Well you’re incredibly lucky. It was so fun to spend a day with him and get see his knowledge and passion. A huge goal of this channel is to meet people that inspire me and I’d say Ed and Nancy both make for an incredible start. 🗺️
Your Dad is awesome, and I have lived here all my life.. born in Boston, and I just learned quite a few things.. some of this history I knew, but not as entirely.. hopefully I see your father 1 day.. pick his brain.
When I moved here to Boston in 1996, there was a enormous billboard facing the Big Dig that read: “Rome wasn’t built in day. If it had been, we would have hired their contractor.”
@@richardpchaseii5084 Somebody sounds butt hurt that Menino was one of Boston's most loved mayors, the one who accomplished 'The Boston Miracle' with crime in the 90s. :P
The biggest failure of the big dig was that they didn’t include a rail connection between North and South Station. This would’ve unified the commuter rail system and actually reduced traffic on the highway Philly did this around the 80’s with their commuter rail and it works surprisingly well despite SEPTA’s severe underfunding
Disagree. Judging from how poorly MBTA turned out to be where it can't do 1 day without some sort of hiccup. it's probably best that they don't have that connection. Sad but MBTA priority has always been expanding their network while can't do the basics of what is there. Who wants an employee to take on more responsibility knowingly he/she is failing at what he/she is doing today, that's very counter-productive.
Boston local here! Loved the video! Though I do want to make a note on the Big Dig and the central artery which came before it. The creation of that first highway was in direct response to an increase in federal interstate funding in combination with wealthy white Bostonians moving to the suburbs as the schools were integrated. Its creation entailed the destruction of growing immigrant neighborhoods to service wealthy white suburbanites, and was the first part of a project which claimed a significant portion of JP and Roxbury (where I live). It was also intended to carve through more working class neighborhoods in Cambridge and Allston, chopping through the heart of what is now central square. That plan ended up being met with such fierce resistance from the local communities that the current governor, the man who has initially signed off on the plan, walked it all back and committed to no more land seizures for highway construction. Tremendous respect for Ed and Nancy and what they do, but the Big Dig is much much more than putting the problem underground. The Big Dig is a testament to the people of Boston who fought to make sure no one would have their home destroyed by unaccountable highway authorities. Cambridge would be unable to create the bike and pedestrian infrastructure it has today if it had the traffic load of an interstate off-ramp in its center. Where I live would be right up against a highway not used by the majority of residents around it. The Big Dig may have a messy legacy, but is a rare example of not just do-no-harm infrastructure, but infrastructure which actively seeks to heal the wounds of the past.
Mayor Curley desired to have the Highway I 95 go island to island and under the harbor in the day. Really displaced many average people - lived near the JP and Roxbury Areas. It took suburbanites in Canton Area to save some endangered bird to "Stop Arterial I 95". Got rid of the residences first. Never totally completed through Boston. Remember no 128 or 495.
17:27 as a lifelong mass resident, the Rose Kennedy Greenway is probably my favorite park in the city. We did what so many cities are too scared to do, and made a major change that greatly improved the walkability and enjoyment of the area. The project started before I was born so I never got to see what the highway looked like, but I'm very grateful that its a park and not an eyesore. It would be better for us to not need the highway at all, but at least its out of sight
I've made a bunch of trips into Boston recently after not going into the city for a while and I've noticed there was a lot more green, walkable spaces than I remembered. Wasn't familiar with the name of it until now but the Rose Kennedy is one of the parks that stood out to me.
I love the change also, though I do question the price tag. It seemed a little unfair for the Feds to pay so much for an improvement that only benefitted Boston. Not complaining though.
They said that the "big dig" just moved the problem under ground but I think I would much rather have a more pleasant, walkable city with plenty of green parks with the traffic under my feet than a massive highway.
it only stayed as "a problem" for people that are car dependent and mostly from the suburbs coming into town, we have an actually walkable city and i almost forgot the cliche of Boston traffic bc I never have to drive
As a land surveyor in Boston I love this video. I think you missed out a bit by not involving the actual laying out of the city. Its fascinating how the street lines were physically established and how surveyors perpetuate that today using work done by those surveyors of the past. Great work!
This made me realize (again) how Fallout 4's rendition of Boston is really, really compacted. The Boston Common is just a small park in the game, when it's actually a massive green space.
FO4 isn’t the best story-wise but it has the most polished gameplay of the modern Fallouts. It “gets” Boston and is worth your time. AC3 on the other hand is widely regarded as the worst in the series and I can’t recommend it. The first third of The Last of Us was set in Boston and does a good job depicting it - lots of neat details but it’s all been bombed to the point you can’t really orient by the classic landmarks the way you can in Fallout 4.
Most depictions of Boston are incredibly inaccurate. TLOU (the show) did an OK job, but (other than using a Canadian provincial building as a stand-in for the state house) made some major errors like having rugged wilderness 10 miles west of Boston. This is the most densely populated part of the US remember, it'd be like suggesting that you could walk from lower manhattan to the catskills in just a few mins.
I think adding in Cambridge in the maps as a way to give a bit of reference to the viewers would have been nice. Nowadays, Cambridge is synonymous with Boston. Back in the 1700s, it was a completely different city that was very very far from Boston as you had to cross through the small piece of land connecting Boston to the continent, go around the Back Bay and cross the Charles River. The mouth of the Charles river was East of Cambridge and it can't even be seen in most of these old pictures, which really gives you an idea of how much the Boston metro has truly grown. Thank you for your research. I appreciate videos like this and I really hope Boston keeps its colonial aesthetics in the future as well
Oh that’s a great point! I think you’re totally right. I should have given a little context to Boston’s shape today and which part we are zoomed in on. And thank you so much!! More in the works!
I've lived in Boston my entire life and never considered Cambridge part of the city of Boston or heard anyone else say this. It's next to Boston across the river, totally different cities
@@seanc.5310 True but that's only really for Bostonians and people from Cambridge. If you ask a non native where Harvard is, most of the times you'll hear Boston, even though it's in Cambridge
THANK YOU for your focus on the West End. My family lived there and were forced out by the redevelopment. The ghosts of my ancestors thank you for telling their story!
I moved to Boston well before the big dig. I chuckle to myself about how when I first moved here, like most other new arrivals, I'd drive with a huge map book in my car, with each pair of pages laying out a town or section of the cities (greater Boston is a collection of cities and towns). When I would get lost, which happened frequently, I'd pull up to a stop light and open up that book and frantically try to figure out where the heck I was before the light turned. And it always seemed like the street signs would tell me what road I was on, but never the name of the cross street (or vice versa)! Now with GPS, it's no problem finding your way, but man, it was a challenge back in the not so distant past to find your way around - I can't even count how many times I helped tourists find their way. And of course, I never remembered street names, it would be "...when you get to the hardware store, take a right - not the sharp right, but the gradual one, and then a left at the building with the green awning... you can't miss it!"😄
When I was in College in Boston, I had the best part-time job with a short/medium term rental company (think airbnb but with an actual customer service team vs. Renting from individuals) . My job was a maintenance tech and it was my job to traverse the city, and stop at apartment units for general maintenance checks. They gave us a stipend to get a t-card but I would just pocket it and ride my bike or walk depending on where I was going. I have walked hundreds if not thousands of miles around Boston and to this day, the city is a magical place for me. So many stories, people, places, and things, packed into a couple square miles. I may be from Texas, but Boston is home.
I love the intimacy with the interviewees and their expertise. As noted, there are so many other aspects of Boston to learn about, including the Revolutionary War events and locations.
I grew up in Needham Heights and was often told by my dad how they used the land in our part of town to fill in back bay. One time I was in the yard and found a horseshoe, probably from some old farm who knows how long ago. As you get older you appreciate the history more and more.
As a lifelong Boston-area history and infrastructure nerd, bravo on an excellent video! One minor nit: the park immediately west of Boston Common is the Public Garden, _not_ Boston Garden. Boston Garden was the old arena used by the Bruins and the Celtics up to 1995 when it was replaced with what was originally called the FleetCenter and is now the TD Garden. (Fun fact: before the building was completed, Fleet Bank bought Shawmut Bank for less money than Shawmut had paid for the naming rights to the new arena.) Might also have mentioned that the "new" State House was completed in 1798, though it's been expanded quite a bit since then.
