Fan Pier.

Fan Pier.. A Century of Change. , Boston Then and Now , Maritime commerce through Boston Harbor was the lifeblood of early New England. Goods and services change with each century, yet the port's economic vitality endures., By 1900, Boston had successfully transformed from a deep-water ship owning port to a major center of integrated ship/rail transportation systems. Today, the convergence of interstate highways, rail lines, airport facilities, and shipping sustains Boston as a hub for imports and exports., [Captions:] , Immigration , European immigrants catch their first glimpse of the New World as their ship enters Boston Harbor. Their assimilation began at the Immigrant Home on Marginal Street in East Boston., East Boston Wharves, 1890s , Two British-built ships, metal-hulled Arracan and Scottish Locks, dock at East Boston. In the mid-1800s, this waterfront was one of the great shipbuilding centers of the world. By the 1890s, the port remained vital but the craft-oriented wooden shipyards declined as Britain perfected iron and steel hull construction., The Waterfront, 1900 , Boston as seen from downtown, looking south towards the Fan Pier area. This panorama of manufacturing and industry shows the intensive commercial activity along the waterfront at the time., Custom House Tower, 1915 , The 1847 Custom House was capped in 1915 with a 500-foot tower, which dominated the Boston landscape for decades. Now converted to a hotel, this Boston landmark still symbolizes the importance of the city's place in maritime history., 1918 , U.S. Custom Appraiser's Stores , Here were stored goods seized by Custom officers, or goods waiting inspection at the nearby Custom House. Today it contains offices of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area., The Waterfront, 2003 , Boston Harbor has had a decade-long, $4 billion cleanup. In combination with the "Big Dig" Central Artery/Harbor Tunnel Project, the focus on the harbor and its environs dwarfs any other urban transformation under way in the United States at the turn of the 21st century.