DESCRIPTION. The original site of Boston, in cluding Beacon, Copp's, and Fort hills, all of which have been considerably cut down, though the first still rises to a height of 110 feet. was a peninsula of less than 800 acres in extent. connected with the mainland by an exceedingly narrow neck, one mile in length and so low that it was not infrequently submerged. The shore. deeply indented, was surrounded by tidal marshes, which have been tilled in at great ex pense, adding over 1000 acres to the original area, a part of which. on the Charles River. is now the location of the well-known Back Bay district of the modern city. The limits of the old town have been extended to include East Boston, on Noddle's Island, added in Colonial times; South Boston, originally Dorchester Neck, annexed in 1804: Roxbury, in 186S; Do• chester. in 1870: and Charlestown, West Box bury, and Brighton, in 1874—the modern Boston occupying et total area of about 43 square mile,.
The appearance of the old town is still retained in the narrow and irregular streets of the North End, now one of the most squalid parts of the city. As historical relics remain three old bury ing-grounds—Copp's hill Burial Ground, taining the graves of the Mothers; Central Bury ing-Ground, dating from 1756: and Old Granary Burial Ground, in which are buried several per sons noted in history. A few- old buildings are still standing—Christ Church (Old North Church) (1723), from the spire of which were hung the lanterns for Paul Revere: Fanelli] llall (q.v.) ; the old State !louse (1748), restored in 1882 as nearly as possible to its provincial ap pearance, one of the most noteworthy historic buildings in the United f tatcs and the repository of an interesting collection of relics and paint ings; King's Chapel (1754), occupying the site of the first Episcopal church, of 1688, with the oldest cemetery in Boston: the Old Corner Book store, long known as a rendezvous of literaryper sons: and the Old S(intli Meet ing Douse (1729). with which are eonne•ted many notable events in the history of the city, and which contains historic relics and in winter is used as a hall for lectures on American history. .
The modern city has about 590 miles of streets, of which all but 05 miles are paved— the greater part with macadam. granite, Belgian blocks, and gravel. In the new sections they are handsomely laid out. Beacon Street and Com monwealth Avenue, the latter 240 feet wide and one of the finest boulevards in America, with other streets of the Back Bay region, are repre sentative of the beauty of Boston's residential avenues. Washington and Tremont streets are the headquarters of the retail trade, and State Street is the important financial centre—the Wall Street of Boston. Intercommunication be tween the various districts of the city is afford ed by no efficient street-railway system which operates about 200 miles of track, and by a num ber of bridges, East Boston alone being connected by ferry.
Bult.niNes. Boston is replete with objects of architectural interest. The State House, on Bea con Rill, built in 1795 after designs by Charles Bulfinch, and subsequently enlarged at various times, is a prominent structure some 400 feet long, crowned by a gilded dome. The Shaw :Mon ument. by Saint Gaudens, the reproduction of the Beacon Monument which was erected in MO, and statues of Daniel Webster and Horace Mann, are of interest in this locality. The City Hall, an Italian Renaissance structure, on School Street, is fronted by statues of Benjamin Franklin and Josiah Quincy, and the granite County Court House, a type of German Renaissance, is 450 feet long, erected at a cost of $2,500.000. On State Street stands the Custom House, of gran ite, in form a huge Greek cross: not far distant is the United States Government Building, which covers an entire block and accommodates the post-office. sub-treasury. and 'United States courts. The total cost of this edifice, including construction and land, was nearly $6,000,000.