Spectacle Island (Massachusetts)
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Spectacle Island is an island in Boston Harbor, situated some 4 miles offshore of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island has a varied history, and today is a public park, forming part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is served throughout the year by ferries from Boston, and on weekends and summer weekdays by a shuttle boat to and from the other surrounding islands.[1][2]
The island was initially composed of two small drumlins connected by a spit, with an approximate size of 49 acres. The name is believed to derive from its then-resemblance to a pair of spectacles.[3] However, dumping of trash and dirt, together with subsequent landscaping, have resulted in a significantly larger island with a permanent size of 85 acres, plus an intertidal zone of a further 28 acres. The island is now composed of two artificial earth mounds, terraced with retaining walls, roads and newly planted vegetation. With a height above sea level of 157 feet, Spectacle Island is now one of the highest points on Boston Harbor.[1][4]
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[edit] History
Archaeological evidence suggests Native Americans used the island as a fishing and clamming spot starting around 600 AD. This continued till around 1615, when European diseases killed virtually all of the native population. Europeans began use of the island in the 1630s, first as a source of firewood, then as a smallpox quarantine. From the 1730s, the island housed farmsteads and picnickers.
Starting in the early 1800s, the island was used exclusively for its relative remoteness from Boston. Two hotels were built in 1847, only to be closed by police ten years later when it was discovered they were used for gambling and other illicit activities. In the late 1800s, starting in 1897, the island had wooden lighthouse towers with range lights, serving the harbor, which were later discontinued in 1913.[5][6]
A horse rendering plant was built in 1857, followed by a city trash incinerator that remained active until 1935. When the incinerator closed, trash was simply dumped on the island for the next thirty years, until a bulldozer was suddenly swallowed up by the trash in 1959. The island remained a smelly, leaking dump until the 1990s.
When the Big Dig began work in Boston in 1992, some of the excavated dirt and clay was used to resurface the island. The island was covered and built up by dirt, capped with two feet of clay, and covered with two to five feet of topsoil. Thousands of trees were planted, and paths, buildings, and a dock were built. The island opened to the public in June, 2006, for use as a recreational area with bike trails, hiking trails, a beach, and a marina with boat slips for visitors. It also has a cafe and visitors center.[7]
[edit] Transportation
The island is accessible to the public either through a ferry from Long Wharf or to private watercraft at the island's marina. Ferries are frequent but have limited hours. Ferry connections with Georges Island and Thompson Island are also available.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Spectacle Island Factsheet. Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.
- ^ Boston Harbor Islands Ferry Schedule. National Park Service. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.
- ^ a b "Spectacle Island offers spectacular views of Boston Harbor", CNN.com, July 26, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- ^ Islands You Can Visit - Spectacle Island. Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Retrieved on October 11, 2006.
- ^ D'Entremont, Jeremy. "Spectacle Island: Boston's Forgotten Range Lights", Lighthouse Digest, December 2001.
- ^ United States Coast Guard, Spectacle Island Range Lights
- ^ Sherman, Annie, "The Other Islands: The Harbor Islands make for an easy day trip for sunbathers, history buffs—and especially the traffic-weary", Boston magazine, May 2007 issue.
[edit] Bibliography
- Forry, Ed, "Great Summer Get-a-way Just Off Our Coast", Dorchester Reporter, Editorial, July 12, 2007, p.11.
[edit] External links
