Living in East Boston
East Boston is a neighborhood of the City of Boston, separated from downtown and Charlestown by Boston Harbor and bordered by Winthrop, Revere and Chelsea. It was built from five harbor islands, including Noddle’s Island and Hog Island, that land fill gradually joined together, a process that also created Logan International Airport. In the 1830s William H. Sumner and the East Boston Company laid out a street grid on Noddle’s Island, described as the first planned neighborhood in the city, and Jeffries Point at the southern tip was the first area settled. Shipbuilder Donald McKay opened his yard on Border Street in 1845, and his clipper Flying Cloud made two 89-day runs from New York to San Francisco.
Today the neighborhood includes Jeffries Point, Maverick Square, Eagle Hill, Day Square and Orient Heights, and its waterfront offers views of Boston Harbor and the downtown skyline.
Homes you will find
- Older homes in established areas such as Jeffries Point and the Eagle Hill Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- Multi-family homes across the neighborhood’s older grid streets
- Condos in newer buildings, including waterfront developments with harbor and skyline views
Getting around
The MBTA Blue Line has five stops in East Boston: Maverick, Airport, Wood Island, Orient Heights and Suffolk Downs, with trains under the harbor to downtown. Free shuttle buses run from Airport station to every Logan terminal. By car, the Sumner Tunnel (1934) and Callahan Tunnel (1961) link East Boston with downtown, and the Ted Williams Tunnel (1995) carries I-90, which ends at Route 1A next to the airport.
Parks, beaches and everyday life
Piers Park, built by Massport on an 1870 pier and seawall, opened in 1995 and was expanded in 2023. It has a 600-foot brick promenade, shade pavilions, a play area with a spray pool and the nonprofit Piers Park Sailing Center. LoPresti Park in Maverick Square adds courts, a soccer field and a pier. Constitution Beach in Orient Heights has a bathhouse and sports courts, and Belle Isle Marsh Reservation protects the largest remaining salt marsh in Boston. The East Boston Greenway, now the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, runs from the Maverick Square wharves to the Bayswater Urban Wild, and the Condor Street Urban Wild has a boardwalk on a former industrial site.
On Orient Heights, the Madonna Queen of the Universe Shrine features a 35-foot statue, and the ICA Watershed opens seasonally at the Boston Harbor Shipyard. Santarpio’s Pizza has been serving the neighborhood since 1903. As part of Boston, East Boston is served by Boston Public Schools, and families can contact the school system directly for details.
Who East Boston suits
East Boston suits buyers who want to be minutes from downtown by subway, frequent travelers who want Logan Airport next door, condo buyers looking for water views, and investors interested in multi-family homes inside the City of Boston.
Thinking about East Boston? Ask Suad about recent sales and what is on the market now, in English, Spanish (with Diana) or Bosnian.
