HomeProperty HistoryHistorical Notes

Dockside Place is situated with an area that once boomed with commercial and seagoing trade.

Fish Pier bristles with trade, c. 1923

Throughout the nineteenth century clipper ships and coasting vessels of all descriptions filled Boston Harbor, and many of them put in at Boston Wharf to unload their cargoes. At that time, Boston was one of the busiest ports in the country, and Boston Wharf was fully given over to warehousing and to industries that relied on the services of the port. In fact, this section of the city would be considered an industrial park today. It was developed by a group of businessmen who believed that the area and Boston's potential for trade both held great promise.

Formed as the Boston Wharf Company in 1836, the enterprise began as a warehousing facility for sugar and molasses, which were very important trading commodities. Rum distilleries soon followed s did some of the nation's largest sugar refineries. On of the early company presidents, Jacob Sleeper, for who Sleeper Street is name was also a founder of Boston University.

Fan Pier, c. 1880

As the times changed, so did the character of Boston Wharf. Ocean-going steamers replaced the clippers, and railroads supplanted the coasting schooners. Rail spurs were quick to thread their way through Boston Wharf, while nearby South Station became a major regional terminus. Industry continued to boom, and at its peak, Boston Wharf covered more than 30 acres and could boast that it was the center for a number of industries including the country's wool trade.

Today, Boston is again experiencing a tremendous surge in new construction and development. But now the focus is on office buildings and hotels as well as the revival of grand old commercial areas and buildings such as Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Russia Wharf, and of course, Boston Wharf.