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1956 Map of Boston South

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Boston South
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

The dense urban corridor from the Charles River Basin south through the historic neighborhoods of Boston and Dorchester is captured here during a period of significant postwar evolution. The map reveals the heavy concentration of institutional land use, from the academic campuses of Harvard University and the Mass Institute of Technology to the sprawling medical complexes of Shattuck State Hospital and Boston State Hospital. These large public and private holdings contrast with the tightly packed residential blocks of South Boston and Roxbury.

Transportation infrastructure dominates the landscape, featuring the newly constructed Sumner Tunnel and Callahan Tunnel connecting to East Boston. To the south, the Neponset River serves as a natural boundary, winding past the Neponset River Res and the New York New Haven And Hartford rail lines. Notable landmarks such as the Forest Hills Cemetery and the harbor islands, including Thompson Island and Castle Island, provide fixed points in an ever-shifting metropolitan environment.