Boston
City Information
Boston was first incorporated as
a town in 1630 and as a city in 1822. Boston
--one of America ’s oldest cities, with
a rich economic and social history, began as
a homesteading community and eventually evolved
into a center for social and political change.
The town has since become the economic and
cultural hub of New England.
As the region’s hub, Boston is home to
nearly 590,000 residents, many institutions
of higher education, some of the world’s
finest inpatient hospitals, and numerous cultural
and professional sports organizations. Boston-based
jobs, primarily within the finance, health
care, educational, and service areas numbered
nearly 660,000 in 2002. Millions of people
visit Boston for many reasons -- to take in
its historic neighborhoods, attend cultural
or sporting events, or to conduct business.
Because of the large number of residents and
visitors, t he city provides a wide range of
programs and services to meet their diverse
needs. Under the direction of Mayor Thomas
M. Menino, the city is also aggressively pursuing
new economic opportunities to ensure Boston
will emerge as a global leader in the 21st
century economy.
Boston's first resident, Reverend William Blaxton,
lived alone on Beacon Hill for five years before
settlers arrived in 1622. Now this neighborhood
is home to over 10,000 people . In fact, o
ver the last 350 years Boston has been growing
- literally! Its central landmass has more
than tripled over the course of the centuries
-- a feat that cannot be attributed solely
to the annexation of nearby towns. Boston's
growth was the result of an ingenious landfill
project that created Back Bay, a portion of
the Financial District and the new face of
Boston's waterfront.
Getting
to Boston
Boston is a great place to visit. Getting here is quite simple
and convenient with numerous
airlines, bus companies,
trains, and interstate highways,
which connect it to the rest
of the world.
By Car
There
are
three
main
routes
into
Boston:
- I-90 (Massachusetts
Turnpike) from the west
- I-95 from the north
and south
- I-93 from the north and
south
By Bus
Several bus and van companies
now offer bus service to and from Boston. Various
bus lines arrive and depart from South Station.
By Train
Amtrak has
frequent train service to Boston from New York
and other points in the Northeast Corridor. The
trip from New York takes about three and a half
hours on Acela Express trains and about four
hours on other trains.
Amtrak has three Boston stops.
- Route 128 is about 12 miles
from Downtown and is a good place to get
off if you are visiting the western or southern
suburbs.
- Back Bay Station is in
the Back Bay, convenient to the hotels
in the Back Bay and the South End, as well
as the Orange Line subway.
- The final stop is South
Station, near the financial district and
the Red Line subway. It is convenient for
the hotels along the waterfront and the
theater district.
By Airplane
Numerous airlines fly
into and out of Logan
International Airport. Once you land
you can pick up a rental car or take a cab
to your hotel. You even have the option of
taking a Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority, or MBTA,
train into downtown and the neighboring areas.
Just catch a ride on the free Massport shuttle
bus to the Blue Line's Airport subway stop.
Discount Hotel Links
CRS
Hotels (Central Reservation
Service)
More Boston-specific
links
ATM
Locator
Mastercard's search page provides addresses
and maps for 780,000 ATMs worldwide. If your
card has the Cirrus, Maestro or Mastercard
logos, it should work at any of the machines
listed here.
Embassies
of the World
Need to know if there's an Embassy, Mission
or Consulate at your destination? This web
site has an impressive listing, and it's easy
to use.
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