Beacon Hill
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Cobblestone streets, tiny brick rowhouses, huge mansions with brass door knockers, gas street lamps, and flowering pear trees.
Yep, it’s really all there in Beacon Hill — one of Boston’s oldest and most characteristic neighborhoods.
In fact, many foreign buyers are immediately drawn to the neighborhood for its cozy 19th century feel, and its convenient location between the downtown Financial District and the biotech companies of Kendall Square. Although Beacon Hill is a residential neighborhood, it offers plenty of shopping in the form of quaint antique shops, one-of-a-kind boutiques, specialty food purveyors and high-quality restaurants. Walking the streets of Beacon Hill, you might easily feel as if you’re tripping down the streets of London.
Beacon Hill is just a few blocks north of The Boston Common and The Public Garden, and just a stone’s throw from The Charles River and Esplanade. It is inhabited by about 10,000 residents who are a tight-knit bunch. There are several community and neighborhood associations, even though the area itself is tiny — only about one half mile square. No matter how small the neighborhood, however, Beacon Hill looms large in the national psyche. The Federal, Greek Revival and Victorian homes are revered as a national historic treasure and most of the buildings in the neighborhood are preserved by restrictive architectural regulations prohibiting messing around with building facades. Beacon Hill has an “exclusive” feel, along with some of the highest property values in the United States. The entire neighborhood was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
While there are large, comfortable mansions in Beacon Hill, many condos in the neighborhood are quite small. Those looking for high ceilings and expansive rooms are probably best off looking to other parts of town.
Neighborhood fact: The neighborhood is home to both the Massachusetts State House and Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Beacon Hill Links
Where to go in Beacon Hill for:
- Dry Cleaning: Clevergreen Cleaners, valet drop off and monthly billing.
- Good Coffee: Panificio, good for coffee and a pastry.
- Chocolate: Beacon Hill Chocolates, artisan chocolates from around the world.
- Home items, jewelry: Good, 88 Charles Street, (617) 722-9200. This store features glassware, candles, vases and table-top accessories.
- Cosmetics: The Beauty Mark, the place to go for skin care products and designer jewelry.
- Swimwear and Beach Accessories: Wish Splash, 15 Charles Street (617) 228-0225.
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