@@DanielsimsSteiner Great stuff! BTW, as far as the Boston Garden (or the TD Garden, whatever) goes, you did mention Causeway Street in the video, the home off the old and new Gardens, and a street forever changed by the Big Dig. The elevated Green Line tracks that threw a shadow over the street and part of the North End were also finally moved underground in the early 2000s, making the area actually welcoming rather than foreboding and dangerous. Thanks for the vid!
I grew up in Boston, and this is pretty cool to learn. In Dorchester on the Red Line, there's a stop called Shawmut. I never knew that it was named that because of the little strip of land connecting old Boston to the main land until right now.
I hate cities, but I lived in Back Bay for a year and, as far as I can be said to have "a City", Boston is *my* City. This is the best, most respectful, most insightful deconstruction of the history of the personality of Boston I've ever watched. Kudos, Daniel.
Great video. The lamps in Beacon Hill are still lit via gas. There is a discussion going on right now about replacing them with LEDs, but due to the expense it has not yet happened. This is why you will see the lamps continuously lit even in daylight (there is no off switch to the gas).
One reason you might have missed them is that they use gas mantle lamps here in Beacon Hill, which glow like bulbs rather than open flames, anyway I appreciate the video, cheers!
@tim1398 Boston is probably the city in the US taking the rise of sea level most seriously, we have some fairly immense coastal inundation prevention plans and they're currently inviting companies from around the world to use Boston as a testing bed for tidal reduction technologies. Boston has been eating the ocean for centuries, as other cities find themselves submerged the boundaries of Boston will continue to grow.
I have lived in Boston since 1997, and this is the first time that I have seen a lucid explanation of how Boston was laid out and filled in to the state that it is today. So many little beats of history and culture that influenced the city's development that go well beyond the *cow paths* story that most everyone repeats. As far as American cities go, it looks to be one that is the most built up that I am aware of when it comes to terraforming itself into existence in the midst of other historical developments.
I'm realizing now that as a guy who has only lived here since July, I'm going to need to hold my tongue every time a local tells me it's from cow paths. It's currently averaging every 3 weeks. Unless Bostonians appreciate being corrected by newcomers.
17:45 - the tall white spires / panels behind Ed are remaining vertical beams from the original raised highway! Really cool to walk through that section of the park and recognize just how much space used to be taken up by that road. I was born the year the big dig began, but I never heard the full history of Boston’s public works projects. Thanks for bringing these stories together!!
My housemate just dropped this video on me, and it was a wild coincidence. I am a volunteer docent at a historical site, and just today was using Nancy Seasholes' newest book to explain some of the things we need to cover. It is 100% related to the old structure of Boston as almost an island. And I explain to people how Governor Gage sent his troops to our Powder House (now in Somerville) up the Mystic River instead of going the long way around by foot. Great explanations! Thanks so much for this, and now I'm off to check out Ed's maps too.
Being from Boston, this is a great video and covers a lot of what happened and their results. There are two major topics I'm surprised you didn't touch on. 1) Storrow Drive. This is one of the major roads through the city and was a huge change to how the land along the Charles was laid out. 2) 128/93. When you talk about the big dig moving that road underground there is even more to the history of it. 128 and 93 were never intended to be the same road. They were supposed to be two separate roads to bring in traffic from the north east and north respectively. I don't know how true it is, but I remember hearing as a kid that you can still see the dirt mounds of where the road was supposed to be built in what is now the Saugus marsh. While this project never game to fruition, the land moved to start the project had an impact on the shoreline. As a side note, despite being a giant quagmire, the Big Dig was very successful. The new parks and roadways are great in that area. Yes the traffic is still bad, but for anyone who remembers the old system, it used to be terrible.
The video didn't name Storrow, but touched on it. Basically, when the shoreline changed as Back Bay was filled in, Storrow was the road along the new shoreline. Also, 128 and 93 are not the same road. Did you mean 95? But even there, they branch north of Boston.
Maps are my guilty pleasure, and its amazing how much history is tucked away within. Keep up the good work. Id love an episode on Chicago, and its suburbs, or Houston. In fact, just keep doing you. I'm going to watch regardless.
Awesome video. Your subscriber count is criminally low for this level of quality. I am hoping that me seeing this is a sign that the youtube algo gods are gracing you with an influx of well deserved views. Keep up the great work. Storytelling, characters, video work, pacing, cuts, animation.... all great.
Okay... can I just take a moment to say this. WHY do you not have more subscribers? Only 6k??? Your storytelling, your style, the way you shoot, the quality of your camera, the editing, SFX, and your audio quality... all are A-level stuff! Johnny Harris-level. Seriously. You are so talented and I can't wait to see what else you do! Subbed!
As someone who grew up 30 mins north of Boston who only found out about the land making earlier this year, this was incredibly fascinating! Great job, I was also shocked to see you didnt have hundreds of thousands subscribers, keep up the great work and you'll get there!
Awesome video. I grew up and live in Dorchester and worked downtown for 30 years. This video has an excellent feel for the city. I knew, of course about the land fill in the harbor and Back Bay, also South Bay, but never knew the details so well presented here.
Excellent video. I have lived in Boston for over 20 years and I still learned things about the evolution of the city. Thank you for this. If you wanted to take a deeper dive, the impact of the Central Artery on neighborhoods and later the completion of the Big Dig could be a good video all on its own. Used to be you'd get on and immediately come to a halt in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour or more, no matter what time of day or night. Now it is exponentially better. Still has backups but nothing like the old days. And the neighborhoods that have been reconnected to the city thanks to the Greenway have thrived as well. Again, thanks for this. Great job!
This video was fantastic!! I would love to see a part 2 where you cover the areas moving away from downtown. For example, I live in Fenway and would love to know more about how this neighborhood was planned. Or Jamaica Plain or Dorchester. Also, the main Public Library has a room called the Map Room and it’s this massive display of Boston maps over time. Highly recommend it (you can also do a high tea or get a beer while at the library).
Would you please do a deep dive into the maps and history of New Orleans? Its a fascinating story and id love to see what you come up with. Thank you for your great work!
This is fascinating. I have worked in downtown Boston for over 40 years, and have always wondered how these strange streets came to what they are today. As I sit here now, in the Bulfinch triangle, where I have worked for the past 10 years and seen enormous change, it's interesting to imagine what Boston looked like 300 years ago.
As a fellow Bostonian who was born and raised in Boston I thought I knew everything about Boston and it's development over the years but thank you because I learned a lot. Boston is so rich in history. Best city in the US.
I was born and raised in Massachusetts -- to this day at almost 27 years old I still don't think I've ever spent longer than 3 weeks at a time outside of the Commonwealth. Needless to say, Boston is one of my most beloved cities on the planet. This video is remarkably enlightening about the city's history, and does phenomenally well to tell the story of its map. I am SO proud of you for jaywalking at 15:30. #oneofus As a onetime BU student, I do need to pick one nit -- it's Comm Ave, not Com Ave. Not sure if that was a typo or just writing what you heard, but that second m belongs in there when abbreviating, which we do 99% of the time. Fun fact, we also abbreviate Massachusetts Avenue (a main north-south thoroughfare which intersects with Comm Ave and runs continuously as far north as the town of Arlington) to Mass Ave 99% of the time. Thank you so much for visiting our lovely city and for taking the time to make such an excellent video on it.
I lived and went to school and worked in Boston for 8 years and loved it. I grew up in the South in a much newer city so it was planned and mostly laid out on a grid. That makes it easier to navigate but the charm (and challenge) of the meandering streets is wonderful.
Wonderful historic and travel video. I visited Boston for the first time last year. It a very walkable city with decent mass transit. Most of the historical sights in central are all available by foot. Neighborhoods are well defined, with their own unique locally owned. Businesses. Convenient airport and train terminal. I highly recommend visiting!
Such a fantastic video! You're an amazing storyteller, I go to college in Boston right now and knew nothing about boston's land expansion! Great job, looking forward to the next!
