Today’s Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina sits on a waterfront that has been fixing boats for well since 1853 when Shipwright James E. Simpson built dry docks here, using an innovative watertight clay bed design that he patented, and the yard grew into a major repair site.
In 1928, Bethlehem Steel absorbed Simpson's operation, opening their Atlantic Works division. The Simpson Docks remained the last shipyard owned by Bethlehem Steel in Massachusetts that continued until the year 1984. During its history they operated the largest railway in Boston and second largest in the country. For most of its life it was referred to by locals as the "East Boston Yard". One of their largest later projects was a $6.6 million contract to overhaul the d estroyer USS Forrest Sherman in 1976. They also constructed a new Buzzards Bay and Brenton Reef light towers in a 1961 and 1962 project costing $1.5 million, the main navigational aid for all shipping bound for Cape Cod canal.
During 1982–1984 a total of 68 ships were repaired for the Navy at this yard. In April 1984 a racial attack happened when a black sailor aboard the USS Valdez was stabbed by a gang of men walking across Maverick Square. Following this incident the Navy abruptly pulled out with zero notice leaving workers stunned when they showed up on the cold morning of September 21 for work to equipment removed and tools tossed out. The Navy released a statement the following day stating that workplace safety of the East Boston Shipyard was not proceeding according to Navy Standards.
In response to the immediate shutdown, Senator Kennedy and Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn ordered the workers to lock the $18 million dollar USS Connole mast between the booms of two huge cranes and ordered flotation buoys placed across its stern, essentially holding the Navy hostage. Mayor Flynn remarked "The whole issue is what is the Navy's commitment to Boston? These are important jobs for you but they are also important jobs for the city's economy. I support the workers blockade."
(Photo Below: US Navy frigate Connole held hostage in East Boston yard.)
The standoff received international press coverage and lasted a total of 4 days, only ending when the Navy went to US district Judge Robert E. Keeton for a restraining order on the workers, who ordered federal marshals into the shipyard to unlock the ship and remove employees from the job site. A total of 460 union workers lost their jobs, affecting many families in the East Boston area. This would mark the second to last major shipyard in Massachusetts to close down, and one of the oldest shipyards in the entire country.
Today, the site remains a working shipyard and repair facility with an operational graving dock and modern dry dock capability. It is also a residential marina and home to businesses like Downeast Cider, who hosts a summer cider garden at the base of the pier.