View of Boston, July 4th 1870 - Public domain old map

This view of Victorian Boston portrays a prosperous city during its Independence Day celebration. Cannon smoke issuing from harbor island fortifications and a military re-enactment on the Boston Common are clearly evident. Boston is a city that is clearly undergoing rapid change. Industries have begun to crowd portions of the waterfront. The shipping trade that fueled Boston's prosperity for two centuries has fallen off due to the arrival of the railroads in the 1830s. Although the harbor is full of clipper ships that brought fame to Boston in the 1850s, the steamship, only two of which are visible, has decimated New England's shipbuilding industry, which was centered on wooden ships.
Courtesy of Private Collection