I'm sticking with the cow path idea. but the shoreline makes sense too, because that way the cows would avoid the water/mud, etc. What do I know? I grew up on the other side of the harbor. Cool stuff Daniel, Ed and Nancy!!
I've been to Boston more than any other city, living in Maine and Mass my entire life. I love the city, even with all of it's quirks and strange decisions made in the past. This was a fantastic video, and I'm really glad TH-cam fed it to me! Thank you very much, instantly subscribed!
As someone who’s been a new Englander my whole life, is now 29 and have been living in the North End for 7 years, I thought I knew everything about Boston & my neighborhood.. clearly I was so wrong. Thank you so much for this video, I just learned so much. I don’t know where else I’d be lucky enough have access to this kind of information. Please come back, you’re welcome anytime. 💗
First time watcher. Great video. I live in South Boston. In fact most of the “new land was south Boston and the seaport district which came at an ever later date - not to mention all of Logan airport too. You have a PT 2 video idea now ! I’ll be subscribing and looking out for it.
Thanks so much!! And you’re totally right! I talked to Nancy a bit about the airport and I wish it had fit in! I’ll have to come back for pt 2 for sure
@@DanielsimsSteiner Yeah, the downtown area is not only a small portion of the the city geographically, but it's it's a tiny portion, population-wise. You ignored the majority of the city, and where most of the people - particularly most of the non-white people - actually live! While the downtown, North End, Beacon Hill and Back Bay (and Fenway and Seaport, which you also didn't mention) are where most people VISIT the city, The South End, South Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Allston and Brighton are where the vast majority of Bostonians actually LIVE. And their topology and maps are also very interesting. The Seaport area in particular has very recently seen some of the most radical redevelopment of any city area in the country. You could also do a whole video about the impact of the colleges and universities on development of Boston (and Cambridge) and how it drove gentrification of the city's neighborhoods.
This was absolutely fascinating! I've lived in Boston since 2014 (and was born and raised about an hour west of Boston), and I didn't know almost anything that was covered in this video. I did know that much of Boston's land was "made", but I didn't realize how much, or the fact that in was done in chunks to make new neighborhoods. Really cool video!
The gas lamps were leaking a lot. It was really bad for the air quality and environment. The shift to the LEDs was a necessary upgrade. Also they aren't the original gas lamps, they were installed in the 70s to make the neighborhood feel more historic
I wish this was explained in my Massachusetts schools growing up. This was extremely fascinating. Some great shots from the past and present too. Well done.
Great work on getting this video done man! History of such a significant city for the US is fascinating! There’s so much character and so much to learn from these east coast cities, especially those located in the New England states!
My dad was born in Boston and grew up in West Roxbury…he became a marine and landscape artist and painted many paintings of Quincy Market in 1830…and the hills of Boston that were cut down are there in the background. He told me years ago the hills were cut down for land making…and I’m glad I just stumbled upon your video and seeing the drawings of the hills being cut. My great grandparents’ farm in Newton actually supplied Quincy Market with produce (when it was an actual market) and my dad drove their truck and delivered there as a teenager.
3:39 This is incorrect. The Paul Revere House isn't even the oldest house in Boston. James Blake House at 735 Columbia Road was built in 1661. Thomas Mayo House and Tavern at 2549 Centre Street was also built around 1680 and may predate the Paul Revere House (both are "circa" 1680). Would have been worth talking to the Boston City Archaeologist, Joseph Bagley on this one.
He is technically correct if he means it was built in Boston. Dorchester and West Roxbury were not part of Boston until the late 1800s, but I agree, there are older examples in what is currently Boston city limits.
As a local who’s read a lot of Boston history, kudos for making such a great overview - I’ll use your video to help friends get oriented when they visit! 😊 Had never heard about the rope walk theory, that’s extremely cool. Small nitpick, “Boston Garden” is the old name for where the Celtics played, we just call the actual gardens in the Back Bay the “Public Garden”. 😂
Being born in the Netherlands, but Living in Eilat (Israel), I did visit Boston in 1990, and enjoyed the city, It has a combination of European flavor and American new age. That was the reason I had a look at your video, and I wasn’t disappointed. I also remember the underground tram, or as they say in the USA, streetcar system in the town center. Might be also a topic for a future video? Your presentation is really enjoyable and with well done research. A career as lecturer, spokesman, presenter of proposals or may be even as a politician would surely be succesfull!
Went to BU graduating in 1991 so I saw the end of the elevated highway. I love going back to the city and seeing how it has changed. To me, one of the most interesting cities I know in this respect. Thank you for this!
This was such a great video. Like many other commenters, I would happily watch a much longer version. I'll say a couple of things in defense of some elements of what was discussed. 1. re the West End and the flattening of all the housing and moving people out. Much of that area is now filled with the many many buildings that comprise Mass General Hsp and all its associated buildings. It is not just one of the best hospitals in the US, but in the world. Though my family comes from Boston, I moved back to the area, and one of key reasons was Mass General. That hospital, and the people who work there, have, literally, saved my life, several times. It is an absolutely vital and important resource for the people of Boston and New England generally. The people of this area are so incredibly lucky to a modern, utterly fantastically clean, and well organized hospital in the middle of our city. The hospital and its setting are quite unique. What are seen as the best hospitals in NYC, they are terrible compared with Mass General. 2. Keeping monied people in a city isn't simply an act of social snobbery. It is a VERY important fiscal move. Most cities struggle with their finances. I lived in New York in the 70s when it went bankrupt. The fellow who made this video is so young he wouldn't remember it. But imagine, the city that is (& especially was then) the financial centre of the world, declared bankruptcy. Keeping a city economically diverse (by which I mean there is fancy high income housing, mixed in with all other types) helps to keep the city functioning, and it stops ghetto-fication. Plus having monied people around tends to put pressure on institutions to function better. People with cash are infamous for being affective complainers. If local government lets roads, utilities, schools, etc..fall into disrepair, people with cash will get them unelected or make their life hell. Or both. 3. Big dig wise. I love it. Yup there's still traffic, but I prefer it underground. And much of the time it isn't all that bad. The new space in the city is nice, and makes a walkable city still more pleasant to walk around. 100% an improvement. 4. I come from one of those Irish families that came to Boston in the early mid 1800s. I can tell you, I wouldn't have wanted my relatives living anywhere near me either. Hell I wouldn't have wanted me living near me. I have standards!
Great video. For those who want to learn more about The Big Dig, there is a new podcast by that name from the local public broadcasting station that covers it all in detail. One nitpick, Comm Ave is abbreviated with two Ms and not one. Also, when folks think of the lanterns in the Old North Church for Paul Revere secretly announcing “one if by land, two if by sea” that was the secret code to inform if the British regulars were going to leave Boston that night by boat across the flats or by land across the skinny isthmus.
I’m currently reading David McCullough’s 1776 and wanted a little detail on the layout of Boston. Your video gave me SO much more insight than any simple map I may have found. Excellent work! A whole history of the city in less than 20 minutes! Now, when I view the 18th century maps I won’t be confused why nothing looks the same! Thank you for your efforts!
This is EXCELLENT! One of the glorious reasons that TH-cam is useful! I purchased an old Paul Revere Map of Boston and it shows all of these contours you speak of. Thank you so much for the background on my own map
I used to live in Boston, and I learned so much new information! Thank you! I have to say, I have lived in 3 major cities, including Boston, and it was, hands down, the most complicated city to try to find your way around. None of the streets made sense. There is a place where you can be standing on the corner of 2 major roads, Dorchester St and Dorchester Ave. It's the perfect metaphor for Boston city streets. But I love it!
Really like your video, very clear, and fun. Both guests works very nicely together, one from professional view, one feels part of the city. Living here for so long haven’t really thought of these questions, makes me wanna explore more.
I'm from near Boston and am somewhat of a cartographer myself, but still learned some new things from your video. Really cool you Nancy & Ed to help you out. Well-researched, well-produced. I guess I'll subscribe even if you are from NYC
I have been living in Boston and walking all these places and streets without really knowing history but now this video will give me new perspective every time I walk down on these streets. THANK You Daniel!
