Probably one of the most famous communities in Boston, Beacon Hill is a neighborhood which plays an important in the history of the metropolis. Together with the nearby Back Bay, they house approximately 26,000 residents. The neighborhood is flanked by Federal-inspired rowhouses and is popular for its slim streets illuminated by lamps fueled by gas and with sidewalks made out of bricks. Currently, Beacon Hill is acclaimed as one of the most coveted, not to mention expensive, residential spaces in Boston.

Beacon Hill is situated to the north of another landmark, the Boston Common and just a stone?s throw away from the Boston Public Garden. It is bordered by Storrow Drive by the waterfront of the Charles River Esplanade to the West, on the south by Beacon Street, Cambridge Street on the north and on the east by Somerset Street. The even section of Beacon Hill located to the west of Charles Street is popularly known among residents as ?Flat of the Hill.?

Beacon Hill houses the Massachusetts State House in a very visible location, so the name Beacon Hill is commonly used interchangeably to allude to the state government of Massachusetts especially in the media.

Similar to most of the other Beacon Hills in the United States, Boston?s posh neighborhood derived its name because a beacon once occupied this area, just behind the Massachusetts State House. The height of Beacon Hill as well as a couple of other hills located near it was significantly decreased to make it more ideal for the construction of homes, as well as to use the soil to make land through a reclaimed area that used to be the Mill Pond.

The totality of Beacon Hill was previously owned by William Blaxton or Blackstone who is the pioneering European immigrant in Boston spanning ten years from 1625 to 1635. He later on sold the land to the Puritans. During the 19th century, the section which faces Boston Common was considered as the most premium lots. There is also a segment of Beacon Hill dubbed as the Black Hill where many of the African American leaders once lived which includes David Walker and Sojoumer Truth. This side of the neighborhood is also very near the African Meeting House where most anti-slavery and oppression campaigns were staged. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first woman physician in the United States also resided here.

Some of the most notable residents of Beacon Hill include: authors Louisa May Alcott and Michael Crichton as well as actress Uma Thurman.

In 1962, Beacon Hill was named as a National Historic Landmark.