Author: WalkMassachusetts

Boston: Hyde Park and Victorian Fairmount Walking Map

Boston: Hyde Park and Victorian Fairmount Walking Map

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On a hillside overlooking the Neponset River lies a little Victorian time capsule known as Fairmount. This walk will take you up and down Fairmount’s steep streets on a trip back in time past stunning and fascinating structures.

Together with Cleary Square, Hyde Park’s shopping and administrative center, Fairmount occupies Boston’s southernmost tip; it’s further from downtown than any part of the city. This remote location mean that Fairmont was somewhat of a late bloomer among Boston neighborhoods and is why it peaked in the Victorian period.

Hyde Park remained an independent town until 1912, when its residents voted to join Boston. As this walk will reveal to you, the Fairmount neighborhood retains several of its original twenty homes and, with them, its own unique identity. It is an enclave of Victoriana on its hillside overlooking the Neponset.


Click for “WalkBoston’s Hyde Park and Victorian Fairmount Walking Map” on Google Maps

Boston: Beacon Hill South Slope

Boston: Beacon Hill South Slope

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During the first quarter of the 19th century, Beacon Hill town houses designed by Charles Bulfinch, Asher Benjamin, and others exhibited influences derived from England, France, and even the Far East. Elements drawn from Ancient Egypt, Greek, and Roman sources enlivened the brick and brownstone-trimmed facades of the Hill’s stylish mansions. Among the 20 stops on the walk will be historic houses on Beacon Street; Acorn Street, perhaps Boston’s most picturesque; Louisburg Square with its British influence; and the former homes of 19th-century Boston mayors Harrison Gray Otis and John Phillips.


Click for “WalkBoston’s Beacon Hill South Slope Walking Map” on Google Maps

Jamaica Plain Walking Map

Jamaica Plain Walking Map

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Affectionately known as “J.P.,” Jamaica Plain is one of the greenest neighborhoods in the city–surrounded on three sides by large tracts of forested and much-loved open space. With bucolic Arnold Arboretum, picturesque Jamaica Pond, expansive Franklin Park, and historic Forest Hills Cemetery, J.P. is an outdoor oasis.

Still, don’t let all the natural beauty obscure J.P.’s abundance of architectural intrigue. The neighborhood hosts a number of “Painted Lady” Victorians on Summer Hill. Stately mansions line Jamaica Pond and nearby streets.

These days J.P. hosts wealthy “hip” suburbanites returning to the city, plus a large Hispanic and Caribbean population. They join longtime Irish Catholic residents, an LGBT contingent, students, and many others.

This walk gives you a sampling of what they perhaps love best about J.P.: quiet residential streets, spectacular mansions, a vibrant commercial district, and—most of all—Jamaica Pond, a major park and haven for the city-weary.

Click for “WalkBoston’s Jamaica Plain Walking Map” on Google Maps

Boston: Outer Neighborhoods Maps

Boston: Outer Neighborhoods Maps

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One of the many benefits of walking is that you see and experience things you’d miss using other modes of travel. And the best way to enjoy them is with a WalkBoston map.

Our maps feature places that are wonderful to walk, easy to navigate, and convenient to get around. Each one is created by those know the territory best – people who live there or are expert in a walk’s particular theme or topic.

Each has a self-guided walk with a detailed route, distances and descriptions of sights and scenes. Download one or all of them from this site, or join WalkBoston and request the maps you want – printed on heavy paper in our distinctive colors. Or join us on one of our guided walks.

These maps explore the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, Roslindale, and Roxbury–all south of Boston’s urban core.

Click on a push pin to get a link to the local map, and then go take a walk!


Click for “WalkBoston – Boston’s Outer Neighborhoods Walking Map” and more maps on Google Maps