I'm visiting Boston right now and I am so grateful for this video. I made a point of finding the old shoreline engraving. It's not easy to find! If you're looking for it, it's in front of Faneuil Hall, in front of the Samuel Adams statue. Thanks so much Daniel for this video! And thanks to Ed and Nancy! I shared this video with my girlfriend who lives in Winchester (Boston suburb); she didn't know about any of this.
I never heard that one, but I love it. Just north of Chicago they have a street called half-day Road and supposedly it was a half a day ride from downtown Chicago (the loop) back in the day and pretty soon it’s gonna re live up to its name for the same reason.
My jaw dropped when I found out that that's the last building standing from the pre-developed west end...I drove by that everyday when I was going to work and never knew (probably because of the massive billboards on it).
So I grew up in NY but used to visit Boston all the time as a kid in 80’s and early 90’s, and 00’s. I moved out west And then down south and recently moved to the Boston area. 1. Thanks for this video it’s helping me learn my new city, which I love. 2. Yes traffic still sucks but the big dig has made the city much nicer.
Dan, you did a amazing job with the research! It's not easy to get up to speed on a complex topic like Boston's development, but you really hit a lot of the points that gave the city character. Glad you pointed out that not all of those were necessarily great in hindsight, like demolishing the West End, adding huge highways etc. I lived for about a decade in the North End and truthfully I do miss it sometimes, being able to walk from my apartment to the water's edge.
Really well done. I lived in NYC 2000-2010 and only got up to Boston for an afternoon. Fortunately I made it there for a conference a few years after leaving NYC. Great recognizing many of these neighborhoods
Another victim of the urban renewal projects of the 50s and 60s was Scollay Square, immortalized in the Kingston Trio song "M.T.A." If you noticed that an MBTA electronic fare card is called a "CharlieCard", that's because the main character in the song was named Charlie, doomed to forever ride the train because he didn't have the nickel to pay the exit fare. (Scollay Square is where Charlie's wife goes every day to hand him a sandwich as his train passes through. Left unanswered is why she never handed him the nickel he needed. My personal suspicion was that she was having an affair with the train conductor. 🙂)
Wow! I am from Boston and found this to be extremely interesting. I am 71 years old, and have watched the city change so much in my lifetime. I love walking in Boston!
One thing, the Boston Public Garden is referred to as the “Public Garden”, whereas the “Boston Garden” was a basketball arena that closed in 1995 (replaced by the current TD Garden)
Bostonian here, it is a nightmare to drive anywhere in the Greater Boston Area, but the erratic street layout makes downtown Boston and Cambridge absolutely beautiful and lovely to walk around.
Nice video, thanks for posting. Just a quick note: It's called the "Public Garden" not "Boston Garden." If you're interested in the history of the Big Dig, there's a recent series by the TH-cam channel GBH News on the subject.
Great overview of history of Boston - I've visited there for over 40 years yet learned a lot from this video about questions and confusion I've had about Boston for years. Thanks.
Boston Back Bay alphabet streets, East to West: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, Hereford, Ipswich, Jersey, Kilmarnock. Mass Ave doesn't count (!), and the Back Bay Fens disrupted the gridding. I learned it that way from my dad.
I've been living in Boston for the past 5 years, and I loved this video! I found the layout of Boston always so interesting, so it's awesome to find out how its development has been informed!
Well done. There’s a lot about Boston that even some current and previous locals don’t know. I believed the theory that the crazy roads were the result of cow paths. Oh well. Thanks Nancy!
Wow, this is a fantastic intro to Boston's history and its unique culture and geography. As someone who grew up outside Boston, I'm familiar with all these areas of the city but didn't really know about how they came about, until now. Thanks!
Awesome video! Just btw, at 3:26 you said that the Paul Revere House is the only house in Boston from the 1600s still standing but the James Blake house in Dorchester is at least one other one I know of! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blake_House
Interesting! A few minor points: * "One if by land, two if by sea" Given the long neck of land Boston was on, the British had to either take a boat across the Charles River and head west or march along the neck of land and come up from the south. Boston's geography today obscures how important this was. * The Back Bay is lovely, but scary: It's all masonry construction build on landfill. An earthquake -- infrequent out here, but in the historical record -- would devastate the Back Bay. * The demolition of the West End was bad enough, but the fancy housing they replaced it with was not nearly the crime as the brutalist public buildings like Boston City Hall, which is said to be as unpleasant to work in as it is to look at. * Nancy Seashole's comment on the Big Dig -- which *was* horribly expensive -- is simply wrong. Traffic (while still bad at times) is *much* better than it was. Even Ted Kennedy's greatest detractors forgive him much for extracting $10 billion from the Feds to help pay for it. (Tip O'Neill helped, too!) That's about $30 from each and every American. (Thank you for your contribution!)
Let’s hear it for Ed and Nancy
IT
IT
@@veryrealpersonwhoisreal hey i made that joke
Sounds like you had a great time filming. Fantastic job - you earned yourself a subscription. Do either Ed or Nancy have any Social Media to plug?
Excellent, very informative and interesting! My favorite city!
New subscriber here….heading over to Ed’s site to check out his maps!
Ed’s my dad! He’s always been so pationate about Boston and it’s history. This is really well done, great job Daniel!
Well you’re incredibly lucky. It was so fun to spend a day with him and get see his knowledge and passion. A huge goal of this channel is to meet people that inspire me and I’d say Ed and Nancy both make for an incredible start. 🗺️
I love that your Dad is so passionate about this!!! Howevah, he needs to work on his ahksent. :P
You’re dad is a cool Boston guy I can tell because I’m a cool Boston guy 😊
His Boston accent is *magnificent* ♥
Your Dad is awesome, and I have lived here all my life.. born in Boston, and I just learned quite a few things.. some of this history I knew, but not as entirely.. hopefully I see your father 1 day.. pick his brain.
When I moved here to Boston in 1996, there was a enormous billboard facing the Big Dig that read: “Rome wasn’t built in day. If it had been, we would have hired their contractor.”
More likely, that contractor would have ended up buried in concrete, courtesy of Mayor Menino's cronies...😎
I remember that sign well...
@@richardpchaseii5084 Somebody sounds butt hurt that Menino was one of Boston's most loved mayors, the one who accomplished 'The Boston Miracle' with crime in the 90s. :P
I remember that billboard...
I remember that billboard, and somebody writing an article about how there were four grammatical errors in it.
The biggest failure of the big dig was that they didn’t include a rail connection between North and South Station. This would’ve unified the commuter rail system and actually reduced traffic on the highway
Philly did this around the 80’s with their commuter rail and it works surprisingly well despite SEPTA’s severe underfunding
Probably would have needed another few billion dollars and another decade
And the MBTA got saddled with all of the debt from the Big Dig, so the T is falling apart without enough money to maintain it any more
YES, I AGREE!!!!!!!!!
Disagree. Judging from how poorly MBTA turned out to be where it can't do 1 day without some sort of hiccup. it's probably best that they don't have that connection. Sad but MBTA priority has always been expanding their network while can't do the basics of what is there. Who wants an employee to take on more responsibility knowingly he/she is failing at what he/she is doing today, that's very counter-productive.
And employed the mafioso.
As someone who has grown up 15 miles outside of Boston, I would absolutely watch a 90 minute version of this. Fantastic job!
I got bored 1:46 in.
As a former Beantown resident myself I so agree, this is such a treat to watch!
@@UndergroundLookingUp That's because you're a boring person lol
@@UndergroundLookingUp Learning isn't for everyone.
Same
Boston local here! Loved the video! Though I do want to make a note on the Big Dig and the central artery which came before it. The creation of that first highway was in direct response to an increase in federal interstate funding in combination with wealthy white Bostonians moving to the suburbs as the schools were integrated. Its creation entailed the destruction of growing immigrant neighborhoods to service wealthy white suburbanites, and was the first part of a project which claimed a significant portion of JP and Roxbury (where I live). It was also intended to carve through more working class neighborhoods in Cambridge and Allston, chopping through the heart of what is now central square. That plan ended up being met with such fierce resistance from the local communities that the current governor, the man who has initially signed off on the plan, walked it all back and committed to no more land seizures for highway construction.
