Downtown Crossing
Coordinates: 42°21′20″N 71°03′38″W / 42.355450°N 71.060460°W
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district that is a small part of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located due east of Boston Common and west of the Financial District. It features large department stores as well as restaurants, souvenir sellers, general retail establishments, and street vendors. The section of Washington Street between Temple and Bromfield streets (and portions of Winter and Summer streets) are closed to most vehicular traffic; pedestrians may walk freely in the street.
Since the early 1900s, the area along Washington and Tremont Streets, roughly from School Street to Beach Street, has also been referred to as the Ladder District. The side streets between the two main thoroughfares look like the rungs of a ladder when viewed on a map, hence the name.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Summer Street was an upscale neighborhood, with townhouses designed by Charles Bulfinch and others. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed much of the neighborhood, especially between Summer, Washington, and Milk Streets.
Following the success of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston decided to redevelop the Washington Street area into a pedestrian-only mall, which was unveiled in 1979. At first, foot traffic and business in the area declined, but it slowly returned as the popularity of the mall as a shopping area increased, helped along by a cart vending program.
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