Back Bayis an officially recognizedneighborhoodofBoston,Massachusetts,[2]built onreclaimed landin theCharles Riverbasin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and the area was fully built by around 1900.[3]It is most famous for its rows ofVictorianbrownstonehomes—considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States—as well as numerous architecturally significant individual buildings, and cultural institutions such as theBoston Public Library,andBoston Architectural College.Initially conceived as a residential-only area, commercial buildings were permitted from around 1890, and Back Bay now features many office buildings, including theJohn Hancock Tower,Boston's tallest skyscraper.[4]It is also considered a fashionable shopping destination (especiallyNewburyandBoylston Streets,and the adjacentPrudential CenterandCopley Placemalls) and home to several major hotels.[5]
Back Bay Historic District | |
 Back Bay and theCharles River | |
    | |
| Location | Boston,Massachusetts,U.S. |
|---|---|
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Mid 19th Century Revival, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 73001948[1] |
| Added to NRHP | August 14, 1973 |
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay considers the neighborhood's bounds to be "Charles Riveron the North; Arlington Street toPark Squareon the East;Columbus Avenueto theNew York New Haven and Hartfordright-of-way (South of Stuart Street andCopley Place),Huntington Avenue,Dalton Street, and theMassachusetts Turnpikeon the South; Charlesgate East on the West. "[6][7]
History
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Before its transformation into buildable land by a 19th-century filling project, the Back Bay was a bay, west of theShawmut Peninsula(on the far side fromBoston Harbor) between Boston andCambridge,theCharles Riverentering from the west. This bay was tidal: the water rose and fell several feet over the course of each day, and at low tide much of the bay's bed was exposed as a marshy flat. As early as 5,200 years before present, Native Americans builtfish weirshere, evidence of which was discovered during subway construction in 1913 (seeAncient Fishweir ProjectandBoylston Street Fishweir).
In 1814, the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation was chartered to construct amilldam,which would also serve as a toll road connecting Boston toWatertown,bypassingBoston Neck.The dam prevented the natural tides from flushing sewage out to sea, creating severe sanitary and odor problems.[9]With costs higher and power lower than expected, in the end, the project was an economic failure, and in 1857 a massive project was begun to "make land" by filling the area enclosed by the dam.[10]
The firm of Goss and Munson extended railroad lines to quarries inNeedham, Massachusetts,9 miles (14 km) away; a 35-car train carrying gravel and other fill arrived every 45 minutes, day and night.[11]When the Needham gravel pits were exhausted, additional fill was found in Canton, Dedham, Hyde Park, and Westwood.[12]William Dean Howellsrecalled "the beginnings of Commonwealth Avenue, and the other streets of the Back Bay, laid out with their basements left hollowed in the made land, which the gravel trains were yet making out of the westward hills."[13]
Present-day Back Bay itself was filled by 1882; the project reached existing land at what is nowKenmore Squarein 1890, and finished in theFens[vague]in 1900.[14]Much of the old mill dam remains buried under present-day Beacon Street.[15]The project was the largest of a number ofland reclamationprojects which, beginning in 1820, more than doubled the size of the original Shawmut Peninsula.
Completion of theCharles River Damin 1910 converted the former Charles estuary into a freshwater basin; theCharles River Esplanadewas constructed to allow residents to enjoy the view of the new lagoon.[16]The Esplanade has since undergone several changes, including the construction ofStorrow Drive.[17]
Roads
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The Back Bay is traversed by five east–west corridors:Beacon Street,Marlborough Street,Commonwealth Avenue,Newbury StreetandBoylston Street.These are interrupted at regular intervals by north–south streets named Alpha betically: Arlington (along the western border of theBoston Public Garden), Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester and Hereford Streets. All of the west–east streets, except Commonwealth Avenue, are one-way streets.
In the 1960s, the "High Spine"design plan, in conjunction with development plans, gave way to the construction of high-rise buildings along theMassachusetts Turnpike,which in turn allowed the development of major projects in the area.
