Boston Map - 1838 Poster

Boston's transformation and growth from a colonial port city originally confined to the physical limitations of the Shawmut Peninsula are outlined on this map. Starting in the 1790s, bridges were built to connect Boston to the growing urban settlements of Cambridge, Charlestown, South Boston and South Bay. Bostonians began to increase the peninsula's usable land areas by extending and filling in between wharves, and reclaiming the Mill Pond and tidal flats, along the peninsula's narrow neck. During the 1830s with the introduction of railroads into the New England area, Boston developed a viable transportation alternative to ocean and coastal shipping. The map was engraved by G.W. Boynton, Boston's leading engraver during the mid-1800s.