Back Bay Historic District | |
 Back Bay and the Charles River | |
    | |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Mid 19th Century Revival, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001948[1] |
| Added to NRHP | August 14, 1973 |
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts,[2] built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and the area was fully built by around 1900.[3] It is most famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes—considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States—as well as numerous architecturally significant individual buildings, and cultural institutions such as the Boston Public Library, and Boston Architectural College. Initially conceived as a residential-only area, commercial buildings were permitted from around 1890, and Back Bay now features many office buildings, including the John Hancock Tower, Boston's tallest skyscraper.[4] It is also considered a fashionable shopping destination (especially Newbury and Boylston Streets, and the adjacent Prudential Center and Copley Place malls) and home to several major hotels.[5]
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay considers the neighborhood's bounds to be "Charles River on the North; Arlington Street to Park Square on the East; Columbus Avenue to the New York New Haven and Hartford right-of-way (South of Stuart Street and Copley Place), Huntington Avenue, Dalton Street, and the Massachusetts Turnpike on the South; Charlesgate East on the West."[6][7]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "NEIGHBORHOODS". October 13, 2017.
- ^ City of Boston 2017, p. 2.
- ^ City of Boston 2017, p. 8.
- ^ William A. Newman; Wilfred E. Holton (2006). Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-century Landfill Project. UPNE. p. 187. ISBN 9781555536510.
- ^ "About NABB". Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009. While the city of Boston does officially recognize various neighborhoods within its confines, it does not assign precise boundaries.[citation needed]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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