Architecture
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Building guidelines
editThe plan of Back Bay, byArthur Gilmanof the firmGridley James Fox Bryant,was greatly influenced byHaussmann's renovation of Paris.[18]It featured wide, parallel, tree-lined avenues unlike anything seen in other Boston neighborhoods.[citation needed]Five east–west corridors—Beacon Street(closest to the Charles), Marlborough Street,Commonwealth Avenue(actually two one-way thoroughfares flanking the tree-lined pedestrian Commonwealth Avenue Mall),Newbury StreetandBoylston Street—are intersected at regular intervals by north–south cross streets: Arlington (along the western edge of thePublic Garden), Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, and Hereford. An 1874 guidebook[19]noted the trisyllabic-disyllabic alternation of that Alpha betic sequence; the series continues in the adjacent Fenway neighborhood with Ipswich, Jersey, and Kilmarnock Streets. West of Hereford areMassachusetts Avenue(a regional thoroughfare crossing theHarvard Bridgeto Cambridge and far beyond) andCharlesgate,which forms the Back Bay's western boundary.
Setbackrequirements and other restrictions, written into the lot deeds of the newly filled Back Bay, produced harmonious rows of dignified three- to five-story residentialbrownstones(though most along Newbury Street are now in commercial or mixed use). The Back Bay is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places,and is considered one of the best-preserved examples of 19th-century urban architecture in the United States.[20]In 1966, the Massachusetts Legislature, "to safeguard the heritage of the city of Boston by preventing the despoliation" of the Back Bay, created theBack Bay Architectural Districtto regulate exterior changes to Back Bay buildings.[7][21]
Since the 1960s, the concept of aHigh Spinehas influenced large-project development in Boston, reinforced byzoningrules permitting high-rise construction along the axis of theMassachusetts Turnpike,includingair rightssiting of buildings.[22]
Buildings around Copley Square
edit
Copley SquarefeaturesTrinity Church,theBoston Public Library,theJohn Hancock Tower,and numerous other notable buildings.
- Trinity Church(1872–1877,H.H. Richardson), "deservedly regarded as one of the finest buildings in America."[23]
- The first monumental structure in Copley Square was the originalMuseum of Fine Arts,begun 1870 and opened 1876. After the museum moved to theFenwayneighborhood in 1909 its redGothic Revivalbuilding was demolished to make way forthe Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel(1912–present).
- TheBoston Public Library(1888–1892), designed byMcKim, Mead, and White,is a leading example ofBeaux-Arts architecturein the US. Sited across Copley Square from Trinity Church, it was intended to be "a palace for the people."Baedeker's 1893 guide terms it "dignified and imposing, simple and scholarly," and "a worthy mate... to Trinity Church." At that time, its 600,000 volumes made it the largest free public library in the world.
- TheOld South Church,also called the New Old South Church (645 Boylston Street on Copley Square), 1872–75, is located across the street from the Boston Public Library. It was designed by the Boston architectural firm ofCummings and Searsin theVenetian Gothicstyle. The style follows the precepts of the British cultural theorist and architectural criticJohn Ruskin(1819–1900) as outlined in his treatiseThe Stones of Venice.Old South Church remains a significant example of Ruskin's influence on architecture in the US.Charles Amos Cummingsand Willard T. Sears also designed theIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
- There were at various times three different "Hancock buildings" in the Back Bay, culminating in askyscraperflanking Trinity Church:
- TheStephen L. Brown Building(Parker, Thomas & Rice,1922) was the first of the three Hancock buildings:
- The Old John Hancock Building(Cram and Ferguson,1947) was the tallest building in Back Bay until construction of the Prudential Tower. (Sometimes called theBerkeley Building,though not to be confused with the actual Berkeley Building,below.)
