The Boston History Project: Creating Boston's Back Bay

Boston Historian Anthony Sammarco talks about the creation of Boston's Back Bay.
Video by Robert Greim

[MarkEspinola]

Many Bostonians are not cognizant of this amazing geographic (landfill) history of the City of Boston. As someone who was born and raised in south Dorchester I thank you for posting this amazing, well presented historical data.

[johnshields]

Born in Boston in 1960 it's amazing how much land is filled in, if you ever saw it's original geography you'd be shocked.

[attsealevel]

Great Tour and Summary!!! Something not mentioned is that almost a thousand pump and monitor stations now maintain the water table throughout the back bay, south end and base of beacon hill. Without strict monitoring, a majority of those buildings would've collapsed over the years (some already have). Most are built on wood pilings (tree trunks) that suppport their foundations. Those pilings extend through land fill, organic silt and sand, all the way to the marine clay (about 25 - 70 feet deep depending on the address). If those pilings are exposed to air (for even 10 minutes), bacteria will activate and they will rot. The city of Boston spends 10s of millions to ensure their safety via this network of sophisticated pumps.

[patman]

I love Anthony Sammarco video's! He is a great historian.

[dhatchbernier]

My family is from Back Bay and it remains my favorite urban neighborhood in Boston to this day.

[crashstitches]

This is great! I love it when a history video does it right, with lots of maps and visual reference material. Keeps me from having to look them up while watching. Top marks, dog. Cheers from a Texan with Mass roots.

[jeffreysantner]

It was, at the time, the largest urban development project on Earth since the pyramids. The Big Dig, also in Boston is the current champ.

[rebecca]

It is fascinating to see the pictures of Boston before the Back Bay was filled in! Too bad cameras hadn’t yet been invented when the American Revolution happened. I would have loved to have seen what Boston looked like back then.

[christopheryoung]

Thanks for this excellent, illustrated history of these Boston landmarks!

[hollywoodhiggins]

I’m sitting the Boston public gardens watching this an my mind is blown! I never knew any of this!

[uofwboo]

I love these videos! Anthony Sammarco is one of the finest historians in New England if not the World 🌎🌍🌏

[takeurpowerback]

Thank you for posting this video. I was born in Boston and my grandmother used to live on Victoria Avenue in South Braintree. My mom used to work for a lawyer in town and all those street names you mention are places she mentioned to me when I was a little kid. The memories are so sweet and I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate this video❤️💙💜

[micromanager]

I lived in Beacon Hill and Back bay for many years in graduate school and my first years as a banker. This guy has a beautiful Brahman accent.

[chrizizdaman]

I've always wanted to visit Boston. It's one city that's high on my bucket list of places to see.

[michaelmangraviti]

Idk how it looks so big in these photos but feels so small when you’re there. Still a beautiful story of an incredible engineering feet

[callmecarmella]

Sidebar.... a lot people have no idea that Brookline is not Boston. Although it is connected by Jamaica Plain and Alston/Brighton ( which are all considered Boston) Brookline is separate and apart. Great video, I love my city.

[joevignoloru]

On April 19, 1775 British troops left their encampment on Boston Common and boarded small boats along the edge of the marsh where Charles Street is today. They then rowed west through the marsh and then northeast across the Charles River to where they landed in Cambridge. They then proceeded on foot west to Lexington and Concord and the rest is history.

[StevenTorrey]

I've always wondered why the landfill didn't settle so irregularly. Seems more like a prescription for structural collapse than anything else.

[MiguelRomero-zdnb]

I love the video
PD: This man has a thick New England accent

[Frankybroadcast]

Very very cool video. I never knew the history of that neighborhood. Impressive