Back Bay History
| 1814 | Development begins: Mass legislature chartered the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation, and approved construction of a long mill dam to cut off 430 acres of tidal flats from the river, which also served as a toll road to Watertown. The dam is under present-day Beacon Street. | |
| 1821 | Basin subdivided into Upper or Fill Basin, Lower or Receiving Basin, to power water mills | |
| 1828 | 70-75 Beacon Street built along the mill dam, oldest structures in the Back Bay | |
| 1841 | US Harbor Commission established line beyond which the Back Bay could not be filled, and thus encroach on the harbor | |
| 1849 | Health Department demanded the area be filled | |
| 1850 | 152 Beacon Street built for Isabella Stewart by her father | |
| 1850 | Commission appointed to investigate the Back Bay and recommend development options | |
| 1852 | July -- Commission on Harbor and Back Bay Lands appointed | |
| 1853 | Commissioners on Boston Harbor and Back Bay Lands begin writing annual reports | |
| 1855 | Name of Commission on Harbor and Back Bay Lands changed to Commissioners on Public Lands | |
| 1856 | Tripartite Agreement of 1856 between the State of Mass, Boston, and the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation-dividing up the lands. Part of the city land went to develop the Public Garden. | |
| 1857 |
September--Filling of the Back Bay began-average depth of
fill 20 feet; more than 450 acres filled; fill brought from Needham;
streets were filled to grade 17 (17 ft above mean low tide), lots
filled to grade 12, so basements would be below street level.
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| 1859 | Arlington Street Church built | |
| 1860 | The house at 137 Beacon Street, later known as the Gibson House, was built | |
| 1860 | Filling of Back Bay reached Clarendon Street | |
| 1861 | State granted a block of Back Bay (Boylston and Berkeley) to the Boston Society of Natural History and MIT | |
| 1861 | Halcyon Place (corner of Berkeley and Commonwealth) built as a guest home for families of patients at Mass General | |
| 1862 | 152 Beacon Street-Isabella Stewart Gardner moved in | |
| 1862 | Emmanuel Church completed (Newbury Street) | |
| 1863 | MIT located on Boylston-current site of New England Life building | |
| 1864 | Society of Natural History building completed (Berkeley between Boylston and Newbury) | |
| 1865 | December-Toll no longer collected on mill dam toll road | |
| 1865 | First statue erected on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall | |
| 1867 | Central Congregational Church completed (Newbury Street and Berkeley) | |
| 1868 | First Church of 1630 (Unitarian) moved from Chauncey Place to newly completed church designed by Ware and Van Brunt (Berkeley and Marlborough) | |
| 1869 | Temporary coliseum built in Copley Square. It held the National Peace Jubilee that year, which was attended by President Ulysses Grant | |
| 1870 | Filling of Back Bay reached Exeter Street | |
| 1871 | 160 Commonwealth, Hotel Vendome, built--first hotel in city with electric lighting, it had an independent lighting plant designed by Edison in 1882 | |
| 1871 | Brattle Square Church (Unitarian) moved to newly built church designed by H.H. Richardson (Commonwealth and Clarendon) aka-"church of the holy bean blowers." Statues on the tower designed by Frederic August Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty. | |
| 1872 |
Fire destroys 65 acres of downtown Boston
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| 1874 | Second Church of 1660 (Unitarian) moved from Bedford Street to newly completed church (Boylston between Dartmouth and Clarendon) | |
| 1875 | Third Church (Congregational) moved from Old South Meeting Hall to newly completed church (Dartmouth and Boylston) | |
| 1876 | Museum of Fine Arts opened in Copley Square | |
| 1877 | Trinity Church completed, designed by H.H. Richardson | |
| 1879 | Commissioners on Public Lands changed to Harbor and Land Commission | |
| 1880 | 150 Beacon Street-Isabella Stewart Gardner bought to expand her home at 152 | |
| 1880 | Land for the current site of Boston Public Library purchased | |
| 1882 |
Filling of Back Bay complete to Charlesgate East
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| 1883 | Harvard Medical School located in building at Boylston and Exeter | |
| 1883 | Triangle lot bounded by Huntington, Dartmouth, Boylston purchased and named Copley Square | |
| 1884 | Hollis Street Church completed (southeast corner of Newbury and Exeter, current site of Exeter towers) It was destroyed in 1966 | |
| 1884 | Triangle lot bounded by Huntington, Trinity Place, St. James added to Copley Square to make it a square | |
| 1885 | Temple of the Working Union of Progressive Spiritualists completed (northeast corner of Newbury and Exeter) | |
| 1887 | Bridge from West Chester park in Boston to Mass Ave in Cambridge authorized | |
| 1889 | Bay State Road created by dredging the river and filling the Charles Rivers | |
| 1890 | Filling of Back Bay reached Kenmore Square | |
| 1891 | Bridge from West Chester Park in Boston to Mass Ave in Cambridge opened to travel, and renamed the John Harvard bridge | |
| 1894 | West Chester Park renamed Massachusetts Avenue | |
| 1895 | Boston Public Library opened in Copley Square | |
| 1895 | Christian Science Church dedicated | |
| 1899 | Mass Historical society moved from 30 Tremont Street to the newly built 1154 Boylston Street | |
| 1900 | Filling of Back Bay completed with last few acres of the Fens | |
| 1904 | 5 Commonwealth Ave built by Walter C. Baylies; 1912 built ballroom for daughter's debut. Building now houses the Boston Center for Adult Education. | |
| 1910 |
MIT moved to Cambridge
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| 1963-65 | Magnolias planted on Commonwealth Avenue |
Images provided courtesy of the Boston Public Library. To see more historic images, please visit the BPL's digital image gallery.