- The John Hancock Tower(I. M. Pei,1972), New England's tallest building at 60 stories, is a dark-blue reflective glass tower with a footprint in the form of a narrow parallelogram. Admirers assert that it does not diminish the impact of Trinity Church; a critic said it "may be nihilistic, overbearing, even elegantly rude, but it's not dull."[24]
Other prominent buildings
edit- The 52-storyPrudential Tower,thought to be a marvel in 1964, is now considered ugly by some critics.[24]Although thePrudential Towerhas garnered scant architectural acclaim, the Prudential Center overall was awarded the Urban Land Institute's "Award for Best Mixed Use Property" in 2006.[25]
- 111 Huntington Avenue(2002), a 36-story tower south of the Prudential Center, is Boston's eighth-tallest building. The building is crowned by an open dome frame and an enclosed "Wintergarden",and features a 1.2-acre (4,900 m2) fully landscaped South Garden. It was nominated for the 2002 Emporis Skyscraper Award, and received third place "bronze".[26]
- Arlington Street Church(Arthur Gilman,1861), inspired by London'sSt Martin-in-the-Fields,was the first church built in the newly filled Back Bay. (Architect Gilman also designed Back Bay's grid-style street plan.)
- Berkeley Building(Constant-Désiré Despradelle,1905) features a whiteterra cottaBeaux-Arts architecturefacade on a steel frame.
- Boston Park Plaza(George B. Post,1927), a prototype of the grand American hotel, it was the first hotel in the world to offer in-room radio in every room.
- Church of the Covenant(Richard M. Upjohn,1865–1867) is a Presbyterian church ofRoxbury puddingstoneinGothic Revival style,which its designer intended as "a high gothic edifice... which no ordinary dwelling house would overtop."[27]
- The Colonnade Hotel(1971), with its row of columns, delineates the "back side" of the Prudential Center complex.
- The First Church of Christ, Scientist(1894; extended 1904), the centerpiece of the Christian Science Plaza, which also features a reflecting pool.
- TheGibson House(1860), preserved very much as it was in the 19th century, is now a museum.
- TheMary Baker Eddy LibraryandMappariummuseum and Library
- TheNew England Life Building(now called the Newbry Building) occupies the site of theMassachusetts Institute of Technology's first home, theRogers Building(1866–1939) byWilliam G. Preston.On the same block (and also by Preston) is the original home ofBoston Society of Natural History;[28]the Society is now Boston'sMuseum of Science—located elsewhere—but the building remains, now in retail use.
- TheSaint Clement Eucharistic Shrine(Arthur F. Gray, 1922), today a Roman Catholic church, was originally built for the Second Universalist Society.
Cultural and educational institutions
edit
Prominent cultural and educational institutions in the Back Bay include:
- Alliance française,on Marlborough Street
- Berklee College of Music,which occupies a number of older and newly built Back Bay buildings
- Boston Architectural College,the oldest independent architecture school in the US
- Boston Conservatory,with buildings on Hemenway Street and The Fenway
- Goethe Institute,on Newbury Street
- New England College of Optometry,the oldest optometry school in the US, located on Beacon Street
- New England Conservatory,on Huntington Avenue
- New England Historic Genealogical Society,whose archive and research center is at 99 Newbury Street
Parkland
edit- TheBack Bay Fensis a large picturesque park on Back Bay's south edge that forms part of Boston'sEmerald Necklace.
- TheCharles River Reservationruns betweenStorrow Driveand theCharles Riverat Back Bay's northern border.
- Commonwealth Avenue,which runs through the center of Back Bay, has a large center mall.
- Copley Square,named for painterJohn Singleton Copley,is a public square in southeast Back Bay.
Transportation
editBack Bay is served by theGreen Line'sArlington,Copley,Hynes Convention Center,andPrudentialstations, and theOrange Line'sBack Bay station(which is also anMBTA Commuter RailandAmtrakstation).
