For a little more of a history lesson: Much of the core of Boston is artificial land added at various times throughout history. The seemingly crazy street layo

For a little more of a history lesson: Much of the core of Boston is artificial land added at various times throughout history. The seemingly crazy street layouts and orientations (especially in the Downtown/North End areas) make much more "sense" when you realize how the original landmass was shaped, which was a peninsula only connected to the mainland by a single very narrow road out to the south/southwest. You can find more detail and scope elsewhere, but here's a quick image that illustrates most of it: http://i.imgur.com/dWSGEjQ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/dWSGEjQ.jpg