Tremendous respect for Ed and Nancy and what they do, but the Big Dig is much much more than putting the problem underground. The Big Dig is a testament to the people of Boston who fought to make sure no one would have their home destroyed by unaccountable highway authorities. Cambridge would be unable to create the bike and pedestrian infrastructure it has today if it had the traffic load of an interstate off-ramp in its center. Where I live would be right up against a highway not used by the majority of residents around it. The Big Dig may have a messy legacy, but is a rare example of not just do-no-harm infrastructure, but infrastructure which actively seeks to heal the wounds of the past.
Mayor Curley desired to have the Highway I 95 go island to island and under the harbor in the day. Really displaced many average people - lived near the JP and Roxbury Areas.
It took suburbanites in Canton Area to save some endangered bird to "Stop Arterial I 95". Got rid of the residences first. Never totally completed through Boston. Remember no 128 or 495.
well put.
17:27 as a lifelong mass resident, the Rose Kennedy Greenway is probably my favorite park in the city. We did what so many cities are too scared to do, and made a major change that greatly improved the walkability and enjoyment of the area. The project started before I was born so I never got to see what the highway looked like, but I'm very grateful that its a park and not an eyesore. It would be better for us to not need the highway at all, but at least its out of sight
I totally agree!
I've made a bunch of trips into Boston recently after not going into the city for a while and I've noticed there was a lot more green, walkable spaces than I remembered. Wasn't familiar with the name of it until now but the Rose Kennedy is one of the parks that stood out to me.
I love the change also, though I do question the price tag. It seemed a little unfair for the Feds to pay so much for an improvement that only benefitted Boston. Not complaining though.
I drove the old Central Artery many many times. It was a nightmare...only the George Washington Bridge in NYC is more nerve wracking lol.
why are there still roads on either side of it🤦♂️
They said that the "big dig" just moved the problem under ground but I think I would much rather have a more pleasant, walkable city with plenty of green parks with the traffic under my feet than a massive highway.
I agree!
When the big dig was finished and I took my mother and relatives to the new open space without the old highway they smiled and they cried
it only stayed as "a problem" for people that are car dependent and mostly from the suburbs coming into town, we have an actually walkable city and i almost forgot the cliche of Boston traffic bc I never have to drive
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is absolutely transformative to the benefit of the city of Boston.
Still a problem...just out of sight.
As a land surveyor in Boston I love this video. I think you missed out a bit by not involving the actual laying out of the city. Its fascinating how the street lines were physically established and how surveyors perpetuate that today using work done by those surveyors of the past. Great work!
Ohh interesting! I’ll have to look into that more. Thank you!
Tell me more pls who planned it? The Illuminati?
This made me realize (again) how Fallout 4's rendition of Boston is really, really compacted. The Boston Common is just a small park in the game, when it's actually a massive green space.
This is making me think I need to play fallout 4 and assassins creed, neither of which I’ve ever played haha
FO4 isn’t the best story-wise but it has the most polished gameplay of the modern Fallouts. It “gets” Boston and is worth your time. AC3 on the other hand is widely regarded as the worst in the series and I can’t recommend it.
The first third of The Last of Us was set in Boston and does a good job depicting it - lots of neat details but it’s all been bombed to the point you can’t really orient by the classic landmarks the way you can in Fallout 4.
Most depictions of Boston are incredibly inaccurate. TLOU (the show) did an OK job, but (other than using a Canadian provincial building as a stand-in for the state house) made some major errors like having rugged wilderness 10 miles west of Boston. This is the most densely populated part of the US remember, it'd be like suggesting that you could walk from lower manhattan to the catskills in just a few mins.
@@DanielsimsSteinerfallout 4s ok but it gets repetitive. First playthroughs usually great tho
its not accurate of mass at all
I think adding in Cambridge in the maps as a way to give a bit of reference to the viewers would have been nice. Nowadays, Cambridge is synonymous with Boston. Back in the 1700s, it was a completely different city that was very very far from Boston as you had to cross through the small piece of land connecting Boston to the continent, go around the Back Bay and cross the Charles River. The mouth of the Charles river was East of Cambridge and it can't even be seen in most of these old pictures, which really gives you an idea of how much the Boston metro has truly grown. Thank you for your research. I appreciate videos like this and I really hope Boston keeps its colonial aesthetics in the future as well
Oh that’s a great point! I think you’re totally right. I should have given a little context to Boston’s shape today and which part we are zoomed in on. And thank you so much!! More in the works!
I've lived in Boston my entire life and never considered Cambridge part of the city of Boston or heard anyone else say this. It's next to Boston across the river, totally different cities
@@seanc.5310 True but that's only really for Bostonians and people from Cambridge. If you ask a non native where Harvard is, most of the times you'll hear Boston, even though it's in Cambridge
@@Ricky911_that’s a fair point and I’m with you on showing it for context
@@Ricky911_ A lot of Harvard is in Boston, including its business and medical schools.
As a Bostonian, I learned some things from this I didn't already know! Thank you for giving the world a tour of our city ❤
I’ve never been to Boston, but to me it’s very similar to Montreal! A piece of ancient history in the US. Looks beautiful.
Sounds like I need to take a trip to Montreal
@@DanielsimsSteiner DO IT. I went a few months ago, Montreal is beautiful.
That's true in many ways. Boston and Philadelphia feel a bit European in layout, due to the early origins, and Montreal even more so.
Just mention hockey and you'll see the difference
@@DanielsimsSteinerMontreal has the history. Down river 2 hours or so by car is Quebec City. It too is well worth a visit
THANK YOU for your focus on the West End. My family lived there and were forced out by the redevelopment. The ghosts of my ancestors thank you for telling their story!
I moved to Boston well before the big dig. I chuckle to myself about how when I first moved here, like most other new arrivals, I'd drive with a huge map book in my car, with each pair of pages laying out a town or section of the cities (greater Boston is a collection of cities and towns). When I would get lost, which happened frequently, I'd pull up to a stop light and open up that book and frantically try to figure out where the heck I was before the light turned. And it always seemed like the street signs would tell me what road I was on, but never the name of the cross street (or vice versa)! Now with GPS, it's no problem finding your way, but man, it was a challenge back in the not so distant past to find your way around - I can't even count how many times I helped tourists find their way. And of course, I never remembered street names, it would be "...when you get to the hardware store, take a right - not the sharp right, but the gradual one, and then a left at the building with the green awning... you can't miss it!"😄
When I was in College in Boston, I had the best part-time job with a short/medium term rental company (think airbnb but with an actual customer service team vs. Renting from individuals) . My job was a maintenance tech and it was my job to traverse the city, and stop at apartment units for general maintenance checks. They gave us a stipend to get a t-card but I would just pocket it and ride my bike or walk depending on where I was going. I have walked hundreds if not thousands of miles around Boston and to this day, the city is a magical place for me. So many stories, people, places, and things, packed into a couple square miles. I may be from Texas, but Boston is home.
I love the intimacy with the interviewees and their expertise. As noted, there are so many other aspects of Boston to learn about, including the Revolutionary War events and locations.
Thank you!
I grew up in Needham Heights and was often told by my dad how they used the land in our part of town to fill in back bay. One time I was in the yard and found a horseshoe, probably from some old farm who knows how long ago. As you get older you appreciate the history more and more.
As a lifelong Boston-area history and infrastructure nerd, bravo on an excellent video! One minor nit: the park immediately west of Boston Common is the Public Garden, _not_ Boston Garden. Boston Garden was the old arena used by the Bruins and the Celtics up to 1995 when it was replaced with what was originally called the FleetCenter and is now the TD Garden. (Fun fact: before the building was completed, Fleet Bank bought Shawmut Bank for less money than Shawmut had paid for the naming rights to the new arena.)
Might also have mentioned that the "new" State House was completed in 1798, though it's been expanded quite a bit since then.
Thank you for adding this, it’s such good context! And thank you for watching! Means so much
But all those started as 'BayBank' - ha!. Bostonians know.
@@DanielsimsSteiner Great stuff! BTW, as far as the Boston Garden (or the TD Garden, whatever) goes, you did mention Causeway Street in the video, the home off the old and new Gardens, and a street forever changed by the Big Dig. The elevated Green Line tracks that threw a shadow over the street and part of the North End were also finally moved underground in the early 2000s, making the area actually welcoming rather than foreboding and dangerous. Thanks for the vid!
