East Boston, appropriated by Boston proper in 1636, was originally made up of five islands. In 1833, the East Boston Company began development to fill in the gaps, eventually creating today's peninsula:

From 1900 to 1904, the first streetcar tunnel in America was constructed under Boston Harbor, connecting Maverick Square to downtown Boston (part of today's Blue Line). The Sumner Tunnel was completed in 1934 for automobile traffic.

The Sumner and Callahan (completed in 1961) Tunnels are now part of the McClellan Highway (and Route 1A). The Williams Tunnel, which connects East Boston to South Boston, makes up the eastern end of the Massachusetts Turnpike (and I-90) and was completed in 1995. (You can take the tunnels in for free, but it'll cost you $3 to get out, without driving up through Chelsea.)

Eagle Hill Memorial Community Garden on Border Street, East Boston, MA

The airfield that was eventually named for General Edward L. Logan began operations in 1923, and today the international airport occupies two thirds of East Boston's land.

East Boston is also home to the first municipally supported branch library in the U.S., Project Bread (Walk for Hunger), Suffolk Downs and the Massachusetts Senate President.

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