Lynn Shore Drive

Lynn Shore Drive is an historic oceanfront parkway in Lynn, Massachusetts, United States. Composed of a two-lane road, parkland, a seaside pedestrian esplanade, and a seawall, Lynn Shore Drive runs for approximately one mile (1.6 km) along Lynn's Atlantic Ocean coastline, following the upland boundary of the adjoining Lynn Shore Reservation, and connecting Nahant with Swampscott.[1]

Lynn Shore Drive
Vintage Lynn Shore Drive Postcard
Vintage Lynn Shore Drive Postcard
Maintained byDepartment of Conservation and Recreation
Length1 mi (1.6 km)
Coordinates42°27′44.11″N 70°55′42.45″W
Construction
Completion1907
Southerly view over Lynn Shore Drive, toward Nahant and downtown Boston
Southerly view over Lynn Shore Drive, toward Nahant and downtown Boston
Northerly view over Lynn Shore Drive to Swampscott
Northerly view over Lynn Shore Drive to Swampscott

Known for its scenic views of the open Atlantic, Nahant Bay, Egg Rock, and Boston Skyline, Lynn Shore Drive is part of the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway[2] and forms the southeasterly edge of the National Register Diamond Historic District. The Lynn Shore Drive seawall is a contributing resource to the National Register District--as are many of the historic homes lining the drive’s inland edge.[3]

An early example of a parkway, and distinctive by virtue of its oceanfront setting, Lynn Shore Drive opened to the public in 1907. Prior to the drive’s creation, Lynn’s oceanfront was held largely in private estates and was not accessible to the public.[3]

The effort to create Lynn Shore Drive was pioneered in part by George N. Nichols, a Lynn resident who, in 1874—at age 19—petitioned Lynn’s City Council to appropriate for public use the lands along the Diamond District’s oceanfront.[4]

Between 1895 and 1903, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Metropolitan District Commission acquired land parcels encompassing a substantial stretch of Lynn’s coastline,[5] laying the groundwork for the construction of Lynn Shore Drive--and the contemporaneous creation of the adjoining Lynn Shore and Nahant Beach Reservations.[6][3]

Lynn Shore Drive is today managed by the Metropolitan District Commission's successor agency, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.[7]

References
  1. "Long Beach, Lynn Shore Drive and Red Rock Park". City of Lynn. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. "Experience the best of New England". Essex National Heritage Area. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. McDonough, Judith (November 22, 1996). "National Register Nomination, Diamond District". Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. United States Department of Interior. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  4. "George N. Nichols". Boston Herald and Journal (Obituary). November 6, 1918. p. 13.
  5. Commission, Massachusetts Metropolitan Park; Adams, Charles Francis; Beltran de las Casas, William (January 1, 1901). Report of the Board of Metropolitan Park Commissioners. Wright & Potter Printing. pp. 25. lynn.
  6. Lynn Shore Drive (PDF) (Interpretive sign). Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved April 21, 2017 – via Friends of Lynn & Nahant Beach.
  7. DCR (May 16, 2013). "DCR Winter Storm Plan and Priority Map". Energy and Environmental Affairs. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
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