Fort Point Channel -- It's Electric!

From Dave Brigham:

This is Boston's Fort Point Channel, seen from a section of the Harborwalk that skirts behind the first Boston Wharf Company building you see as you cross Summer Street into South Boston. I walked here recently with my son, Owen. Whereas our trips on the subway into Boston used to involve staying mostly underground, in recent months we've explored areas of the city that are new to him, and in which I haven't taken photos before.

Boston Wharf Co. was incorporated in 1836, after which the company filled in the swampy area east of downtown and eventually constructed wharves and manufacturing and storage buildings for a variety of uses, including sugar and molasses, according to this blog post. Check out that post for photos of the pretty cool neon sign the company erected at the entrance to the district, which, before it was turned over to hipsters and tech-dorks was an artist enclave.

The sheer number of Boston Wharf Company buildings in this area is astounding.

(Boston Wharf Co. medallion. There are scads of these around the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.)

Our brief trek on the Harbor Walk led to this building.

This is one of two buildings that General Electric plans to renovate as part of it new global headquarters. The company, which broke ground in Boston last May after leaving its longtime Connecticut HQ, will also construct a new building, approximately on the site of the old Channel club, where I saw bands including the Butthole Surfers, Buffalo Tom and the Dead Milkmen back in the '80s and '90s.

In the photo above you see the ugly side of the Necco Court bridge, which GE originally planned to tear down. After neighbors -- many of them artists who flocked to the Fort Point Channel area decades ago -- complained to the city, GE agreed to preserve the pedestrian walkway. To see artist renderings of the bridge, historic photos of the area and read about the overall project, check this link out.

(The bridge, right, is on Necco Court, so named for the New England Confectionery Company (NECCO), maker of Necco Wafers, Sweetheart Conversation Hearts, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mary Janes and Sky Bars. The company announced in March that it may shut down if it is unable to find a buyer.)

(I'm not sure whether this smaller bridge will be saved.)

I definitely want to return to Fort Point. Below are two random photos from the neighborhood.

(The backside of a building at the corner of A Street and Congress Street.)

(Located on the ground floor of the above building is Lucky's Lounge, which has a Rat Pack vibe. This entrance was locked.)