Long Wharf (Boston)

Long Wharf (built 1710-1721) in Boston, Massachusetts "was the busiest pier in the busiest port in America during early colonial times." It extended nearly a half-mile into the harbor, beginning from State Street. Circa 2000 the much-shortened wharf (due to landfill on the city end) functions as a dock for passengerferries and sightseeing boats.

History

18th century

Construction of the wharf began around 1710. As originally built the wharf extended from the shoreline adjacent to Faneuil Hall and was one-third of a mile long, thrusting considerably farther than other wharves into deep water and thus allowing larger ships to tie up and unload directly to new warehouses and stores. "Constructed by Captain Oliver Noyes, it was lined with warehouses and served as the focus of Boston's great harbor." Over time the water areas surrounding the landward end of the wharf were reclaimed, including the areas now occupied by Quincy Market and the Customs House.

"At the wharf's head in the 18th c. was the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern. The painter John Singleton Copley spent his childhood on the wharf, where his mother had a tobacco shop." The 1760s Gardiner Building, once home to John Hancock's counting house and now a restaurant, is...
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