I totally forgot that Shawmut bank was a thing! We had a branch in my hometown. Hearing that name was a blast from the past!
Yup, & it just grate when I hear anybody say Back Bay, it's The Back Bay. 😉
I grew up in Boston, and this is pretty cool to learn. In Dorchester on the Red Line, there's a stop called Shawmut. I never knew that it was named that because of the little strip of land connecting old Boston to the main land until right now.
I hate cities, but I lived in Back Bay for a year and, as far as I can be said to have "a City", Boston is *my* City. This is the best, most respectful, most insightful deconstruction of the history of the personality of Boston I've ever watched. Kudos, Daniel.
😭 that’s incredibly kind. Thank you so much
Great video. The lamps in Beacon Hill are still lit via gas. There is a discussion going on right now about replacing them with LEDs, but due to the expense it has not yet happened. This is why you will see the lamps continuously lit even in daylight (there is no off switch to the gas).
I’m so sad I missed them!
@@DanielsimsSteinerthey are all over the intro part of your video. You were surrounded lol.
One reason you might have missed them is that they use gas mantle lamps here in Beacon Hill, which glow like bulbs rather than open flames, anyway I appreciate the video, cheers!
Will they switch before the sea level rise snuffs them out? :)
@tim1398 Boston is probably the city in the US taking the rise of sea level most seriously, we have some fairly immense coastal inundation prevention plans and they're currently inviting companies from around the world to use Boston as a testing bed for tidal reduction technologies. Boston has been eating the ocean for centuries, as other cities find themselves submerged the boundaries of Boston will continue to grow.
I have lived in Boston since 1997, and this is the first time that I have seen a lucid explanation of how Boston was laid out and filled in to the state that it is today. So many little beats of history and culture that influenced the city's development that go well beyond the *cow paths* story that most everyone repeats. As far as American cities go, it looks to be one that is the most built up that I am aware of when it comes to terraforming itself into existence in the midst of other historical developments.
I'm realizing now that as a guy who has only lived here since July, I'm going to need to hold my tongue every time a local tells me it's from cow paths. It's currently averaging every 3 weeks.
Unless Bostonians appreciate being corrected by newcomers.
17:45 - the tall white spires / panels behind Ed are remaining vertical beams from the original raised highway! Really cool to walk through that section of the park and recognize just how much space used to be taken up by that road.
I was born the year the big dig began, but I never heard the full history of Boston’s public works projects. Thanks for bringing these stories together!!
That's a cool fact! I've walked through there before and just assumed it was a strange art choice
Nope, those are art installations. There is an original pier from the Central Artery at Congress St. behind the big ventilator structure there.
My housemate just dropped this video on me, and it was a wild coincidence. I am a volunteer docent at a historical site, and just today was using Nancy Seasholes' newest book to explain some of the things we need to cover. It is 100% related to the old structure of Boston as almost an island. And I explain to people how Governor Gage sent his troops to our Powder House (now in Somerville) up the Mystic River instead of going the long way around by foot.
Great explanations! Thanks so much for this, and now I'm off to check out Ed's maps too.
Oh no way?! What good timing! She and Ed were both such amazing resources
Being from Boston, this is a great video and covers a lot of what happened and their results. There are two major topics I'm surprised you didn't touch on.
1) Storrow Drive. This is one of the major roads through the city and was a huge change to how the land along the Charles was laid out.
2) 128/93. When you talk about the big dig moving that road underground there is even more to the history of it. 128 and 93 were never intended to be the same road. They were supposed to be two separate roads to bring in traffic from the north east and north respectively. I don't know how true it is, but I remember hearing as a kid that you can still see the dirt mounds of where the road was supposed to be built in what is now the Saugus marsh. While this project never game to fruition, the land moved to start the project had an impact on the shoreline.
As a side note, despite being a giant quagmire, the Big Dig was very successful. The new parks and roadways are great in that area. Yes the traffic is still bad, but for anyone who remembers the old system, it used to be terrible.
The video didn't name Storrow, but touched on it. Basically, when the shoreline changed as Back Bay was filled in, Storrow was the road along the new shoreline.
Also, 128 and 93 are not the same road. Did you mean 95? But even there, they branch north of Boston.
You are correct, I did mean 95. They currently merge and run through the city, but that wasn't the original intention.
Maps are my guilty pleasure, and its amazing how much history is tucked away within. Keep up the good work. Id love an episode on Chicago, and its suburbs, or Houston. In fact, just keep doing you. I'm going to watch regardless.
Well said! And thank you! Adding Houston to my list 📝 Thanks for being here!
Awesome video. Your subscriber count is criminally low for this level of quality. I am hoping that me seeing this is a sign that the youtube algo gods are gracing you with an influx of well deserved views. Keep up the great work. Storytelling, characters, video work, pacing, cuts, animation.... all great.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! The algo gods are blessing this video and I'm so happy. Thank you for watching 😭
Quickest sub ever. Excellent presentation. Could’ve easily watched another 30 mins of this!
Wow! Thank u so much!
Ed’s my dad! He’s always been so passionate about Boston and it’s history. This is very well done, great job Daniel!
Okay... can I just take a moment to say this. WHY do you not have more subscribers? Only 6k??? Your storytelling, your style, the way you shoot, the quality of your camera, the editing, SFX, and your audio quality... all are A-level stuff! Johnny Harris-level. Seriously. You are so talented and I can't wait to see what else you do! Subbed!
I completely agree
He worked at Johnny Harris's company Bright Trip. And it shows. Hopefully he'll be better than Johnny at fact checking.
As someone who grew up 30 mins north of Boston who only found out about the land making earlier this year, this was incredibly fascinating! Great job, I was also shocked to see you didnt have hundreds of thousands subscribers, keep up the great work and you'll get there!
Awesome video. I grew up and live in Dorchester and worked downtown for 30 years. This video has an excellent feel for the city. I knew, of course about the land fill in the harbor and Back Bay, also South Bay, but never knew the details so well presented here.
Excellent video. I have lived in Boston for over 20 years and I still learned things about the evolution of the city. Thank you for this. If you wanted to take a deeper dive, the impact of the Central Artery on neighborhoods and later the completion of the Big Dig could be a good video all on its own. Used to be you'd get on and immediately come to a halt in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour or more, no matter what time of day or night. Now it is exponentially better. Still has backups but nothing like the old days. And the neighborhoods that have been reconnected to the city thanks to the Greenway have thrived as well.
Again, thanks for this. Great job!
This video was fantastic!! I would love to see a part 2 where you cover the areas moving away from downtown. For example, I live in Fenway and would love to know more about how this neighborhood was planned. Or Jamaica Plain or Dorchester. Also, the main Public Library has a room called the Map Room and it’s this massive display of Boston maps over time. Highly recommend it (you can also do a high tea or get a beer while at the library).
Would you please do a deep dive into the maps and history of New Orleans? Its a fascinating story and id love to see what you come up with. Thank you for your great work!
This is fascinating. I have worked in downtown Boston for over 40 years, and have always wondered how these strange streets came to what they are today. As I sit here now, in the Bulfinch triangle, where I have worked for the past 10 years and seen enormous change, it's interesting to imagine what Boston looked like 300 years ago.
This is exactly the feeling / thought I want to bring to people. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻🙏🏻
As a fellow Bostonian who was born and raised in Boston I thought I knew everything about Boston and it's development over the years but thank you because I learned a lot. Boston is so rich in history. Best city in the US.
I was born and raised in Massachusetts -- to this day at almost 27 years old I still don't think I've ever spent longer than 3 weeks at a time outside of the Commonwealth. Needless to say, Boston is one of my most beloved cities on the planet. This video is remarkably enlightening about the city's history, and does phenomenally well to tell the story of its map.
I am SO proud of you for jaywalking at 15:30. #oneofus
As a onetime BU student, I do need to pick one nit -- it's Comm Ave, not Com Ave. Not sure if that was a typo or just writing what you heard, but that second m belongs in there when abbreviating, which we do 99% of the time. Fun fact, we also abbreviate Massachusetts Avenue (a main north-south thoroughfare which intersects with Comm Ave and runs continuously as far north as the town of Arlington) to Mass Ave 99% of the time.