Demographics
editRace
edit| Race | Percentage of 02115 population |
Percentage of Massachusetts population |
Percentage of United States population |
ZIP Code-to-State Difference |
ZIP Code-to-USA Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 67.2% | 81.3% | 76.6% | −14.1% | −9.4% |
| White (Non-Hispanic) | 60.7% | 72.1% | 60.7% | −11.4% | +0.0% |
| Asian | 15.1% | 6.9% | 5.8% | +8.2% | +9.3% |
| Hispanic | 13.2% | 11.9% | 18.1% | +1.3% | −4.9% |
| Black | 8.9% | 8.8% | 13.4% | +0.1% | −4.5% |
| Native Americans/Hawaiians | 0.3% | 0.6% | 1.5% | −0.3% | −1.2% |
| Two or more races | 3.5% | 2.4% | 2.7% | +1.1% | +0.8% |
| Race | Percentage of 02116 population |
Percentage of Massachusetts population |
Percentage of United States population |
ZIP Code-to-State Difference |
ZIP Code-to-USA Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 77.1% | 81.3% | 76.6% | −4.2% | +0.5% |
| White (Non-Hispanic) | 70.9% | 72.1% | 60.7% | −1.2% | +10.2% |
| Asian | 14.4% | 6.9% | 5.8% | +7.5% | +8.6% |
| Hispanic | 7.5% | 11.9% | 18.1% | −4.4% | −10.6% |
| Black | 4.9% | 8.8% | 13.4% | −3.9% | −8.5% |
| Native Americans/Hawaiians | 0.2% | 0.6% | 1.5% | −0.4% | −1.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% | 2.4% | 2.7% | −0.2% | −0.5% |
Ancestry
editAccording to the 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups inZIP Codes02115 and 02116 are:[32][33]
| Ancestry | Percentage of 02115 population |
Percentage of Massachusetts population |
Percentage of United States population |
ZIP Code-to-State Difference |
ZIP Code-to-USA Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish | 13.43% | 21.16% | 10.39% | −7.73% | +3.04% |
| Italian | 10.57% | 13.19% | 5.39% | −2.61% | +5.18% |
| Chinese | 7.82% | 2.28% | 1.24% | +5.54% | +6.58% |
| German | 7.36% | 6.00% | 14.40% | +1.36% | −7.04% |
| English | 4.89% | 9.77% | 7.67% | −4.88% | −2.77% |
| Polish | 3.36% | 4.67% | 2.93% | −1.31% | +0.42% |
| Russian | 3.20% | 1.65% | 0.88% | +1.55% | +2.33% |
| French | 2.97% | 6.82% | 2.56% | −3.85% | +0.41% |
| Asian Indian | 2.82% | 1.39% | 1.09% | +1.43% | +1.73% |
| Sub-Saharan African | 2.67% | 2.00% | 1.01% | +0.67% | +1.66% |
| American | 2.40% | 4.26% | 6.89% | −1.87% | −4.50% |
| Arab | 2.12% | 1.10% | 0.59% | +1.02% | +1.53% |
| Mexican | 2.00% | 0.67% | 11.96% | +1.33% | −9.96% |
| Puerto Rican | 1.95% | 4.52% | 1.66% | −2.57% | +0.29% |
| French Canadian | 1.79% | 3.91% | 0.65% | −2.12% | +1.13% |
| European | 1.77% | 1.08% | 1.23% | +0.69% | +0.54% |
| Korean | 1.39% | 0.37% | 0.45% | +0.67% | +0.89% |
| Scottish | 1.16% | 2.28% | 1.71% | −1.12% | −0.55% |
| Greek | 1.05% | 1.22% | 0.40% | −0.17% | +0.65% |
| Portuguese | 1.05% | 4.40% | 0.43% | −3.35% | +0.62% |
| Swedish | 1.05% | 1.67% | 1.23% | −0.62% | −0.18% |
| Ancestry | Percentage of 02116 population |
Percentage of Massachusetts population |
Percentage of United States population |
ZIP Code-to-State Difference |
ZIP Code-to-USA Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish | 16.93% | 21.16% | 10.39% | −4.23% | +6.54% |
| Italian | 10.58% | 13.19% | 5.39% | −2.61% | +5.19% |
| Chinese | 10.16% | 2.28% | 1.24% | +7.88% | +8.92% |
| German | 9.82% | 6.00% | 14.40% | +3.82% | −4.58% |
| English | 9.39% | 9.77% | 7.67% | −0.39% | +1.72% |
| Polish | 4.84% | 4.67% | 2.93% | +0.17% | +1.91% |
| Russian | 4.18% | 1.65% | 0.88% | +2.53% | +3.30% |
| French | 3.25% | 6.82% | 2.56% | −3.58% | +0.69% |
| Scottish | 2.65% | 2.28% | 1.71% | +0.37% | +0.94% |
