Winthrop Beach is the main beach of
Winthrop,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. It is located along
Winthrop Shore Drive, spanning the roadway. The beach begins off Crest Avenue at an area known as the "Green Bars", named for the green railings along the seawall. The beach ends at the base of Water Tower Hill. The ocean has five wave breakers known as the "Five Sisters" offshore to protect nearby neighborhoods from the large swells that occur during storms.
Winthrop Beach is open year round to the public from dawn to dusk, and lifeguards are on duty from late June to early September.
History
Between the mid-1600s and late 1800s, the beach was used almost entirely for utilitarian purposes, including clam digging, and lobster fishing. Even the kelp from the rocks was harvested and used as fertilizer. By the 1890s, the Winthrop Branch of the
Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachus ...
commuter rail was extended all the way to Winthrop Beach. Thanks to the arrival of public transportation, the town's flagship beach became popular with city-dwellers from Boston and beyond. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased the Winthrop Shore Reservation area in 1900. Unlike nearby
Revere Beach
Revere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts, located about north of downtown Boston. The beach is over long. In 1875, a rail link was constructed to the beach, leading to its increasing popularity as a summer recreation area, and in ...
in
Revere, Winthrop Beach did not develop a boardwalk or extensive commercial district of its own.
Restoration
In September 2012, state contractors broke ground on a major $17-million restoration project. Over two years the
Department of Conservation and Recreation
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...
plans to repair the badly eroded shoreline by adding 450,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel.
Since the construction of a series of offshore breakwaters known locally as "the Five Sisters" in the 1930s, a significant volume of sediment has accumulated behind the Five Sisters creating a large
tombolo
A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island becom ...
. These offshore breakwaters have also contributed to increased erosion on the southern portion of Winthrop Beach, leaving the seawall, Winthrop Shore Drive and adjacent residences vulnerable to storm damage. In addition to repairing degraded "groin structures," the project's final phase calls for widening sidewalks on
Winthrop Shore Drive, and the addition of new lighting, benches, sand-rinsing stations, and upgraded beach entrances.
See also
*
Yirrell Beach
References
External links
{{commons category, Winthrop Beach,
Winthrop Beach
Winthrop Shore Reservation Department of Conservation and Recreation
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Beaches of Massachusetts
Landforms of Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Suffolk County, Massachusetts