Walking Tours of Boston's Made Land

About Walking Tours of Boston’s Made Land

Exploring Boston’s past and present: 12 walks that trace the creation of the city’s man-made land in the central waterfront, Back Bay, South End, Charlestown, and elsewhere.

At its founding, Boston was a small peninsula; over the last 375 years the city has doubled in size by filling in the surrounding tidal flats—areas covered with water at high tide and exposed at low. In Walking Tours of Boston’s Made Land, historian Nancy Seasholes outlines twelve walks that trace where and why Boston’s man-made land was created, and, along the way, uncovers fascinating and little-known pieces of Boston history. In the course of these walks—around the central waterfront, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, Charlestown, and elsewhere—she shows us how Boston’s past is always just below the surface of its present.

Each walk is accompanied by a map that shows the route and original shoreline. The walks are illustrated with historical maps, historical photographs and views, and current photographs. All walks are accessible by public transportation.