Spectacle Island

Spectacle Island has a varied history that included farming, a quarantine hospital, a glue factory, resort hotels, and a city garbage dump. As part of the Big Dig project, the island was recently reclaimed and transformed into a public park, using landfill from tunnel excavations. Brown, Richardson + Rowe (landscape architects) designed the park, providing the grading and planting drawings necessary to stabilize millions of cubic yards of fill, and working with a soil scientist, Dr. Phillip Craul, to develop site-specific manufactured topsoil.

Today, Spectacle Island is a popular harbor destination, with five miles of trails, stunning views, and a swimming beach. The design was honored with a 2000 Honor Award from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. Spectacle Island is one of the two “hub” islands with hourly departures from Long Wharf-North in downtown Boston. Purchase your ferry ticket from Boston’s Best Cruises.

View Sites Nearby