Boston Esplanade by the Charles River

Best spot in Boston for fireworks, sailing, free movies, concerts - and more!

The beautiful Boston Esplanade stretches for 3 miles along the Charles River waterfront. 

Although the Esplanade is perhaps best known as the site of the legendary Boston Pops July 4th concert followed by breath-taking Boston fireworks, it is also a huge favorite with walkers, runners, bicyclists, roller bladers, and parents pushing baby carriages.

Beginning near Boston's Museum of Science, the Esplanade (also known as the Charles River Esplanade) extends west to the Boston University Bridge.  The Esplanade is part of the larger Charles River Reservation, a linear waterfront park that starts in Boston Harbor and goes some 20 miles up the Charles River.

Sandwiched between the river and Storrow Drive, the Esplanade feels like a world to itself, even with the city so near. 

What will you find along the Boston Esplanade?

Filled with 6 miles of paths for strolling, running, rollerblading, and biking, the Boston Esplanade also contains 2 children's playgrounds, ball fields, tennis courts, 3 boat houses, the open-air Hatch Shell concert stage, 6 docks, numerous benches and statues, the oldest public boat club in the U.S., and almost 2,000 trees.

But that's just the beginning.  A huge array of activities for all ages make the Esplanade one of Boston's busiest and most loved parks. 

The park was started in 1880 when the city decided to build a small 10-acre park at the mouth of the river so that children in nearby tenement neighborhoods could get some fresh air.  Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape designer who created Boston's "emerald necklace" system of parks, designed the space, which included a promenade along the water and some of the first children's sandboxes in the country.

During the following decades, more of the tidal mudflats along the river were filled in to extend the recreational areas.  Finally, a dam was built across the mouth of the river in 1910 to stabilize the water levels. 

A wealthy widow named Helen Storrow gave the city $1 million in 1930 to create a park along the Esplanade, on the condition that a road would never be built there.  She donated money for a new Community Boating Boat House on the Esplanade in 1941. 

Also during 1941, the Edward Hatch Memorial Shell was built to provide a permanent stage for the annual Independence Day concerts that famed Conductor Arthur Fiedler and his Boston Pops orchestra had started giving. 

Unfortunately, as soon as Helen Storrow died in 1949, the Massachusetts Legislature promptly decided to build a road between residential Back Bay and the Esplanade.  Adding salt to the wound, they named it after her - Storrow Drive.

When you visit Boston, come stroll along the Esplanade, enjoy the river, and perhaps join one or more of the many free and almost-free activities that you'll find here.

Free Boston Pops July 4th Concerts and Boston Fireworks

Every July, the Boston Esplanade becomes the epicenter of Boston's huge multi-day Independence Day celebration.  The free Boston Pops July 4th concert at the Hatch Shell, followed by the spectacular Boston fireworks display over the river, draws crowds of half a million and more.  The Boston Pops also play a concert on July 3rd for those who just want to hear music.

The beautifully ornate art deco-style Hatch Shell provides the perfect setting for these and other free outdoor concerts held throughout the warm months.  You'll find the best place to get up-date-schedules in "Details and Directions" at the end of this page.

While you're there, take a close look at the beautiful inlaid wood that lines the interior.  You can also see names of many famous composers along the edges.

Bring a blanket to sit on, water bottles, and perhaps a cooler with picnic fixings. 

Free Summer Movies at the Boston Esplanade

One of the nicest things to do in Boston on Friday evenings during the warm summer months is watch a free movie in the Hatch Shell at the Boston Esplanade. 

Bring your beach chairs, blankets, and a picnic supper, and settle in under the stars.

Boston news radio station WBZ sponsors these Free Friday Flicks (thank you, WBZ!). 

Showtime begins around sundown (8:30 - 9pm in June, and more like 8 - 8:30pm in August).  Here's the Free Friday Flicks schedule of classic and popular movies for 2009 (I'll put the 2010 schedule here once it's available - but meanwhile, this will give you an idea about the type of movies shown on the Boston Esplanade):

• June 19: The Tale of Despereaux
• July 10: Kung Fu Panda
• July 17:  Get Smart
• July 24: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• July 31:  Mama Mia!
• August 7:  Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• August 14:  Inkheart
• August 21: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• August 28:  Iron Man
  
  

Community Boating

The Esplanade is also where you'll find Community Boating, one of the most popular sites for kayaking, windsurfing, and sailing Boston waterways.  My children will tell you that Community Boating is the best place to be in Boston during the summer.

Throughout the summer, you'll see fleets of sailboats and kayaks around the Community Boating Boat House near the Hatch Shell on the tree-filled Esplanade.  With Back Bay overlooking the Esplanade and the river, and the taller buildings of Boston just beyond, it's one of the most beautiful spots in the city. 

In the photo below (copyright 2005 Ian Howard), you can see, from left to right, the Old Hancock Building, the New John Hancock Tower, 111 Huntington Avenue (with the rounded top), and the Prudential Building.

