Beacon Hill Historic District | |
 Park Street, looking towardMassachusetts State House, on Beacon Hill | |
    | |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Built | 1795 |
| Architect | Charles Bulfinch |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, Federal |
| Website | www |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000130 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHLD | December 19, 1962 |
Beacon Hill is a historicneighborhood inBoston, Massachusetts, United States. It is also the location of theMassachusetts State House. The term "Beacon Hill" is used locally as ametonym to refer to the state government or the legislature itself, much likeWashington, D.C.'sCapitol Hill does at the federal level.
Federal-stylerowhouses, narrow streets and brick sidewalks run through the neighborhood, which is generally regarded as one of the more desirable and expensive in Boston. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood was 9,023.[2]
Like many similarly named areas, the neighborhood is named for the location of a formerbeacon atop the highest point in central Boston. The beacon was used to warn the residents of an invasion.[4][5][nb 1]
Beacon Hill is bounded byStorrow Drive, and Cambridge,Bowdoin,Park andBeacon Streets.[4][9] It is about 1/6 of a square mile in size, and situated along the riverfront of theCharles River Esplanade to the west, just north ofBoston Common and theBoston Public Garden. The block bound byBeacon,Tremont andPark Streets is included as well.[10] Beacon Hill has three sections: the south slope, the north slope and the "Flat of the Hill", which is a level neighborhood built on landfill, located west ofCharles Street and between Beacon and Cambridge streets.[6][10]
Located in the center of theShawmut Peninsula, the area originally had three hills, Beacon Hill and two others nearby,[5][7] Pemberton Hill and Mount Vernon, which were leveled for Beacon Hill's development.[7][11] The name trimount later morphed into "Tremont", as in Tremont Street.[8]
Between 1807 and 1832, Beacon Hill was reduced from 138 feet in elevation to 80 feet. The shoreline and bodies of water such as the Mill Pond had a "massive filling", increasing Boston's land mass by 150%.[7] Charles Street was one of the new roads created from the project.[12]
Before the hill was reduced substantially, Beacon Hill was located just behind the current site ofMassachusetts State House.[5]
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood is 9,023. This reflects a slight (0.3% or 29 individuals) decrease from the 2000 Census.[2] The racial/ethnic make-up of the neighborhood's population is as follows: 86.8% of the population is white, 2% black or African American, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.3% Asian, 0.4% some other race/ethnicity, and 1.3% two or more races/ethnicities.[2]
According to 2007–2011 American Community Survey estimates, of the 5,411 households in Beacon Hill, 27.3% were family households and 72.7 were non-family households (with 55.7% of those female householders).[13] Of the 1,479 family households 81.6% were married couple families. 36.6% of married couple families were with related children under the age of 18 and 63.4% were with no related children under age 18. Other family types make up 18.4% of Beacon Hill's population, with 90.8% being female householders with no husband present and a majority of these households included children under 18 present.
