As part of Boston Groundwater Trust’s 40th anniversary this year, Christian Simonelli, the BGwT’s executive director, led more than 40 guests on a walking tour of the Back Bay on Saturday, July 18.
The tour began at Trinity Church in Copley Square. where guests caught a glimpse of three notable buildings mounted on wood pilings: Trinity Church, the Copley Branch of the Boston Public Library, and Old South Church.
Most of the Back Bay was created by filling in former tidelands, so many buildings in the neighborhood depend on wood-pile foundations driven into the filled land and capped with granite blocks.
Only a handful of guests were previously aware of this fact, so the revelation to most provided a good starting-point for the tour, said Simonelli
Guests visited an observation well, where they learned how an automatic reader works.
The tour then crossed to the other side of Boylston Street, where guests saw firsthand the porous pavement that helps replenish groundwater levels in the neighborhood.
Simonelli also showed guests archival photos to illustrate how some of the Back Bay’s noteworthy buildings were constructed and are now supported.
“There were a lot of good questions and thoughtful conversation on how homeowners and organizations like NABB [Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay] help drive home our mission and how valuable the work that we do is,” said Simonelli, noting that Serge Savard, NABB’S new board chair, was among those in attendance on the tour.
The financial ramifications of BGwT’s work was a popular topic of conversation on the tour, since maintaining groundwater levels is so crucial to preserving property values in the neighborhood, said Simonelli, who previously led a well-attended groundwater walking tour of lower Beacon Hill on June 20.
Meanwhile, BGwT is tentatively planning additional groundwater walking tours of the Fenway and the South End for the fall, and afterwards, Simonelli said he would even consider returning to the Back Bay and Beacon Hill to lead encore tours of those neighborhoods..
To learn more about BGwT, visit: bostongroundwater.org
