Tudor Wharf Draft Environmental Impact Report EOEA # 6744 



By 1638 about 70 houses had been built. 

 Charlestown, while primarily a farming 

 community, had tailors, brickmakers, 

 ropemakers, wheelwrights and blacksmiths. 

 Waterfront development included a few 

 wharves jutting into Town Dock cove. This 

 cove has been filled in and lies under 

 the area of the Tobin Bridge's southern 

 approach. A rowboat ferry service 

 shuttled passengers between Boston and 

 Charlestown. 



By 177 5, Charlestown had over 4 00 homes 

 and public buildings. The town was a 

 major port in Massachusetts, second only 

 to Boston. The waterfront flourished 

 with new wharves and warehouses. 



Charlestown burned to the ground on June 

 17, 1775, when British ships opened fire 

 on the fortified hills of Charlestown. 

 Only the street pattern and the cemetery 

 survived. After the Revolutionary War, 

 streets were straightened and widened and 

 new homes gradually appeared. The Town 

 bought up land surrounding City Square to 

 make it bigger and a new Town Hall was 

 built. In 1786 a bridge was built from 

 Charlestown to Boston to replace the 

 ferry. The new Charles River Avenue 

 bridge, adjacent to the proposed Tudor 

 Wharf site, improved access to both towns 

 and increased traffic through City 



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