On this tour you will learn about the filling of the Back Bay, the creation of the neighborhood, and how this was enabled by the development of new technology in the mid-1800s. Designed to imitate the grand boulevards of Paris, the Back Bay is one of the few areas of Boston where the streets are straight and the side walks wide.

Join your guide in front of Trinity Church and walk back in time to view splendid examples of Victorian architecture.

photograph of Trinity Church in Copley Square

Henry Hobson Richardson 1872-77

Trinity Church rests on about 4,500 wooden pilings and defined a new architectural style, Richardsonian Romanesque, after its architect.

Trinity Church and Copley Square. Photo by John Morrison.
photograph of the Back Bay skyline from Cambridge
The filling of Back Bay began in 1857 and took 30 years to complete.
Boston's Back Bay skyline. Photo by Tom Coppeto.

Boston's Back Bay embraces one of America's richest collections of art and architecture. Its treasures include grand rows of Back Bay townhouses, Trinity Church, the Boston Public Library, and New Old South Church.

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