| Boston HarborWalk | |
|---|---|
| Part of Harborwalk under Charlestown Bridge. | |
| Length | 46.9 miles (75.5 km) |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Trailheads | Chelsea Creek, Neponset River |
| Use | Walking, bicycling, inline skating |
| Trail difficulty | easy |
| Season | year round |
| Sights | Boston Harbor |
| Hazards | follows edges of piers, some stairs |
Boston HarborWalk is a public walkway that follows the edge of piers, wharves, beaches and shoreline around Boston Harbor. Plans call for it to extend a distance of 46.9 miles (75.5 km) from Chelsea Creek to the Neponset River, and it is about 80% complete. [1]
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Creation of the HarborWalk is a long-term cooperative project between the City of Boston, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, MassDEP, and the Boston Harbor Association to maintain a walkable waterfront in the city as public access areas. Since 1984, the project has established parks, walking paths, educational sites, transportation facilities, and other amenities along the harbor, stretching from East Boston to Dorchester. Sections of the Harborwalk are made possible by the provisions of Chapter 91 of the M.G.L. that protects the public’s rights and access to private and public Commonwealth tidelands.
The HarborWalk also leads into other pedestrian walking trails including the South Bay Harbor Trail; Rolling Bridge Park, along Fort Point Channel; and Miller's River Littoral Way under the Zakim Bridge that follows from Paul Revere Park in Charlestown to Rutherford Ave. Many of these pedestrian connections were made as part of the Boston's BIg DIg Highway Project and contribute to Boston being one of the most walkable cities in the country. [2]
Along many parts of the HarborWalk sculptural artwork is placed and serves as way finding landmarks. Playful fish sculpture benches by Judy Kensley McKie have been created for Eastport Park, South Boston; sculptures by Tony Smith, Willem deKooning, Luis Jimenez, Dennis Oppenheim, William Tucker, and Sol LeWitt are located on the University of Massachusetts Boston Campus on Columbia Point in Dorchester. In South Boston between the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Federal Courthouse a series of artworks by Ross Miller evoke moments in the history of Fan Pier. Memorial sculptures found along the HarborWalk include a Memorial to Robert Greene, Firefighter at Castle Island; a Korean War Memorial at Shipyard Park in the Charlestown Navy Yard. A Native American Memorial is in development for Deer Island (Massachusetts) In the North End's Langone Park’s is a memorial dedicated to the U.S. Maritime Service from the people of Boston.
Along the HarborWalk are several indoor displays of historical materials that are available for view 24 hours a day. A selection from the archive of Norman B. Leventhal’s collection of Maps of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay is located in the lobby of the Boston Harbor Hotel; and in the lobby of Building 114 at the Charlestown Navy Yard is an exhibition of boat models, photographs and boat building tools.