| American | 2.46% | 4.26% | 6.89% | −1.80% | −4.43% |
| Puerto Rican | 2.46% | 4.52% | 1.66% | −2.06% | +0.80% |
| European | 2.08% | 1.08% | 1.23% | +1.00% | −0.85% |
| Sub-Saharan African | 1.72% | 2.00% | 1.01% | −0.28% | +0.71% |
| Mexican | 1.56% | 0.67% | 11.96% | +0.89% | −10.40% |
| Asian Indian | 1.52% | 1.39% | 1.09% | +0.13% | +0.43% |
| Arab | 1.48% | 1.10% | 0.59% | +0.38% | +0.89% |
| Swedish | 1.39% | 1.67% | 1.23% | −0.28% | +0.16% |
| Cape Verdean | 1.38% | 0.97% | 0.03% | +0.41% | +1.35% |
| French Canadian | 1.35% | 3.91% | 0.65% | −2.55% | +0.70% |
| Greek | 1.29% | 1.22% | 0.40% | +0.07% | +0.89% |
| Dutch | 1.27% | 0.62% | 1.32% | +0.65% | −0.05% |
| Eastern European | 1.16% | 0.42% | 0.17% | +0.74% | +0.99% |
| Scotch-Irish | 1.09% | 0.63% | 0.96% | +0.46% | +0.13% |
| British | 1.08% | 0.48% | 0.43% | +0.60% | +0.65% |
See also
editNotes and references
editNotes
edit- ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.January 23, 2007.
- ^"NEIGHBORHOODS".October 13, 2017.
- ^City of Boston 2017,p. 2.
- ^City of Boston 2017,p. 8.
- ^William A. Newman; Wilfred E. Holton (2006).Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-century Landfill Project.UPNE. p. 187.ISBN9781555536510.
- ^"About NABB".Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.Archivedfrom the original on February 16, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 25,2009.While the city of Boston does officially recognize various neighborhoods within its confines, it does not assign precise boundaries.[citation needed]
- ^abThe Back Bay Architectural District, somewhat smaller than "Back Bay" as defined by the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, is bounded by "the centerlines of Back Street on the north, Embankment Road and Arlington Street on the east, Boylston Street on the south, and Charlesgate East on the west."
- ^Mapping Boston(1999), Alex Krieger (editor), David Cobb (editor), Amy Turner (editor), Norman B. Leventhal (Foreword by) MIT Press,ISBN0-262-11244-2,p. 126
- ^"Boston vs. the rising tide".Boston Globe.April 28, 2018. Archived fromthe originalon May 5, 2018.RetrievedJune 6,2018.which says:By 1849, a city report described Back Bay as a "cesspool" covered with "greenish scum," and its waters "bubbling like a cauldron with the noxious gases that are exploding from the corrupting mass below."
- ^Newman, William A.; Holton, Wilfred E. (2006).Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-century Landfill Project(illustrated ed.). UPNE.ISBN978-1-55553-651-0.RetrievedFebruary 25,2015.
- ^Whitehill, Walter Muir (1968).Boston: A Topographical History(Second ed.). Cambridge, Mass., Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp.152–154.
- ^Puleo, Stephen (2010).A City So Grand.Beacon Press. p. 95.
- ^Antony, Mark; Howe, DeWolfe (1903).Boston: The Place and the People.New York: MacMillan. p. 359.
- ^However, the Kenmore and Fenway land was not all built up immediately, as explained by Bainbridge Bunting in 1967:By 1900 the Back Bay residential area had almost ceased to grow. After 1910 only thirty new houses were constructed, after 1917 none at all. Instead of paying high prices for filled land on which to erect a home within walking distance of his office, the potential home builder escaped to the suburbs on the electric trolley or in his automobile. This flight from the city left empty much of the area west ofKenmore Squareand adjacent toFenway Park,and only later was it occupied by non-descript and closely-built apartments.
