Leather District

Developed after The Great Boston fire of 1873, the Leather District is a compact little neighborhood located to just the east of Chinatown, The Rose Kennedy Greenway and Financial District and bordered to the west of Fort Point Channel.

As the name implies, the area housed Boston’s lucrative leather trade which thrived in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Most of the neighborhood’s red brick buildings were purposed-built for the leather trade and were designed by a roster of prominent 19th Century architects including Peabody and Stearns and Willard T. Sears.

Beginning in the 1970’s artists began to fill these now-vacant commercial warehouse buildings with living and gallery spaces. Today, the Leather District is Boston’s premier brick and beam loft neighborhood co-existing with small business, eclectic restaurants, and funky bars and cafes. Directly adjacent to South Station, one of America’s busiest transportation hubs, the Leather District has excellent subway, commuter and Amtrak rail connections as well as express service to Logan International Airport.