Guided Discovery: Hingham Adventures: Spectacle Island

We made three visits to Spectacle Island this summer, one by dingy and two with the 63.

Spectacle Island is located about 6 miles west of Hingham in Boston Harbor. Our first visit in late July was by dingy and was made possible by a relatively calm day. Note: Hingham Shipyard Marina is located in the lower right corner of the map below.

Spectacle Island as viewed from the east

A little history (borrowed from Wikipedia).

Starting in the early 19th century, the island was used exclusively for its relative remoteness from Boston. Two hotels were built in 1847, only to be closed by police ten years later when it was discovered they were used for gambling and other illicit activities.

A horse rendering plant was built on Spectacle Island in 1857, followed by a city trash incinerator that remained active until 1935. When the incinerator closed, trash was simply dumped on the island for the next thirty years. The island remained a smelly, leaking dump until the 1990s.

Then came the Big Dig.

More history. Officially known as the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, it was the most expensive (2.8 billion in 1982) road project in the history of the US that rerouted Interstate 93 (known by locals as "the Southeast Distressway, the world's largest parking lot") and the chief highway through the heart of the city. The project also included the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel extending Interstate 90 to Logan Airport, the Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River and the Rose Kennedy Greenway in the space vacated by the previous I-93 elevated roadway. The Big Dig transformed the Boston Water front and created a major construction boom in South Boston.

US National Park Facility

Informative displays dealing with the Spectacle Island and the glaciers that formed the Boston Harbor Islands

The Big Dig also transformed Spectacle island as it was here that 4,400 barges of excavated dirt (3.7 million cubic yards) was used as landfill. The process took 5 years. When it was completed, the landfill was capped, preventing garbage from leaking into Boston Harbor, and 60 feet had been added to the north and south drumlins. What had been a source of pollution was turned into a spectacular island park. Boston Harbor Cruises (BHC) has regular service to Spectacle Island from Boston.

Map showing the walking paths

Marina at Spectacle Island with the AB RIB tied to the dock

On our July visit Lesley, Amelia and I walked up the north drumlin which rises 170 feet above seal level and provides a spectacular view of Logan Airport, South Boston, President Roads (the main channel to Boston Harbor) and the surrounding islands (Thompson, Long and Deer). On a clear day you can see all they way to Salem, which is 16 miles north of Boston.

Beautiful walking paths

Logan International Airport as viewed from the north drumlin

View of South Boston

President Roads is the main channel into Boston

Looking southeast at the marina from the north drumlin

Looking east to the south drumlin

Lesley and Amelia looking for monarch eggs

Lesley and Amelia with Boston to the west

Our island adventures, which started as quest to find monarch eggs, and had up to this point included Grape and Bumpkin, did not result in finding any on Spectacle. However, the visit opened a door to a great local boating destination. This resulted in two more visits with the 63. The first was on August 21.