| Race | Percentage of 02108 population | Percentage of Massachusetts population | Percentage of United States population | ZIP code-to-state difference | ZIP code-to-USA difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 86.8% | 81.3% | 76.6% | +5.5% | +10.2% |
| White (Non-Hispanic) | 83.4% | 72.1% | 60.7% | +11.3% | +22.7% |
| Black | 5.2% | 8.8% | 13.4% | –3.6% | –8.2% |
| Hispanic | 4.3% | 11.9% | 18.1% | –7.6% | –13.8% |
| Asian | 4.2% | 6.9% | 5.8% | –2.7% | –1.6% |
| Native Americans/Hawaiians | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.5% | +0.0% | –0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.7% | +0.0% | –0.3% |
| Race | Percentage of 02114 population | Percentage of Massachusetts population | Percentage of United States population | ZIP code-to-state difference | ZIP code-to-USA difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 79.2% | 81.3% | 76.6% | –2.1% | +2.6% |
| White (Non-Hispanic) | 73.6% | 72.1% | 60.7% | +1.5% | +12.9% |
| Asian | 11.3% | 6.9% | 5.8% | +4.4% | +5.5% |
| Hispanic | 9.3% | 11.9% | 18.1% | –2.6% | –8.8% |
| Black | 4.3% | 8.8% | 13.4% | –4.5% | –9.1% |
| Native Americans/Hawaiians | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1.5% | –0.6% | –1.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.7% | +0.1% | –0.2% |
According to the 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups inZIP Codes 02108 and 02114 are:[17][18]
| Ancestry | Percentage of 02108 population | Percentage of Massachusetts population | Percentage of United States population | ZIP code-to-state difference | ZIP code-to-USA difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish | 17.51% | 21.16% | 10.39% | –3.65% | +7.12% |
| English | 15.49% | 9.77% | 7.67% | +5.71% | +7.95% |
| Italian | 13.34% | 13.19% | 5.39% | +0.15% | +7.95% |
| German | 8.47% | 6.00% | 14.40% | +2.47% | –5.93% |
| Polish | 5.78% | 4.67% | 2.93% | +1.11% | +2.85% |
| American | 5.11% | 4.26% | 6.89% | +0.85% | –1.78% |
| French | 3.68% | 6.82% | 2.56% | –3.14% | +1.12% |
| Norwegian | 2.40% | 0.51% | 1.40% | +1.88% | +1.00% |
| Northern European | 2.35% | 0.11% | 0.09% | +2.24% | +2.26% |
| Arab | 2.32% | 1.10% | 0.59% | +1.22% | +1.73% |
| Chinese | 1.93% | 2.28% | 1.24% | –0.35% | +0.69% |
| Korean | 1.93% | 0.37% | 0.45% | +1.56% | +1.48% |
| Lithuanian | 1.85% | 0.70% | 0.20% | +1.15% | +1.65% |
| Scottish | 1.85% | 2.28% | 1.71% | –0.43% | +0.14% |
| Dutch | 1.58% | 0.62% | 1.32% | +0.96% | +0.26% |
| Egyptian | 1.53% | 0.09% | 0.08% | +1.44% | +1.46% |
| Swedish | 1.51% | 1.67% | 1.23% | –0.16% | +0.28% |
| Ukrainian | 1.46% | 0.37% | 0.31% | +1.08% | +1.15% |
| French Canadian | 1.38% | 3.91% | 0.65% | –2.52% | +0.73% |
| British | 1.16% | 0.48% | 0.43% | +0.68% | +0.73% |
| Welsh | 1.01% | 0.36% | 0.57% | +0.66% | +0.45% |
| Ancestry | Percentage of 02114 population | Percentage of Massachusetts population | Percentage of United States population | ZIP code-to-state difference | ZIP code-to-USA difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish | 17.58% | 21.16% | 10.39% | –3.58% | +7.19% |
| Italian | 13.66% | 13.19% | 5.39% | +0.47% | +8.27% |
| German | 8.81% | 6.00% | 14.40% | +2.80% | –5.60% |
| English | 8.05% | 9.77% | 7.67% | –1.73% | +1.57% |
| Chinese | 5.27% | 2.28% | 1.24% | +2.99% | +4.03% |
| Polish | 4.50% | 4.67% | 2.93% | –0.17% | +1.57% |
| Puerto Rican | 4.11% | 4.52% | 1.66% | –0.41% | +2.86% |
| French | 4.10% | 6.82% | 2.56% | –2.72% | +1.54% |
| Scottish | 3.67% | 2.28% | 1.71% | +1.39% | +1.96% |
| American | 3.59% | 4.26% | 6.89% | –0.67% | –3.30% |
| Russian | 2.71% | 1.65% | 0.88% | +1.06% | +1.83% |
| Asian Indian | 2.48% | 1.39% | 1.09% | +1.09% | +1.39% |
| French Canadian | 2.18% | 3.91% | 0.65% | –1.72% | +1.53% |
| Swedish | 2.05% | 1.67% | 1.23% | +0.39% | +0.83% |