- ^Back Bay HistoryArchivedSeptember 27, 2011, at theWayback MachineAccessed 2009-02-25
- ^"100 years of celebrating the Fourth of July at Esplanade".The Boston Globe.July 4, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2010.RetrievedAugust 11,2010.
- ^Campbell, Robert (March 4, 2012)."To make a better Esplanade, harness citizens' passion".Boston Globe.RetrievedMarch 4,2012.
- ^City of Boston 2017,p. 3.
- ^Nason, Elias (1874).A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts.B. B. Russell. p. 95.
- ^Jolly, Joanna(October 27, 2014)."How Boston is rethinking its relationship with the sea".BBC Magazine.RetrievedMarch 2,2015.
- ^[1],[2]
- ^Frug, Gerald E.; Barron, David J. (2013).City Bound: How States Stifle Urban Innovation.Cornell University Press.ISBN978-0-8014-5822-4.RetrievedApril 17,2014.
- ^Baedeker's United States,1893
- ^abLyndon, Donlyn (1982).The City Observed: Boston.Vintage.ISBN0-394-74894-8.:the Hancock "may be nihilistic, overbearing, even elegantly rude, but it's not dull;" the Prudential is "an energetically ugly, square shaft that offends the Boston skyline more than any other structure."
- ^"Case Studies"– Urban Land Institute
- ^"Nominees".Archived from the original on November 15, 2006.RetrievedJune 14,2011.
- ^"Church of the Covenant:Tiffany Windows"[permanent dead link]
- ^Mark Jarzombek,Designing MIT: Bosworth's New Tech(Northeastern University Press, 2004)
- ^"ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates".U.S. Census Bureau.RetrievedAugust 25,2018.
- ^ab"Massachusetts QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau".census.gov.
- ^"ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates".U.S. Census Bureau.RetrievedAugust 25,2018.
- ^"PEOPLE REPORTING ANCESTRY 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates".U.S. Census Bureau.RetrievedAugust 25,2018.
- ^"ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates".U.S. Census Bureau.RetrievedAugust 25,2018.
References
edit- Bacon, Edwin M. (1903)Boston: A Guide Book.Ginn and Company, Boston, 1903.
- Bunting, Bainbridge (1967) "Houses of Boston's Back Bay", Harvard University Press,ISBN0-674-40901-9
- Fields, W.C.: "My Little Chickadee" (1940), in which the Fields character calls himself "one of the Back Bay Twillies."
- Jarzombek, Mark,Designing MIT: Bosworth's New Tech.Northeastern University Press, 2004.ISBN1555536190.
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Back Bay Boston: The City as a Work of Art. With Essays by Lewis Mumford & Walter Muir Whitehill (Boston, 1969).
- Shand-Tucci, Douglass,Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800–2000.Amherst:University of Massachusetts Press,1999.ISBN1558492011.
- Train, Arthur (1921), "The Kid and the Camel," fromBy Advice of Counsel.( "William Montague Pepperill was a very intense young person..." )
- Howells, William Dean,Literary Friends and Acquaintance: My First Visit to New England
Further reading
edit- Anthony Mitchell Sammarco (1997).Boston's Back Bay.Images of America. Arcadia Publishing.OL1657055W.
- "Back Bay / Bay State Road"(PDF).City of Boston.2017.
External links
edit
- Concise Back Bay HistorybyBack Bay AssociationBusiness Association championing the economic vitality of Back Bay.
- Neighborhood Association of Back Bay;Back Bay timelineArchivedSeptember 27, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- History of the Boston landfill projectsCourse notes with illustrations by Professor Jeffrey Howe, Boston College
- MIT OpenCourseWare: "Building the Back Bay" (1926 account)Accessed 2009-10-08
- Interactive Back Bay map featuring architectural details and information
- Leventhal Map Center(2012),Boston in the Gilded Age: Mapping Public Places,Exhibitions,Boston Public Library,archived fromthe originalon July 23, 2014