BOSTON’S BUCOLIC BEACON HILL

THE POSH NEIGHBORHOOD HAS A HIGH-END SMALL-TOWN FEEL WITHIN A BUSTLING CITY

Picture-postcard pretty Beacon Hill, one of Boston’s most prestigious neighborhoods, is defined by steep streets, gaslit brick sidewalks, historic residences, and a quaint camaraderie that’s more common in a small town than a major city.

“Even if you’ve lived here for a short period of time, it’s tough to walk down Charles Street and not see a familiar face,” says Rebecca Davis Tulman, a senior sales associate with Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty.

At Christmas, there’s a festive holiday stroll, and at Halloween, brownstones are decorated days in advance and people hand out candy from their front stoops.

HISTORIC FEDERAL AND VICTORIAN GEMS Beacon Hill, which covers about a half a square mile and has a population hovering around 9,000, has three sections. The South Slope is nearest to Boston Common, the country’s oldest city park; the North Slope is the area around Cambridge and Bowdoin Streets; and the Flat of the Hill is the land that was “filled in” between Charles Street and River Street and

Storrow Drive, where that portion of the Charles River used to be.

Crowned by the late-18th-century gold-domed Massachusetts State House designed by Charles Bulfinch, the neighborhood, which is a historic district, has Federal and Victorian architecture dating from the late 1700s to the early 1900s.

The residences—condos and single-family townhouses, along with a sprinkling of co-ops—are, for the most part, brownstone and brick bowfront buildings.

“Carriage houses can be seen on Flat of the Hill; larger single-family properties are on Chestnut, Mount Vernon, Louisburg Square, and a few other South Slope areas with the exception of Hancock Street, where the buildings are large and grand in scale. The brownstones on the North Slope tend to have a smaller footprint,” Tulman says.

Prices of single-family homes are approximately $2.3 million to $15 million, she says, adding that they average between $3.5 million and $7 million. One-bedroom condos typically range from $600,000 to $900,000, while two-bedroom units generally are priced at $1 million to $3 million.

She notes that there have, in rare instances, been single-family homes on the market for $12 million to $22 million and that some new condos in recent years have sold for record-breaking prices of over $15 million.

There isn’t much new construction, she adds, noting that homeowners typically do custom interior renovations and floor-area-ratio restrictions keep developers from building up.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE Bordered by Boston Common and the Esplanade, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Boston Public Garden, Beacon Hill offers all the charms of the city with all the bucolic abundance of a small town.

There are a variety of well-known bakeries, shops, and restaurants in the centrally located neighborhood.

Popular dining spots include Toscano, which serves traditional Tuscan meals; the Whitney Hotel, which has a lively bar and an Italian restaurant; and Bin 26 Enoteca, known for its international wines and seasonal menus.

Tulman notes that “there’s also the famous Paramount, where breakfast is particularly outstanding, which is why there’s always a line out the door; exceptional Thai cuisine at King & I, and, of course, spots like Tatte Bakery & Café and J.P. Licks for ice cream are always delicious—and busy.”

Beacon Hill’s amenities include private clubs. Founded in 1851, Union Boat Club is known for rowing and squash; the Somerset Club, which dates to about 1826, is a members-only social club; and Union Club, which is a three-minute walk from the Massachusetts State House, is a social club established in 1863 that has a bar, dining rooms, and overnight accommodations.

Along the Esplanade, Community Boating, the oldest public sailing organization in the U.S., offers lessons in a variety of watersports.

There are several private schools, including Beacon Hill Nursery School; Park Street School, for toddlers through to sixth grade; and The Advent School, for students from pre-kindergarten through to sixth grade.

Historical and cultural attractions include the Museum of African American History; the African Meeting House, billed as “the first of its kind in America and the oldest Black church building in the country”; and the Abiel Smith School, which opened in 1835 as the first public school for African-Americans.

“With one of the best medical communities in the world, some of the most prestigious colleges and universities, and a well-respected science and technology community, Beacon Hill is a desirable and well-located place to live, grow old, raise a family, meet that special someone, live your best single life, make friends at the dog park,” Tulman says.

Opposite page: The Boston Public Garden borders Beacon Hill. This page: A building on Beacon Street in the chic Boston neighborhood.