Boston Map Poster: colonial lanes meeting a perfect Victorian grid
Why Boston works so well as a map poster
Boston's map tells its history in two textures. Downtown and the North End keep the tangled lanes of the colonial town, streets that really did follow paths and shorelines; right beside them, Back Bay answers with an immaculate grid laid on filled land, its cross streets running in alphabetical order from Arlington to Hereford.
The Charles River basin separates Boston from Cambridge in a broad blue band crossed by a rhythm of bridges, with MIT on the far shore, while the Common and the Public Garden anchor the centre in green and the Emerald Necklace trails away to the southwest.
Best palettes for Boston
- Blueprint — the signature pick: technical cyan for America's great university city.
- Warm Beige — soft parchment tones that suit the brownstones and the colonial street plan.
- Midnight Blue — the harbour and the Charles in deep navy, the streets glowing between them.
Where to centre the map and which radius to use
Centre on Boston Common with a 5 km radius to hold the colonial core, the Back Bay grid, the Charles basin with Cambridge and MIT, and the harbour edge in a single frame.
Ready-made Boston posters
We have already rendered 5 Boston designs at 300 DPI (Blueprint, Japanese Ink, Midnight Blue, Noir, Warm Beige). Download the files for 9.99 € and print them anywhere, or order a premium matte print (A4 to 60×90 cm) with shipping included.
See all Boston designs Order it printed
Design your own Boston poster
Pick any of the 17 palettes, set the exact centre and radius described above, choose the size and the label text (Boston, or a neighbourhood name), and we render it for you from live map data after checkout. From 14 €, usually ready in 5–15 minutes.
Which size to print
City maps with lots of fine streets reward size: 30×40 cm is the sweet spot for a desk or hallway, 50×70 cm and 60×90 cm turn the map into a statement piece where individual streets remain legible from across the room. Stick to matte paper so the dark palettes do not reflect. Read the printing and framing guide.