Building the Mass Pike

Building the Mass Pike details the urban history and construction of old Boston, with previously unpublished images from the Turnpike Authority archives.
By 1950, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its capital city had fallen on hard times. The solution came in 1952 from one man and the road he devoted the last decade of his life to building. With the region's railroads in decline and the roads in appalling disrepair, the difficulty of moving people and goods around the state and into its largest port was taking a heavy toll on the economy. The man was William Callahan, and the road was the Massachusetts Turnpike. Building the Mass Pike tells the story of the road's planning, construction, and impact on the communities through which it passed. The book includes previously unpublished images from the Turnpike Authority archives and provides a vivid document of the largest public works project in the state's history and the firestorm of controversy that surrounded it. Written by an engineer-historian, Building the Mass Pike will appeal not only to those fascinated by the history of the Commonwealth and its capital but also to those with an interest in construction, urban history, and the politics of old Boston.

Yanni K. Tsipis holds degrees in civil engineering and urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A Boston native, he is the author of Arcadia Publishing's Boston's Central Artery, the bestselling account of the construction of the elevated expressway through the city. Tsipis leads walking tours around Boston and serves on the editorial board of Civil Engineering Practice, the journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers.