February 2011 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. A Quick Visit to Boston's Waterfront
BOSTON, MA – During the middle of January I made a trip to Boston where my wife had a conference on atrial fibrillation. I just planned to do some documentation work in the hotel room and hopefully do some walking around the waterfront. I do not like going south of Augusta never mind spending time in Boston. I try to avoid major cities like the plague. However, I wanted to learn a lot more about the Boston waterfront since I had recently finished reading Bill Bunting’s book “Portrait of a Port: Boston, 1852 – 1914.
The day that we were planning to leave, a major snowstorm was predicted so we went the day before. We were booked at the Marriott Hotel on Long Wharf, which worked out to be a nice location. It was a nice hotel, even though it was undergoing renovations and I really liked Mike the doorman. The first morning we went down and had breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. That was a shock when the bill arrived and it was $40 for a buffet breakfast that was not really that good. That was the last time we thought about eating in the hotel. The snow was falling and Boston was paralyzed. They certainly do not know how to deal with the white stuff. Do you know how they get rid of it? They put it in dumpsters.
The hotel is right next to the New England Aquarium so much of that day we spent there. I have not been at the Aquarium for thirty or more years. It is an extremely interesting place and one that is special to me because just before my father passed away he had assisted in the design of the four story tank.
The first thing that you see when you enter the aquarium are the penguins and there are plenty of them. After watching them for a while we wandered up and around the big tank and even met one of the workers who was from Maine. Since there were not very many people at the Aquarium that day he spent some time explaining some of the fish and their histories at the Aquarium. It is a very interesting place to wander around and one that deserves the support of the public, especially the programs for the children so that they learn and appreciate the creatures of the sea.
Next, my wife decided that she wanted to take in a Boston Bruins game and if you need a culture shock just walk over to the Boston Garden. It was real easy walking around since there was absolutely no traffic. The game was fun, and they won, but what was depressing was that I missed the 50-50 by one ticket. The payout was over $4,000. One big question always is where to eat. When we left the hotel the first time we noticed that there was a Legal Seafood
restaurant right there on Long Wharf. I like their ads especially the one with the bear that spits out the salmon because it did not taste good saying that it was not legal seafood. So the first night we ate there and I am glad that we did. The first thing that was nice was that you could buy oysters from Damariscotta, Maine. I had the special salmon dish that was offered that night and it was excellent. My wife also liked what she had. We liked it so much that the last night we were in Boston we ate there again and it was just as good as the first time. I have asked several other people who visit Boston frequently about Legal Seafood and they agree it is an excellent restaurant to eat at and we will certainly go back again.
When walking over to the World Trade Center where the conference was located I noted that a number of wharves were named. The Marriott is located on Long wharf, which is also the location of the old Custom House. The next wharf over heading south was India, followed by Rowe’s, Foster’s, Harris and Otis. The main thoroughfare which runs in front of all of these wharves is Atlantic Avenue. This was the main topic of Bunting’s book. It is interesting to look at the photographs in the book and then see it in person and note the changes that have taken place over the years.
One wharf that I could not locate was called T-Wharf. I asked the doorman at the Marriott and he had never heard of it. Last Friday when I was at the Penobscot Marine Museum’s library there was a fellow there from Winthrop, Massachusetts and he explained that the marina I could see from my room was where the old T-Wharf was, but that it had been torn down years ago. On Saturday, the day we were leaving, I decided to take a harbor tour. I first took a water taxi to Charlestown, but that only gave me a glimpse of Boston’s waterfront. I then took the real harbor tour, which left Long Wharf, went south around the waterfront, then north up to Charlestown to where the USS CONSTITUTION is docked and then back to Long Wharf. It was an interesting tour that was narrated and worth the $16 it cost.
Boston is certainly an interesting place, especially its maritime history. I would have loved to have seen it back in its heyday when these wharves were the center of attention. Just imagine seeing the fishing and coastal schooners and the big steamers. Unfortunately those times are gone. However, I would like to go back when it is a little warmer and wander more of the waterfront so as to get a better understanding of Boston once great maritime history.
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