- Fort Point Channel
Fort Point Channel is a channel (of water) separating
South Boston from downtownBoston, Massachusetts , feeding intoBoston Harbor . The south part of it has been gradually filled in for use by the South Bayrail yard and severalhighway s (specifically theCentral Artery and the Southeast Expressway). At its south end, the channel once widened into South Bay (Boston), from which theRoxbury Canal continued southwest where theMassachusetts Avenue Connector is now. The channel is surrounded by the Fort Point neighborhood, which is also named after the same colonial-era fort.The banks of the channel are still busy with activity. South of Summer Street on the west side of the channel is a large
United States Postal Service facility. A large parcel, home to Gillette, lies at the southeast corner of the channel. The back of theFederal Reserve Bank of Boston looks over the channel, and another federal building, theJohn Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse , lies on Fan Pier at the mouth of the channel. One of Boston's odder attractions, theHood Milk Bottle , lies on the banks as well, next toBoston Children's Museum .In the 1980s The Channel nightclub sat on the Fort Point Channel. It had windows that over looked the Channel and when one looked out of them on a foggy night it appeared as if you were on a boat. It was located off of a short street on the
South Boston side of the Channel called Necco Street. This was the goodBoston venue to see local andPunk rock bands.Crossings
The following bridges and tunnels cross or used to cross the channel, from north to south, with building/opening dates:
*Northern Avenue Bridge
*Evelyn Moakley Bridge (New Northern Avenue/Seaport Boulevard)
*Silver Line tunnel
*Congress Street Bridge1850
*Summer Street Bridge 1899
*New York and New England Railroad (gone)
*Mount Washington Avenue Bridge (gone)
*Fort Point Channel Tunnel (I-90 )
*Dorchester Avenue Bridge (formerly Federal Street Bridge)
*Atlantic Avenue Viaduct (gone)
*New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the wye connection to the west-facing lines (now used by theMBTA Commuter Rail ) and the Red Line tunnel roughly underneath
*Broadway Bridge (relocated, new bridge openedJanuary 19 ,1999 [http://groups-beta.google.com/group/ne.transportation/browse_frm/thread/65630f6d9f0e7299/202c8d80cc75868d?q=%22old+broadway+bridge%22+boston&rnum=1&hl=en#202c8d80cc75868d] )The channel now ends here; the remaining bridges cross theSouth Bay Yard .
*West Fourth Street Bridge 1958 (formerly Dover Street, with an older bridge)
*South Boston Bypass Road
*New York and New England Railroad on a long diagonal bridge, now used by theMBTA Commuter Rail and trains to theSouth Boston Freight Terminal - this bridge passed under the next two
*Southampton Street (formerly Swett Street)
*Massachusetts Avenue (formerly East Chester Park)ee also
*
South Station
*Children's Wharf
*Fort Point, Boston
* The ChannelReferences
* [http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/Planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=23 Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan]
External links
* [http://www.friendsoffortpointchannel.org/ Friends of Fort Point Channel]
* [http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/audio_tour/fortpoint/ City of Boston's free walking tour of Fort Point]
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