Thank you so much for visiting our lovely city and for taking the time to make such an excellent video on it.
Wow this is so kind! It means so much to me! Thank you, and thanks for watching! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I lived and went to school and worked in Boston for 8 years and loved it. I grew up in the South in a much newer city so it was planned and mostly laid out on a grid. That makes it easier to navigate but the charm (and challenge) of the meandering streets is wonderful.
Wonderful historic and travel video. I visited Boston for the first time last year. It a very walkable city with decent mass transit. Most of the historical sights in central are all available by foot. Neighborhoods are well defined, with their own unique locally owned. Businesses. Convenient airport and train terminal. I highly recommend visiting!
I've lived in the Boston area for over 60 years and it took a guy from New York to explain it all. Thank you for a great video.
Such a fantastic video! You're an amazing storyteller, I go to college in Boston right now and knew nothing about boston's land expansion! Great job, looking forward to the next!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank u! Working on the next 🧑💻
I'm sticking with the cow path idea. but the shoreline makes sense too, because that way the cows would avoid the water/mud, etc. What do I know? I grew up on the other side of the harbor. Cool stuff Daniel, Ed and Nancy!!
I've been to Boston more than any other city, living in Maine and Mass my entire life. I love the city, even with all of it's quirks and strange decisions made in the past. This was a fantastic video, and I'm really glad TH-cam fed it to me! Thank you very much, instantly subscribed!
As someone who’s been a new Englander my whole life, is now 29 and have been living in the North End for 7 years, I thought I knew everything about Boston & my neighborhood.. clearly I was so wrong.
Thank you so much for this video, I just learned so much. I don’t know where else I’d be lucky enough have access to this kind of information. Please come back, you’re welcome anytime. 💗
First time watcher. Great video. I live in South Boston. In fact most of the “new land was south Boston and the seaport district which came at an ever later date - not to mention all of Logan airport too. You have a PT 2 video idea now ! I’ll be subscribing and looking out for it.
Thanks so much!! And you’re totally right! I talked to Nancy a bit about the airport and I wish it had fit in! I’ll have to come back for pt 2 for sure
@@DanielsimsSteiner Yeah, the downtown area is not only a small portion of the the city geographically, but it's it's a tiny portion, population-wise. You ignored the majority of the city, and where most of the people - particularly most of the non-white people - actually live! While the downtown, North End, Beacon Hill and Back Bay (and Fenway and Seaport, which you also didn't mention) are where most people VISIT the city, The South End, South Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Allston and Brighton are where the vast majority of Bostonians actually LIVE. And their topology and maps are also very interesting. The Seaport area in particular has very recently seen some of the most radical redevelopment of any city area in the country. You could also do a whole video about the impact of the colleges and universities on development of Boston (and Cambridge) and how it drove gentrification of the city's neighborhoods.
This was absolutely fascinating! I've lived in Boston since 2014 (and was born and raised about an hour west of Boston), and I didn't know almost anything that was covered in this video. I did know that much of Boston's land was "made", but I didn't realize how much, or the fact that in was done in chunks to make new neighborhoods. Really cool video!
The gas lamps were leaking a lot. It was really bad for the air quality and environment. The shift to the LEDs was a necessary upgrade. Also they aren't the original gas lamps, they were installed in the 70s to make the neighborhood feel more historic
I wish this was explained in my Massachusetts schools growing up. This was extremely fascinating. Some great shots from the past and present too. Well done.
Great work on getting this video done man! History of such a significant city for the US is fascinating! There’s so much character and so much to learn from these east coast cities, especially those located in the New England states!
Thanks a ton! I totally agree
My dad was born in Boston and grew up in West Roxbury…he became a marine and landscape artist and painted many paintings of Quincy Market in 1830…and the hills of Boston that were cut down are there in the background. He told me years ago the hills were cut down for land making…and I’m glad I just stumbled upon your video and seeing the drawings of the hills being cut. My great grandparents’ farm in Newton actually supplied Quincy Market with produce (when it was an actual market) and my dad drove their truck and delivered there as a teenager.
3:39 This is incorrect. The Paul Revere House isn't even the oldest house in Boston. James Blake House at 735 Columbia Road was built in 1661. Thomas Mayo House and Tavern at 2549 Centre Street was also built around 1680 and may predate the Paul Revere House (both are "circa" 1680). Would have been worth talking to the Boston City Archaeologist, Joseph Bagley on this one.
He is technically correct if he means it was built in Boston. Dorchester and West Roxbury were not part of Boston until the late 1800s, but I agree, there are older examples in what is currently Boston city limits.
I'm a native Bostonian and history buff... This was excellent...I, actually, learned a thing or two....great job my man...thanks...
As a local who’s read a lot of Boston history, kudos for making such a great overview - I’ll use your video to help friends get oriented when they visit! 😊 Had never heard about the rope walk theory, that’s extremely cool. Small nitpick, “Boston Garden” is the old name for where the Celtics played, we just call the actual gardens in the Back Bay the “Public Garden”. 😂
Yeah I came here to say that. There is/was a Boston Garden, and it is _not_ the Public Garden.
Being born in the Netherlands, but Living in Eilat (Israel), I did visit Boston in 1990, and enjoyed the city, It has a combination of European flavor and American new age. That was the reason I had a look at your video, and I wasn’t disappointed. I also remember the underground tram, or as they say in the USA, streetcar system in the town center. Might be also a topic for a future video? Your presentation is really enjoyable and with well done research. A career as lecturer, spokesman, presenter of proposals or may be even
as a politician would surely be succesfull!
In Boston it's just called the "T"
The quality of this video is amazing, u should have way more attention 🙏
This is the best type of comment thank you so much 🙏🙏
Went to BU graduating in 1991 so I saw the end of the elevated highway. I love going back to the city and seeing how it has changed. To me, one of the most interesting cities I know in this respect. Thank you for this!
This was such a great video. Like many other commenters, I would happily watch a much longer version.
I'll say a couple of things in defense of some elements of what was discussed.
1. re the West End and the flattening of all the housing and moving people out. Much of that area is now filled with the many many buildings that comprise Mass General Hsp and all its associated buildings. It is not just one of the best hospitals in the US, but in the world. Though my family comes from Boston, I moved back to the area, and one of key reasons was Mass General. That hospital, and the people who work there, have, literally, saved my life, several times. It is an absolutely vital and important resource for the people of Boston and New England generally. The people of this area are so incredibly lucky to a modern, utterly fantastically clean, and well organized hospital in the middle of our city. The hospital and its setting are quite unique. What are seen as the best hospitals in NYC, they are terrible compared with Mass General.
2. Keeping monied people in a city isn't simply an act of social snobbery. It is a VERY important fiscal move. Most cities struggle with their finances. I lived in New York in the 70s when it went bankrupt. The fellow who made this video is so young he wouldn't remember it. But imagine, the city that is (& especially was then) the financial centre of the world, declared bankruptcy.
Keeping a city economically diverse (by which I mean there is fancy high income housing, mixed in with all other types) helps to keep the city functioning, and it stops ghetto-fication. Plus having monied people around tends to put pressure on institutions to function better. People with cash are infamous for being affective complainers. If local government lets roads, utilities, schools, etc..fall into disrepair, people with cash will get them unelected or make their life hell. Or both.
3. Big dig wise. I love it. Yup there's still traffic, but I prefer it underground. And much of the time it isn't all that bad. The new space in the city is nice, and makes a walkable city still more pleasant to walk around. 100% an improvement.
4. I come from one of those Irish families that came to Boston in the early mid 1800s. I can tell you, I wouldn't have wanted my relatives living anywhere near me either. Hell I wouldn't have wanted me living near me. I have standards!
Outstanding post!
Great video. For those who want to learn more about The Big Dig, there is a new podcast by that name from the local public broadcasting station that covers it all in detail. One nitpick, Comm Ave is abbreviated with two Ms and not one. Also, when folks think of the lanterns in the Old North Church for Paul Revere secretly announcing “one if by land, two if by sea” that was the secret code to inform if the British regulars were going to leave Boston that night by boat across the flats or by land across the skinny isthmus.
