place

Constitution Beach

Beaches of MassachusettsBoston geography stubsEast BostonLandforms of BostonTourist attractions in Boston
Constitution Beach
Constitution Beach

Constitution Beach is a man-made crescent-shaped, sandy beach located in the HarborView section of East Boston, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Opened in 1952 and known to locals as "Shays Beach," its most distinctive feature is that looks directly onto the runways of Logan International Airport and Gang Eapar, so that airplanes taking off and landing on Runways 22L and 22R are about 2,000 feet (610 m) away, making them prominent both visibly and audibly. The beach is located on 223 acres (90 ha) of land, which was artificially constructed between December 1949 and May 1951. At that time, 34.1 acres (13.8 ha) of land was filled in with hydraulically dredged material and gravel to create the beach, which soon after opened to the public in 1952.The beach is located in a protected inlet so the water, though part of the Atlantic Ocean, is always relatively placid. There are bathhouse facilities on the beach, as well as a snack bar, a children's playground, handball, basketball, and tennis courts, in addition to baseball fields and an indoor ice rink. The overpass that was built at the time allowed pedestrians to cross over subway tracks to reach the beach from the busy Bennington Street. It had begun to deteriorate in the 1990s and was replaced by a new structure. In April 2021, a woman became stuck in the mud at low tide, and had to be rescued by firefighters.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Constitution Beach (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Constitution Beach
Constitution Beach Road, Boston East Boston

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Constitution BeachContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.384416666667 ° E -71.010388888889 °
placeShow on map

Address

Selma's Kitchen

Constitution Beach Road
02128 Boston, East Boston
Massachusetts, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Constitution Beach
Constitution Beach
Share experience

Nearby Places

Suffolk Downs station
Suffolk Downs station

Suffolk Downs station is a rapid transit station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Blue Line, located on the east side of Orient Heights in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named for the now-defunct Suffolk Downs racetrack, located just to the north. Suffolk Downs station has two side platforms, with a footbridge structure of brick, concrete, and steel connecting them. The station is accessible. With just 521 daily boardings in FY 2019, Suffolk Downs is the least-used fare-controlled station on the MBTA subway system. Two previous stations at the site were operated by the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad, which opened through East Boston in 1875. The railroad opened Waldemar station in 1894 to serve a nearby development; it was soon renamed Belle Isle. The station closed in the 1920s, but a new station named Suffolk Downs station opened on the site in 1935 to serve the new racetrack. Service on the line ended in 1940. Electric streetcar service on a parallel line operated from 1893 to 1952; a spur line directly to the racetrack was operated from 1935 to 1952. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) purchased the abandoned right-of-way in 1941 to extend the East Boston Tunnel rapid transit line. The MTA opened its Suffolk Downs station with a single platform in 1952; it was expanded with a second platform in 1954 as part of the second phase of the Revere Extension. After a 1976 fire, only the inbound platform remained open until a 1982–1984 renovation. The station was renovated further in 1994–95, and further improvements are planned as part of a redevelopment of the racetrack site.