| Norwegian | 1.82% | 0.51% | 1.40% | +1.31% | +0.42% |
| European | 1.65% | 1.08% | 1.23% | +0.56% | +0.41% |
| Arab | 1.52% | 1.10% | 0.59% | +0.42% | +0.92% |
| Turkish | 1.07% | 0.11% | 0.07% | +0.96% | +1.00% |
| Greek | 1.06% | 1.22% | 0.40% | –0.16% | +0.66% |
The first European settler wasWilliam Blaxton, also spelled Blackstone. In 1625 he built a house and orchard on Beacon Hill's south slope, roughly at the location of Beacon and Spruce street. The settlement was a "preformal arrangement". In 1630 Boston was settled by theMassachusetts Bay Company.[6][19] The southwestern slope was used by the city for military drills and livestock grazing. In 1634 asignal beacon was established on the top of the hill.[11][19] Sailors and British soldiers visited the north slope of Beacon Hill during the 17th and 18th centuries. As a result, it became an "undesirable" area for Boston residents.[6] "Fringe activities" occurred on "Mount Whoredom", the backslope of Beacon Hill.[20][nb 2]
Beacon Street was established in 1708 from a cow path to theBoston Common.[11]John Singleton Copley owned land on the south slope for pasture for his cows and farmland.[6]
In 1787Charles Bulfinch designed theMassachusetts State House.[11] Its construction was completed in 1795, replacing theOld State House in the center of Boston.[22][23][nb 3]
TheMount Vernon Proprietors group was formed to develop the trimount area,[6][7] The name trimount later morphed into "Tremont", as in Tremont Street.[8] when by 1780 the city's neighborhoods could no longer meet the needs of the growing number of residents.[11][nb 4] Eighteen and a half[22] or 19 acres of grassland west of the State House was purchased in 1795, most of it from John Singleton Copley. The Beacon Hill district's development began when Charles Bulfinch, an architect and planner, laid out the plan for the neighborhood. Four years later the hills were leveled, Mount Vernon Street was laid, and mansions were built along it. One of the first homes was theHarrison Gray Otis House on Cambridge Street.[11][22]
Construction of homes began in earnest at the turn of the century, such as: freestandingmansions, symmetrical pairs of houses, androw houses.[22][nb 5] Between 1803 and 1805, the first row houses were built forStephen Higginson.[11][nb 6]
In the 1830s, residential homes were built for wealthy people on Chestnut and Mt. Vernon Streets.[25] Some affluent people moved, beginning in the 1870s, toBack Bay with its "French-inspired boulevards andmansard-roofed houses that were larger, lighter, and airier than the denser Beacon Hill."[26]
In the early 19th century, there were "fringe activities" along the Back Bay waterfront, withropewalks along Beacon and Charles Streets.[12]
The south slope "became the seat of Boston wealth and power."[27] It was carefully planned for people who left densely populated areas, like the North End.[6] The residents of opulent homes, called theBoston Brahmins, were described byOliver Wendell Holmes as a "harmless, inoffensive, untitled aristocracy". They had "houses byCharles Bulfinch, their monopoly on Beacon Street, their ancestral portraits and Chinese porcelains, humanitarianism,Unitarian faith in the march of the mind,Yankee shrewdness, andNew England exclusiveness."[28]
Literary salons andpublishing houses were founded in the 19th century. "Great thinkers" lived in the neighborhood, includingDaniel Webster,Henry Thoreau andWendell Phillips.[23]
Development began in the early 19th century. Single family homes often had stores on the first floor for retailers, carpenters and shoemakers.[6] Today, many of the 19th century waterfront landmarks, such as theCharles Street Meeting House, are found far from the water due to the filling that has taken place since then.