Great video! I briefly lived in Boston and it gave me joy to further understand the history and recognize many of the places
Oh thank u! I’m so glad!
I have Nancy's book! I went to grad school in Boston 20 years ago during the final stage of the Big Dig. Haven't been back since 2006.
Very interesting and extremely well presented video. Just stumbled on your channel for the first time and you deserve more views, keep it up!
Thank you so much! More on the way!
I’m currently reading David McCullough’s 1776 and wanted a little detail on the layout of Boston. Your video gave me SO much more insight than any simple map I may have found. Excellent work! A whole history of the city in less than 20 minutes! Now, when I view the 18th century maps I won’t be confused why nothing looks the same! Thank you for your efforts!
This is such a big compliment, thank you! That book has been on my list for a long time - he’s an amazing author!
What a great video Daniel! Just discovered your channel and I appreciate all the work you put into research and visuals
Cheers from Montreal!
Thank you so much! Cheers!
As a big map nerd this channel was an instant sub
Really good production work, please make more videos like these ones!
Thank u so much! U have my promise that I will 🤝
This is EXCELLENT! One of the glorious reasons that TH-cam is useful! I purchased an old Paul Revere Map of Boston and it shows all of these contours you speak of. Thank you so much for the background on my own map
Awesome format and production - first I've seen of yours and would love more!
Thank you so much! More in the works!
I used to live in Boston, and I learned so much new information! Thank you! I have to say, I have lived in 3 major cities, including Boston, and it was, hands down, the most complicated city to try to find your way around. None of the streets made sense. There is a place where you can be standing on the corner of 2 major roads, Dorchester St and Dorchester Ave. It's the perfect metaphor for Boston city streets. But I love it!
Between this video, a few other Boston videos, but particularly the GBH series on the Big Dig, I might just visit Boston later this year.
You should! I loved my time there
Really like your video, very clear, and fun. Both guests works very nicely together, one from professional view, one feels part of the city. Living here for so long haven’t really thought of these questions, makes me wanna explore more.
I'm from near Boston and am somewhat of a cartographer myself, but still learned some new things from your video. Really cool you Nancy & Ed to help you out. Well-researched, well-produced. I guess I'll subscribe even if you are from NYC
Hahah thank u so much! I’m actually from Utah so I’m happy to join your side of the rivalry any time lol
I have been living in Boston and walking all these places and streets without really knowing history but now this video will give me new perspective every time I walk down on these streets. THANK You Daniel!
The Blake House is also in Boston, still stands, and is from the 1600s. There are others, as well.
I'm visiting Boston right now and I am so grateful for this video. I made a point of finding the old shoreline engraving. It's not easy to find! If you're looking for it, it's in front of Faneuil Hall, in front of the Samuel Adams statue. Thanks so much Daniel for this video! And thanks to Ed and Nancy! I shared this video with my girlfriend who lives in Winchester (Boston suburb); she didn't know about any of this.
Boston is only One hour away from Boston.
I never heard that one, but I love it. Just north of Chicago they have a street called half-day Road and supposedly it was a half a day ride from downtown Chicago (the loop) back in the day and pretty soon it’s gonna re live up to its name for the same reason.
This video is awesome
My jaw dropped when I found out that that's the last building standing from the pre-developed west end...I drove by that everyday when I was going to work and never knew (probably because of the massive billboards on it).
So I grew up in NY but used to visit Boston all the time as a kid in 80’s and early 90’s, and 00’s. I moved out west
And then down south and recently moved to the Boston area. 1. Thanks for this video it’s helping me learn my new city, which I love. 2. Yes traffic still sucks but the big dig has made the city much nicer.
Dan, you did a amazing job with the research! It's not easy to get up to speed on a complex topic like Boston's development, but you really hit a lot of the points that gave the city character. Glad you pointed out that not all of those were necessarily great in hindsight, like demolishing the West End, adding huge highways etc. I lived for about a decade in the North End and truthfully I do miss it sometimes, being able to walk from my apartment to the water's edge.
I grew up 25 miles outside of Boston, went to college, came back, and stayed for another 15 years.
This program brings back a lot of memories.
I enjoyed the video you deserve more views and subs so i helped with both!
!!! Thank u so much! You my friend are a legend.
Really well done. I lived in NYC 2000-2010 and only got up to Boston for an afternoon. Fortunately I made it there for a conference a few years after leaving NYC. Great recognizing many of these neighborhoods
Thank you! Funny how sometimes the close places are the last ones we go to
Shame there's not a mention of the true benefit of the Big Dig: reconnecting the North End and the waterfront to the rest of Boston
Ahh I have a clip of Nancy saying that! I should have used it
I've lived in Boston my whole life and this has fascinated me for decades. I love overlaying maps of Boston through time.
Another victim of the urban renewal projects of the 50s and 60s was Scollay Square, immortalized in the Kingston Trio song "M.T.A." If you noticed that an MBTA electronic fare card is called a "CharlieCard", that's because the main character in the song was named Charlie, doomed to forever ride the train because he didn't have the nickel to pay the exit fare.
(Scollay Square is where Charlie's wife goes every day to hand him a sandwich as his train passes through. Left unanswered is why she never handed him the nickel he needed. My personal suspicion was that she was having an affair with the train conductor. 🙂)
Thank you
Wow! I am from Boston and found this to be extremely interesting. I am 71 years old, and have watched the city change so much in my lifetime. I love walking in Boston!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
One thing, the Boston Public Garden is referred to as the “Public Garden”, whereas the “Boston Garden” was a basketball arena that closed in 1995 (replaced by the current TD Garden)
Bostonian here, it is a nightmare to drive anywhere in the Greater Boston Area, but the erratic street layout makes downtown Boston and Cambridge absolutely beautiful and lovely to walk around.
But for real Boston is incredible. Fav city
I wanna go back
I’m a quarter way way through the video and am so grateful someone has done this. I’ve been curious my whole life. Thank you
Nice video, thanks for posting. Just a quick note: It's called the "Public Garden" not "Boston Garden." If you're interested in the history of the Big Dig, there's a recent series by the TH-cam channel GBH News on the subject.
That’s how I got recommended this video. Well done, Daniel.
Great overview of history of Boston - I've visited there for over 40 years yet learned a lot from this video about questions and confusion I've had about Boston for years. Thanks.
That means so much! I’m glad it was helpful!
Awesome video dude. The algorithm actually pulled through today
Boston Back Bay alphabet streets, East to West: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, Hereford, Ipswich, Jersey, Kilmarnock. Mass Ave doesn't count (!), and the Back Bay Fens disrupted the gridding. I learned it that way from my dad.
I've been living in Boston for the past 5 years, and I loved this video! I found the layout of Boston always so interesting, so it's awesome to find out how its development has been informed!
Well done. There’s a lot about Boston that even some current and previous locals don’t know. I believed the theory that the crazy roads were the result of cow paths. Oh well. Thanks Nancy!
Wow, this is a fantastic intro to Boston's history and its unique culture and geography. As someone who grew up outside Boston, I'm familiar with all these areas of the city but didn't really know about how they came about, until now. Thanks!
Awesome video! Just btw, at 3:26 you said that the Paul Revere House is the only house in Boston from the 1600s still standing but the James Blake house in Dorchester is at least one other one I know of! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blake_House
Interesting! A few minor points:
* "One if by land, two if by sea" Given the long neck of land Boston was on, the British had to either take a boat across the Charles River and head west or march along the neck of land and come up from the south. Boston's geography today obscures how important this was.
* The Back Bay is lovely, but scary: It's all masonry construction build on landfill. An earthquake -- infrequent out here, but in the historical record -- would devastate the Back Bay.
* The demolition of the West End was bad enough, but the fancy housing they replaced it with was not nearly the crime as the brutalist public buildings like Boston City Hall, which is said to be as unpleasant to work in as it is to look at.
* Nancy Seashole's comment on the Big Dig -- which *was* horribly expensive -- is simply wrong. Traffic (while still bad at times) is *much* better than it was. Even Ted Kennedy's greatest detractors forgive him much for extracting $10 billion from the Feds to help pay for it. (Tip O'Neill helped, too!) That's about $30 from each and every American. (Thank you for your contribution!)