Architecture of Boston

As one of the oldest cities in North America, Boston, Massachusetts (along with its surrounding area) has accumulated buildings and structures ranging from the 17th-century to the present day, having evolved from a small port town to a large cosmopolitan center for education, industry, finance, and technology.

[3] It originally touched mudflats that led into the harbor, which have since been filled in to form the Back Bay neighborhood and the Boston Public Garden.

The land-reclamation project of the early 19th century gradually changed the geography of Boston from a peninsular town with a narrow isthmus connecting it into the mainland into the current coastline seen today.

Following the war which led to American independence, Federal architecture blossomed in the city with Charles Bulfinch and Asher Benjamin as lead architect in that style.

The Government Center neighborhood, consisting of courthouses and other federal and state buildings, was built around City Hall, as part of an effort to gentrify the former Scollay Square.

The Prudential and Hancock Towers anchor a string of skyscrapers in Back Bay known as the High Spine, which stands out against the surrounding Victorian-era buildings of the neighborhood.

One of the biggest engineering projects in Boston during the onset of the 2000s was the Big Dig, which effectively moved the elevated highway portion of the Central Artery underground into tunnels.

A number of contemporary skyscrapers, such as the Millennium Tower were built, but others such as One Lincoln Street incorporated elements of past styles such as Art Deco into its design.

Other neighborhoods such as North End, South Boston, and Dorchester have distinctive architectural styles, in addition to surrounding suburbs such as Cambridge and Brookline.

As the state capital of Massachusetts and one of the largest cities in the Northeast, Boston is home to many government and municipal buildings which range in architectural styles.

More modern buildings include the recent additions to The First Church of Christ, Scientist, originally designed and built by Charles Brigham, as part of the Christian Science Center.