Hull Shore Drive, Nantasket Avenue, Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston MPS
Why it's listed
Nantasket Avenue and Hull Shore Drive form a 1.25-mile ocean parkway along Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts, about five miles southeast of Boston. Work began in 1900, when the Metropolitan Park Commission took over County Road as part of the new Nantasket Beach Reservation. The beach had been marred by private development and damaged by the 1898 storm, and the reservation was meant to restore its beauty as a respectable resort. Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot, and later Olmsted Brothers, developed the road, which reflects Charles Eliot's ideas of public ownership and access. The commission regraded and resurfaced Nantasket Avenue in 1905-07, and it was realigned in 1932. Hull Shore Drive was built in 1935-36 along an abandoned railroad bed as a pleasure loop ending at Phipps Street. Since the late 1980s it has served as a one-way beach road. The parkway is significant for landscape architecture, recreation, transportation and conservation, with a period of significance of 1900 to 1956.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1900-1956 |
|---|---|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Conservation, Engineering, Entertainment/Recreation, Landscape Architecture, Transportation |
| Acreage | 6.5 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | Hull Shore Drive, Nantasket Avenue, Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston MPS (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.