Some Back Bay architecture

Boston's Back Bay neighborhood is noted for its architectural variety and significance. The Back Bay district was created in the mid-nineteenth century by filling what were then tidal flats to the east of the Charles River; an embankment and later an earthen dam were built, creating the mile-wide Upper Basin we know today. The adjoining South End was created a few decades earlier; both neighborhoods are known for their Victorian rowhouses. (The rowhouse as a form is unusual in Boston; more common is the unique local form called the “triple-decker”, which is not found in either district.) There is some controversy over the exact dividing line between the Back Bay and the South End, with some claiming as far south and east as Columbus Avenue, based on historical considerations; the Back Bay Architectural District, however, extends only as far as Boylston Street.

Today's walking tour takes us from Symphony Hall up Massachusetts Avenue past the Christian Science church and Berklee College of Music, then down Boylston Street to Copley Square. On the way, we stopped to photograph some of Boston's most beautiful buildings—and a few of Boston's ugliest. A word of warning: I was very surprised to find out, when I visited the BSO box office at Symphony Hall, that they do not sell tickets for Tanglewood events (even though Tanglewood is a part of the BSO).

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