The north slope was the home of African Americans, sailors and Eastern and Southern European immigrants.[6] The area around Belknap Street (now Joy Street) in particular became home to more than 1,000 blacks beginning in the mid-1700s. While this community is often described as arising from domestic workers in the homes of white residents on the south slope of the Hill, property records indicate that the black community on the north slope was already well-established by 1805, before the filling-in of the south slope was completed, and so before that slope of Beacon Hill came to be considered an affluent area.[29]
Many blacks in the neighborhood attended church with the whites but did not have a vote in church affairs and sat in segregated seating. A Baptist congregation, built theAfrican Meeting House in 1806 and by 1840 there were five black churches. The African Meeting House on Joy Street was a community center for members of theblack elite.Frederick Douglass spoke there about abolition, andWilliam Lloyd Garrison formed theNew England Anti-Slavery Society at the Meeting House.[6][11] It became a "hotbed and an important depot on theUnderground Railroad."[21]
Blacks and whites were largely united on the subject ofabolition. Beacon Hill was one of the staunchest centers of the anti-slavery movement in theAntebellum era.[30]
One of the earliest black Republican legislators[31] in the United States wasJulius Caesar Chappelle (1852–1904), who served as a legislator in Boston from 1883 to 1886 and whose district included the Beacon Hill area. Chappelle was a popular, well-liked politician and was covered by many of the black newspapers in the United States.[32]
Blacks migrated toRoxbury and Boston'sSouth End after theCivil War.[6][21]
In the latter part of the 19th century, Beacon Hill absorbed an influx ofIrish,Jewish and other immigrants.[6][21][33]
Many homes built of brick and wood in the early 19th century were dilapidated by the end of the Civil War and were razed for new housing.[6] Brick apartment buildings, ortenements, were built.[21][22][34] Yellow brick townhouses were constructed, generally with arched windows on the first floor and a low ceiling on the top, fourth floor. Residential homes were also converted to boarding houses.[6]
The north slope neighborhood transitioned as blacks moved out of the neighborhood and immigrants, such as Eastern European Jews, made their homes in the community. TheVilna Shul was established in 1898, and theAfrican Meeting House was converted into asynagogue.[6][21]
Better transportation service to the suburbs and other cities led a boom to the city's economy at the beginning of the 20th century. New buildings, "compatible with the surroundings", were built and older buildings renovated. To ensure that there were controls on new development and demolition, the Beacon Hill Association was formed in 1922. Into the 1940s there were attempts to replace brick sidewalks, but the projects were abandoned due to community resistance.[6]
Banks, restaurants and other service industries moved into the "Flat of the Hill", with a resulting transformation of the neighborhood.[6]
Red-light districts operated near Beacon Hill inScollay Square and theWest End until a 1950surban renewal project renovated the area.[35][dead link] To prevent urban renewal projects of historically significant buildings in Beacon Hill, its residents ensured that the community obtained historic district status: south slope in 1955, Flat of the Hill in 1958, and north slope in 1963. The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission was established in 1955 to monitor renovation and development projects.[6] For instance, in 1963, 70-72 Mount Vernon Street was to be demolished for the construction of an apartment building. A compromise was made to maintain the building and its exterior and build new apartments inside.[6]
In 1955, state legislation Chapter 616 created the Historic Beacon Hill District. It was the first such district in Massachusetts, created to protect historic sites and manage urban renewal.[6][9][11] Supporting these objectives is the local non-profit Beacon Hill Civic Association.[9] According to theMassachusetts Historical Commission, the historic districts "appear to have stabilized architectural fabric" of Beacon Hill.[36]
Beacon Hill was designated aNational Historic Landmark on December 19, 1962.[37][38]
Wealthy Boston families continue to live at the Flat of the Hill and south slope. Inhabitants of the north slope include Suffolk University students and professionals.[6]
TheBoston African American National Historic Site is located just north ofBoston Common.[39] The historic buildings along today'sBlack Heritage Trail were the homes, businesses, schools and churches of the black community.[39][40][41][42]Charles Street Meeting House was built in 1807, the church had seating that segregated white and black people.[40][42] TheMuseum of African American History, New England's largest museum dedicated to African American history, is located at theAfrican Meeting House, adjacent to theAbiel Smith School. The meeting house is the oldest surviving Black church built by African Americans.[40][42] TheRobert Gould Shaw Memorial and the54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial are located at Beacon Street and Park Street, opposite the Massachusetts State House.[40][42]
