Harbor Islands

Summer Events Schedule

 

 

 

 

Harbor Islands: The what

August 1-October 8
Art on the Harbor Islands
Spectacle, Georges, Lovells & Little Brewster Islands
Daily
Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art features a multi-sensory exhibit on four of the islands. Deemed a discovery of the islands’ natural resources including water and sky, sand and city and historic sites and new trails, the various projects are visually remarkable. Highlights include Waterside, a peek into artist Anna Schuleit’s world as she creates two ambitious large scale installations and Voromuro, Boston-based design firm Office dA’s translucent acrylic structure housed in Georges Island’s Fort Warren’s Powder Magazine. 
Free
www.icaboston.com

August 1-September 2
Family Fun Day: Jazz on Spectacle with David Ehle
Spectacle Island, Visitor’s Center
Sundays, noon-3 p.m.
Broadway figure David Ehle heads up this tribute to American jazz music from the last 100 years. Sing along to classic tunes the whole family can enjoy such as “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Sunny Hand Rose.”
Free

August 3 & 10
Boston Children’s Theatre: “Tokoloshe”
August 24 & 31
Boston Children’s Theatre: A Baseball Review
Georges Island
Friday, noon and 1:30 p.m.
The kids will love “Tokoloshe,” the classic Zulu tale about a trickster who learns an important lesson and a musical, comedy and dance performance about America’s favorite pastime while overlooking Boston’s beautiful Harbor.
Free

August 22
Spectacle Island Tour & Beach Fun
Spectacle Island
12:30-4 p.m.
Join The Boston Harbor Association on a harbor cruise to Spectacle Island and learn about the island’s history and recent restoration while exploring unique exhibits and taking in breathtaking views of Boston and the harbor. Bring your suit and a towel. Sand toys and ice cream will be provided on the beach.
Free, reservations required.
www.tbha.org/events or 617.482.1722

August 25 & 26
Snow in the Summertime
Georges Island
Times TBD
The weekend will feature events celebrating the life and works of Edward Rowe Snow, a Boston author and historian who wrote about New England coastal history, specifically the Harbor Islands. His most famous book, “The Islands of Boston Harbor,” published in 1935, remains a classic to those involved with the islands. 
Free

Georges and Spectacle Islands can be accessed via ferry from Boston and Quincy. Once there, the smaller islands are accessible via inter-island shuttle boats. For more information on ferry services and events, visit www.bostonislands.com or call 617.223.8666.

EVENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.


Harbor Islands: The where

Fort Warren, Georges Island
Georges Island, 39 acres of land just seven miles from downtown Boston, was used as farmland until 1825 when the government overtook it for civil defense use. Fort Warren, named after Dr. Joseph Warren, a Revolutionary War hero famous for sending Paul Revere on his famous ride to Lexington, opened in 1847 and mostly operated as a prison for military POW’s captured during the Civil War. Daily tours of the famous granite fort, a National Historic Landmark, are offered every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., running through Oct. 8.

The Boston Light, Little Brewster Island
One of the smallest Harbor Islands is home to one of the most prominent structures, the Boston Light. In addition to boasting amazing views of the sea and shore, the Light, opened and manned since 1716, is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the U.S. The original lighthouse was destroyed by the British at the end of the Revolutionary War, and the current one was built in 1783, having been raised to its present height, 102 feet above sea level, in 1859. The Light escaped Coast Guard automation in 1990 though there is staff on the island maintaining the lighthouse and recording meteorological data. Tours are offered by arrangement only. For more information, call 617.223.8666.

Spectacle Island
A Harbor Islands hub, Spectacle Island opened to the public just one year ago, in 2006, and has fast become a popular destination. Although it has long been part of the island chain, it was originally two drumlins that were joined by a small spit of land, hence its name. The gorgeous new visitor’s center demonstrates renewable energy with its solar paneling and the island itself serves as a great example of recycling and reuse as it was expanded upon by excavated dirt and clay from the Big Dig. Nice to know at least something from the Big Dig has gone to good use.

Visit www.bostonislands.com for more information on all the islands.


Harbor Islands: The skinny

• The Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area is made up of 34 islands and coastal peninsulas and was created in 1996 by legislation signed by then President Bill Clinton. Thirteen are state islands while the remaining 21 are maintained by the National Park Service. The City of Boston oversees Long Island and Moon Island, which is home to the Boston Fire Department’s training facility and The Boston Police Department’s outdoor pistol range.
•  The sizes of the islands change every hour, as the ocean tides ebb and flow. In total, the park islands range from 1,483 to 3,067 acres during the tidal cycle.
• Spook easily? Fort Warren’s most famous occupant is not a male POW but the ghost of Mrs. Andrew Lanier, the wife of a Confederate soldier imprisoned at the fort during the Civil War. After many months of plotting, she is said to have dressed as a man in an attempt to free her husband. Mr. Lanier was killed during the prison break and Mrs. Lanier was captured and hanged. The tale of the “Lady in Black” has become legend though this information has actually never been confirmed. Still, many visitors to Georges Island claim to see Mrs. Lanier’s ghost.