Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Shadow Room
The Museum of Lost Tales
Sherlock Holmes Statue
Sherlock Holmes Statue
South Pole Growth Chamber
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.
The community board at Rex’s Dino Store advertises all kinds of NYC-specific dino services.
We Visited the Dino Bodega in (Jurassic) Park Slope

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Massachusetts Boston Original Wharf at Massachusetts General Hospital
AO Edited

Original Wharf at Massachusetts General Hospital

Around 160 years ago, this spot marked the location of a wharf along the shores of the Charles River.

Boston, Massachusetts

Added By
dsouth
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Wharves and pilings of original shoreline.   dsouth / Atlas Obscura User
  Ragnar of Ballard / Atlas Obscura User
The pathway down to the wharf. Facing west   Ragnar of Ballard / Atlas Obscura User
Looking down and to the East   Ragnar of Ballard / Atlas Obscura User
The Internal Plaque   Ragnar of Ballard / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

If you are walking down the main corridor of Massachusetts General Hospital, from the Fruit Street entrance towards the rear of the hospital complex, you may notice a small plaque on the wall. Just beside the plaque is a window overlooking a small walled-in trench below containing an interesting rock wall. 

Visitors might be surprised to discover that the structure once belonged to a wharf located on the Boston shoreline of the Charles River. The land immediately to the north of this seawall would have originally been tidal flats.  This area would have been muddy flats at low tide, but navigable by boat at high tide.  This section of the river started to be filled around 1860, creating a man-made piece of land between this location and the river, now well west of the old wharf's location. 

Boat travel was much more common during the 19th-century, and the wharf was used regularly for loading and unloading supplies from ships. Patients and visitors also traveled to the hospital by boat, disembarking at two wharves used by the hospital. Also visible are the pilings for the buildings constructed on the water’s edge. 

By the late 1850s, the hospital decided to fill in the tidal flats, which were viewed as polluted and unhealthy. In 1860, the hospital created a second wall at the outer edge of the tidal flats, and began to fill in the space between the two walls. For several years, horse-drawn wagons regularly traveled to the edge of the flats and dumped loads of trash and coal ash collected from homes.  By 1870, the filling of the flats was completed and buildings were erected on the landfill. 

Related Tags

Water River Boats Shipping

Community Contributors

Added By

dsouth

Edited By

ZenFrederick, Ragnar of Ballard

  • ZenFrederick
  • Ragnar of Ballard

Published

December 13, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston.
Original Wharf at Massachusetts General Hospital
Fruit St.
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114
United States
42.363225, -71.068521
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Massachusetts General Hospital Sundial

Boston, Massachusetts

miles away

The Ether Dome

Boston, Massachusetts

miles away

The Liberty Hotel

Boston, Massachusetts

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Boston

Boston

Massachusetts

Places 127
Stories 32

Nearby Places

Massachusetts General Hospital Sundial

Boston, Massachusetts

miles away

The Ether Dome

Boston, Massachusetts

miles away

The Liberty Hotel

Boston, Massachusetts

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Boston

Boston

Massachusetts

Places 127
Stories 32

Related Places

  • Bonneville Dam

    North Bonneville, Washington

    Bonneville Lock & Dam

    Boats and fish both find their way through this massive hydroelectric structure.

  • Sheffield, England

    The Industry Looping Boat

    Floating on the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal is a contorted canal boat that honors the waterway’s heritage.

  • The Anderton Boat Lift

    Anderton, England

    Anderton Boat Lift

    The world’s oldest boat lift is also known in the United Kingdom as the "Cathedral of the Canals" and one of the "Seven Wonders of the Waterways."

  • An aerial view of Neptune’s Staircase.

    Banavie, Scotland

    Neptune's Staircase

    The longest staircase lock in Britain.

  • Entrance to the dock museum

    Barrow-in-Furness, England

    Dock Museum

    A modern museum built within a Victorian dry dock charts the history of the industrial town.

  • Marine steam engine display.

    Gloucester, England

    Gloucester Waterways Museum

    This fantastic museum honors Gloucester waterway heritage.

  • Rowde, England

    Caen Hill Locks

    This section of the Kennet and Avon Canal has been designated the same level of heritage protection as Stonehenge.

  • Rödlöga has served as Sweden’s bokbåten since 2016.

    Stockholm, Sweden

    Bokbåten

    Twice a year, this floating library delivers thousands of books to the remote islands of Stockholm’s archipelago.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.