TheMassachusetts State House, located on Beacon Street, is the home of the Commonwealth's government. The gold-domed state capitol building was designed byCharles Bulfinch and was completed in 1798. Many of the country's state capitol buildings were modeled after the State House.[5][43]
The Beacon Hill Civic Association has a long history as a community resource for the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Founded in 1922 by neighbors with the goal of preventing home building and other construction, today it continues as a volunteer advocacy organization focused on improving quality of life in the neighborhood.[44] It was first founded to fight city plans to replace the neighborhood's brick sidewalks.[45] Since then its efforts have been instrumental in preserving Beacon Hill as a historic district, and have expanded to include such initiatives as: working to become the first neighborhood to receive resident parking permits, streamlining trash service, and creating a virtual retirement community serving the neighborhood's elderly.[45]
The Club of Odd Volumes, a historic organization on Mount Vernon Street, serves as aBibliophiles club, library, and archive. TheHeadquarters House, also known as William Hickling Prescott House, is a museum run by theSociety of Colonial Dames.[46] The country's oldest legal organization, theBoston Bar Association, is on Beacon Street.[47] Beacon Hill Village was the first formalElder Village in the United States.[48][49]
Religious organizations include theVilna Shul, an Orthodox Jewish synagogue.[50] The headquarters for theUnitarian Universalist Association was formerly in the neighborhood at 25 Beacon Street, but moved to theSeaport District in 2013.[51]Church of the Advent is a Victorian Gothic Church, faced in brick with 8 massivechange ringing bells and a 172-foot spire.[52][21] ThePark Street Church, nicknamed "Brimstone Corner" in the 19th century, was used to store gunpowder during theWar of 1812. Samuel Francis Smith first sang his songAmerica the Beautiful at this church in 1831. Two years earlierWilliam Lloyd Garrison spoke to the congregation about abolishing slavery.[23] One of the few outposts of the small Protestant group theSwedenborgian Church is on Bowdoin Street, and was embroiled in controversy in 2013 over alleged extortion by a former mafioso.[53] While home to aPaulist chapel, Beacon Hill is currently one of only two neighborhoods in Boston that does not contain aCatholic parish church.[54]
Beacon Hill is predominantly residential, known for old colonial brick row houses with "beautiful doors, decorative iron work, brick sidewalks, narrow streets, and gas lamps". Restaurants and antique shops are located on Charles Street.[4][5]
Louisburg Square is "the most prestigious address" in Beacon Hill. Its residents have access to private parking and live in "magnificent Greek Revival townhouses." Nearby is Acorn Street, often mentioned as the "most frequently photographed street in the United States." It is a narrow lane paved withcobblestones that was home to coachmen employed by families in Mt. Vernon and Chestnut Street mansions.[21][55]
TheHarrison Gray Otis House on Cambridge Street was built in 1796. Charles Bulfinch designed this house, and two additional houses, for the businessman and politician who was instrumental in Beacon Hill's development and Boston becoming the state capital.[43] The Otis House also houses the headquarters ofHistoric New England, previously known as Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Other notable houses are theFrancis Parkman House and an 1804 townhouse, now theNichols House Museum.[56] The Nichols House "offers a rare glimpse inside [the] Brahmin life" ofRose Standish Nichols, a landscape artists.[21]
Suffolk University and itsLaw School are adjacent to theMassachusetts State House and theMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. TheSuffolk University Law School was founded in 1906.[57]
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)subway stations in Beacon Hill are:[23]
MBTA bus,MBTA commuter rail, andferry services are also available.
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Beacon Hill has been home to many notable persons, including:
Highstyle Federal brick townhouses, two and three stories tall with elliptical porticoes, pilasters and balustrades, the most ambitious of them free standing and Bulfinch-designed, were built along the crest of Beacon Hill and on Cambridge Street. Other imposing brick rowhouses were constructed around the Common. Substantial but less pretentious middle-class housing, three story, brick sidehall Federal rowhouses with side and fanlit entrances, filled in the lower slopes of Beacon Hill and the South End along Washington Street while modest sidehall brick houses, three stories tall, were built in the working class neighborhoods of theNorth End, the north slope of Beacon Hill and theWest End.[24]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Park Service. This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Park Service.
42°21′30″N71°03′58″W / 42.3583°N 71.0661°W /42.3583; -71.0661
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