pacific, and D-Day. More than 40% of all over-beach supplies in Normandy[3] were transported by DUKWs during the first four months of WWII [4]
The Ducks are painted every color of the rainbow and all have names that have something to do with the city of Boston. Many of the Ducks' names have come from local area school children that participated in the "Name the Duck" contest. Some of the Duck names are "Beacon Hilda" and "Longfellow Bridget" which are a play on the neighborhood of Beacon Hill, and the Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River from Boston to Cambridge.
Founder Andrew Wilson was inspired by other duck tours in the Midwest. The company started running tours in Boston with four Ducks and now runs a fleet of 28. The first departure location was on Long Wharf in front of the New England Aquarium. In 1997 the Boston Duck Tours operation was moved to the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston at the Prudential Center. In 2002, Boston Duck Tours opened a second departure and ticketing location at the Museum of Science. In 2009, Boston Duck Tours opened a third departure and ticketing location at the New England Aquarium. Each year, Boston Duck Tours carries approximately 600,000 passengers.
In 2002, the Boston Duck Tour Ducks were first used as the parade vehicles for the New England Patriots after the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI over the St. Louis Rams. Since that time, the Boston Duck Tour Ducks have participated in seven professional sports championship parades in Boston. There have been three for New England Patriots (2002, 2004, 2005)[5], two for the Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007)[6], one for the Boston Celtics (2008)[7], and one for the Boston Bruins (2011)[8].
In 2010, Boston Duck Tours was asked to help transport flood victims in Wayland, MA. Torrential rains had left Pelham Island area of Wayland isolated and the Ducks were brought in to ferry people in and out of their neighborhood until the waters reseded.[9]