Back Bay is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Back Bay and neighboring Beacon Hill are
considered Boston's most upscale and desirable neighborhoods, with townhouses selling regularly
for over $3,000,000. Popular shopping destinations are located along Newbury and Boylston Streets as well as in Copley Square. Architecturally the neighborhood is dominated by Victorian brownstone buildings in its northern, more residential portion; the southern part of the neighborhood is far more commercial and is home to some of Boston's tallest skyscrapers.
The boundaries of the Back Bay, as defined by the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, are "the Charles
River on the North; Arlington Street to Park Square on the East; Columbus Avenue to the 'New York,
New Haven, & Hartford' right-of-way (south of Stuart Street and Copley Place), Huntington Avenue,
Dalton Street, and the Massachusetts Turnpike on the South; and Charlesgate East on the West."
The block between Charlesgate and Kenmore Square is often included as it retains Commonwealth
Avenue's central park and pedestrial mall. The Back Bay Architectural District, which is much
smaller, was established by state law in 1966, and 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".
The neighborhood gained its name because the area was, in fact, before it was filled in, literally the "Back Bay" for Boston. To the west of the Shawmut Peninsula, on the far side from Boston Harbor, a wide bay opened between Boston and Cambridge, with the Charles River entering at the west side. As with all of the New England coast, the bay was tidal, with water rising and falling several feet over the course of the day. At low water, part of the bottom of the bay was exposed.
In 1814, the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation was chartered to construct a mill dam, which would also serve as a toll road connecting Boston to Watertown, bypassing Boston Neck. The dam was later buried under present-day Beacon Street.[3]
The Back Bay neighborhood was created when a parcel of land was created by filling the tidewater flats of the Charles River.
Back Bay's development was planned by architect Arthur Gilman with Gridley James Fox Bryant. Strict regulations produced a uniform and well-integrated architecture, consisting mostly of dignified three- and four-story residential (or once-residential) brownstones.
Greatly influenced by Haussmann's renovation of Paris in the mid-to-late 19th century, the main thoroughfares of Back Bay emphasize order, with wide, parallel, tree-lined avenues and more homogenous architectural styles.
It is best-known for its expensive housing and shopping areas. Most stores are located on Newbury and Boylston Streets, with the ends closer to the Boston Public Garden traditionally more expensive. The Back Bay is dense with luxury hotels.
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