The Head of the Charles Regatta

Every year on the 3rd weekend in October, more than 7,500 athletes from Boston and all over the world gather on the banks of the Charles River and compete in what's become the world's largest 2-day rowing event, the Head of the Charles Regatta. 

As many as 300,000 spectators gather along the Charles River and nearby bridges to watch the races.  This is actually past the Esplanade, which ends before Boston University, but it is such a large event that you may want to put it on your calendar anyway.  (You'll find details on my Boston event calendar for October.

The 3 mile-long race takes place on a stretch of river west of Boston University between the BU bridge and just past the Eliot Bridge, which is near Buckingham, Brown, and Nichols Upper School campus on Soldiers Field Road in Cambridge.  The Boston side of the river borders the BU campus and the Allston neighborhood.

If you decide to come - and it's a spectacular event! - the only sane strategy is to take the subway, as parking is almost impossible and aggressive towing will be in operation.  On the Red Line, go to Harvard Square and then walk down to the Cambridge side of the river - about 7-8 minutes unless you get distracted with window-shopping.  Alternately, take the Green Line to BU Central, very close to the river on the Boston side.

Boston Esplanade Statues

Like every other park and open space in Boston, the Esplanade has its share of statues and monuments dedicated to war heroes, politicians, and contributors to the city's culture.  You'll at least recognize the names of some of them, and be clueless about others.

One of the most interesting is a large Pop Art-influenced bust of Conductor Arthur Fiedler, appropriately sited near the Hatch Shell.  It's by Newton-based sculptor Ralph Helmick, who carved it from layers of aluminum in different thicknesses. 

Another eye-catcher near the Hatch Shell is a larger than life-sized bronze statue of General George S. Patton, Jr. that depicts him holding a pair of binoculars.  Bird-watching along the Charles, perhaps? 

Well, no . . . the statue is actually a copy of an original at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.  Why is it here?  His father-in-law was wealthy textile tycoon and Bostonian Frederick Ayer, who lived a few blocks away at 395 Commonwealth Avenue in what is now called the "Frederick Ayer Mansion."

How does the Boston Esplanade stay in shape?

Up to 3 million people use the Esplanade every year. A lot of the credit for keeping the park clean and pleasant goes to the non-profit Esplanade Association (TEA), a group of volunteers that does everything from picking up trash to hosting family-friendly events to funding new water fountains and solar trash compactors.

TEA formed in 2001 for the purpose of raising funds to refurbish the Esplanade, which had declined after years of inadequate public funding.  Their successes have already made a difference.

One of TEA's most visible impacts has been in cleaning up the Esplanade.  Several thousand volunteers take part in the Annual Earth Day Cleanup, held on the Saturday after Earth Day.  In 2008, volunteers removed over of 25 tons of trash and litter from the banks of the Charles River and the Esplanade itself. 

Insider Tips

Water fountains are scattered through the Esplanade.  The Community Boating Boat House has vending machines where you can get things like cold bottled water and chips.  Vendor concessions sell food and bottled beverages during some special events such as the July 4th celebrations. 

The Esplanade Cafe - really a carryout food stand - is located near the Hatch Shell, and is generally open from 10am - 6pm.  It's fine for a quick bite or cold drink, and the profits help support maintenance of the Esplanade.

Otherwise, if you're planning to have a picnic, you should bring your own food and beverages (but not alcohol, which is always banned).  Convenient places to buy gourmet goodies are Panificio's Bakery/Bistro (144 Charles Street) and Savenor's Market (160 Charles Street) in Beacon Hill near the Charles-MGH T station and the Charles Street Footbridge. 

If you're accessing the Esplanade from the Fiedler Footbridge (Arlington St) or the Mass Ave Ramp, there are small Back Bay neighborhood markets, bars, and eateries in these general areas where you can get carryout.

Details and Directions

Location:  Boston side of the Charles River, from the Museum of Science to the BU Bridge.  The Boston Esplanade fills the area between Storrow Drive and the river.
Sailing lessons: Boston's Community Sailing

Nearest T stations:   Red Line/Charles-MGH (near Community Sailing) and Green Line/Arlington (near Hatch Shell)

How to get to the Boston Esplanade: 

You must use one of the footbridges to get across Storrow Drive. 

If you're getting to the area by subway, the Red Line/Charles-MGH stop is the closest to the Esplanade.  Go left out of the station, carefully cross Cambridge Street and then Charles Street, and you'll see the Charles Street Footbridge ahead of you toward the river.  

The Green Line/Arlington stop is about an 8-10 minute walk away - simply walk up Arlington Street toward the river and cross over on the Fiedler Footbridge.  The Dartmouth and Fairfield Street Footbridges are also convenient from other parts of Back Bay.

More information:   The Boston Esplanade is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.  I find their website to be the most up-to-date source of information about events at the Hatch Shell and elsewhere on the Esplanade.