I haven’t written many posts about Boston lately because I have been stuck in a chair with my ankle in a cast, unable to walk around the city. On the other hand, I have over the years written many, many posts about the city. Perhaps it’s time to pull some of those into a roundup of information about Boston’s neighborhoods. Let’s go to the Seaport District.
I did a collection like this once before with more than 45 posts about the Back Bay. Since then, however, I have written a lot about the Seaport District, where I spend a lot of time during the tour guide season. That’s where the big cruise ships come in and where I jump on a bus to give tours for their passengers. My first tour is scheduled for May 26, when I should be back on my feet, if not ready for much walking. Or jumping.
Where No One Used to Go
Boston’s Seaport District used to be a place no one visited unless you (1) worked in the fishing industry, (2) were eating at one of its three restaurants, or (3) were parking your car for the day.
Now that area holds Boston’s convention center, luxury residences, hotels, corporate headquarters buildings, and many restaurants to replace the original three. On weekend nights, parts of it resemble South Beach.
Every year when I drive through for my first tour of the season, I find new buildings I’ve never seen before and roads that seem to have appeared out of nowhere. Old buildings look new and new ones have been dwarfed by even bigger structures. The white boxy structure on the right the photo above is the Institute of Contemporary Art. That used to be the tallest building in the whole district. It can take a while to get used to the new arrangement.
19 Posts About Boston’s Seaport
For now, however, I have pulled together 19 posts about visiting and working in the Seaport District as well as commentary on its architecture and transportation infrastructure. I wish I had an even 20, but I’m sure I’ll add more during this year’s tour season
Places to Visit in the Seaport
- Rolling Bridge Park’s Red Sculpture
- How the Black Falcon Terminal Got Its Name
- The Army Supply Base/Innovation Design Building
- Lost and Found: The Partisans Sculpture
- Sleeper Street in the Fort Point Channel District
- The Boston Fire Museum Building
- The Marriott Hotel in the Stillings Building
- Legal Seafoods’ Scientific Fish
- The Snowport’s Christmas Market in Boston
The Seaport’s Land and Infrastructure
- Innovation and Glass Boxes in the Seaport
- Photo Ops in the Seaport’s East End
- Photo Ops in the Seaport: Part 2
- Will Boston Have a Seaport Cable Car?
- Public Transportation: Trams vs. Cars
Working at The Flynn Cruiseport
- Raining at the Flynn Cruiseport
- No Politics on the Tour Bus
- A Zig-Zag Walk to the Cruiseport
- Welcoming Tourists to Boston
- Find the Missing Tourist
Seaport Restaurants Old and New
In case you’re wondering, the three restaurants that disappeared were: (1) Anthony’s Pier 4, now replaced with the Pier 4 Residences, (2) Jimmy’s Harborside, now replaced by Legal Harborside, and (3) the No Name Restaurant on the Fish Pier now just gone.
Today you can choose from among 40+ Seaport restaurants, making your selection by size, price, location, availability, cuisine, and parking. You can sit by the waterfront or not, valet your car or take a ride share, eat seafood or a different specialty, eat your meal on a linen tablecloth or have take-out on the sidewalk.
Here are just a couple of the many websites that will help you to make up your mind:
- 40 Seaport Restaurants for Every Occasion
- 31Best Waterfront Restaurants in the Seaport
- The Absolute Best Restaurants in Boston’s Seaport District
So, if you haven’t been to this part of Boston for a long time—or ever—take the time to visit, explore, and eat. The Seaport is worth the trip.