Waterfront Tour

George Minot owned a wharf constructed in the 1720s connected to Long Wharf via a seawall along the Town Cove. It was known as Minot's T. The wharf was demolished in the 1960s.

Suggested Reading

Purchase Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea by author Richard Henry Dana, Jr. from our Amazon bookstore. Purchase Down on T Wharf by author Andrew W. German from our Amazon bookstore.

Browse more selections from our Amazon bookstore.

The Boston Waterfront was the epicenter of the maritime economy in the New World. From Dock Square to Rowes Wharf, this walk through Boston's mercantile history features tales of the colonial shoreline, the lore of clipper ships, and the vibrant commerce of today's shops and restaurants.

East Boston ship builder Donald McKay built the Flying Cloud in 1851 for $50,000. The Flying Cloud set the world record on her maiden voyage between New York and San Francisco in 89 days under the command of Captain Josiah P. Creesy. The record was finally broken in 1989.

This remarkable ship is the most famous of the clippers and was navigated by the popular Eleanor Creesy, wife of the captain. After the Flying Cloud went aground at St. Johns, Newfoundland in 1874, the ship was sold for scrap metal marking the end of an era.

The Flying Cloud by James Butterworth 1852. Image courtesy Bancroft Library University of California Berkeley.

On this tour of the historical waterfront, you will walk along four centuries of Boston's ever-changing coastline. From John Smibert's 1742 Faneuil Hall to the modern day Rowes Wharf, this tour of discovery is filled with artifacts and clues of New England's great seafaring heritage.

In its heyday, the Boston waterfront was a maze of docks, warehouses and wharves serving Alexander Parris' Quincy Market and Boston's growing Financial District. Today, tourists flock to the waterfront to experience this maritime history walking among architectural treasures such as the Custom House and the Grain Exchange Building.

The once 1,604 foot Long Wharf is a popular destination for the New England Aquarium and sightseeing among Boston's 34 islands encompassing nearly 4,000 acres of sheltered anchorages. Long Wharf, although quite a bit smaller today, remains the oldest continuously operating wharf in the United States.

You will also see the surviving wharf buildings designed by some of the finest mid-19th century architects including Gridley James Fox Bryant and Isaiah Rogers. Newly created green spaces in Columbus Park and the Rose Kennedy Greenway provide further connections with the Boston Harbor on land once occupied by Mercantile Wharf, City Wharf, T Wharf, India Wharf and Griffin's Wharf (where some rebels once steeped a large quantity of tea).

Take in the incredible architecture and relive Boston's past while getting a glimpse at her future on this guided tour of Boston's waterfront.