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Charles Street is the local shopping district for the wealthy Beacon
Hill neighborhood. Charles Street is located at the base of Beacon
Hill, on its western slope. It begins at Charles Circle, near Massachusetts
General Hospital, and ends between Boston Common and the Public
Garden.
The Charles Street area is distinguished by its architecture, and by the
mixed use of its buildings. There are businesses on the street level floors
of low-rise brick townhouses, with residences on the upper floors. The
character of Charles Street is similar to parts of London or Amsterdam,
which is a rarity in younger American cities as compared to Europe.
The businesses on Charles Street
cater to the local community. The buildings on Beacon Hill are highly dense,
with many narrow streets of one-direction. Many residents do not
even own a car, as they can walk to work in the downtown area. Thus, Charles
Street contains businesses varying from laundromats to convenience stores.
But there are also antique stores, gift shops, art boutiques, and specialty
clothing stores. Charles Street even has a shop with mostly antique hardware;
for replacing those 150 year-old door knobs or cabinet handles in the
historic buildings on the Hill.
In general, the Brahmins
have long departed Beacon Hill for Boston's North Shore, and the current
residents are predominantly urban professionals. In some of the shops on
Charles Street, the staff can be somewhat pretentious. A few stores post hours of
operation, but the owners do not even show up on time or open for the day.
In this author's experience, the older the money, the less
pretentious, and Charles Street has changed over the years, as have the other
neighborhoods in the city.
Nearby attractions to the Charles Street shopping area include
Cheers, the
Swan Boats, the
State House, and
Boston Common.
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