Beverly (Massachusetts)

Beverly is a city of 43,000 people (2020) in the North Shore region of Massachusetts. Dating back to the 17th century, Beverly has a long maritime history intertwined with resort, residential, and manufacturing roles that have helped defined the city as it is today. From the city's more urbanized western side to the rural estates of the east, Beverly possesses a diverse landscape that adds a number of different areas for visitors to explore.

In addition, Beverly also functions as a regional center of higher education, being home to both Endicott College and the Montserrat College of Art which help bring a collegial and cultured environment to the community. And while somewhat overshadowed by the communities of urban-hub Boston and witchcraft-infused Salem to the south, Beverly is an up-and-coming community with theaters, cafes, shops, parks, beaches and historic locations that makes it well-worth a trip.

Districts


Having a varied landscape, Beverly is home to a number of different neighborhoods each with their own unique personalities and institutions.

There are roughly 10 neighborhoods:
 * Downtown Beverly &mdash; The center of the city, and the most urban neighborhood, based mainly on Cabot, Rantoul, and Elliot Streets. Divided into the sub-neighborhoods of Goat Hill, Fish Flake Hill, and Prospect Hill. Home to the Cabot Theater, Montserrat College of Art, residences, and numerous businesses. Possesses the Beverly train station.
 * Ryal Side &mdash; Suburban neighborhood on western side of the city. Mostly residential, but does possess some businesses on Bridge and Elliot Streets including the Ryal Side Plaza. Divided into the sub-neighborhood of Shingleville.
 * North Beverly &mdash; Placid, mostly residential neighborhood with businesses scattered on main thoroughfares of Cabot, Dodge, Conant, Enon, and McKay Streets including the North Beverly and Commodore Plazas. Subdivided into the sub-neighborhoods of Raymond Farms and Folly Hill/Apple Village. Possesses the North Beverly train station along with Beverly Airport.
 * Gloucester Crossing &mdash; Semi-urban, semi-residential neighborhood, originally built-up for housing the workers at the Shoe. Somewhat rough around the edges in its residential part, it's also home to the Shoe's service-based and highly renovated successor - the Cummings Center.
 * Montserrat &mdash; Loosely defined, suburban, residential neighborhood. Home to the Sterling YMCA, Beverly Hospital, and Sally Milligan Park. Possesses the Montserrat train station.
 * Cove &mdash; Suburban, relatively affluent (though not so much as Prides Crossing/the Farms), residential neighborhood. Home to Lynch Park, the city's primary greenspace, and several beaches. President William Howard Taft once rented a summer home here, in the area that is now this park. More built up than the neighborhoods to the east, and closer to the Downtown.
 * Centerville &mdash; Suburban, mostly middle class, car-dependent neighborhood. Relatively wooded and isolated, it is close to Route 128 and has a small nucleus of stores centered on Hull St.
 * Beverly Farms &mdash; Also known locally as simply the Farms, in combination with Prides Crossing it is one of the more affluent and isolated sections of the city. Namesake of the glamorous Beverly Hills, California. Centered around a small village center of small shops on Hale and West Streets, with much of its area wooded and rural. Contains large homes in the woods and on the beach, while more humble residences lie near the village center. Possesses the Beverly Farms train station.
 * Prides Crossing &mdash; A sparsely built-up, wooded neighborhood centered on a tiny cluster of buildings at its center, and defined by large houses and old mansions on private drives. Possesses the Prides Crossing train station, which is unsurprisingly only stopped at on peak times and is also home to a well-known eponymous candy store. Endicott College lies in the neighborhood, founded in the area's old mansions.

When to visit
As stated on the Boston page, New England weather is unpredictable and becomes very cold in the winter and is prone to mild bouts of humidity in the summer. Beverly's weather is similar to Boston's; however, it is slightly cooler during the summer months, a factor which historically has proved influential to the decision of many Boston elites to locate summer homes along the "Gold Coast" on the shores of the Cove and Beverly Farms. Summer is thusly comfortable, with plentiful days of sunshine and nice days. Thus, it is in that season that the city truly shines and earns its moniker as the "Garden City," with many green parks and plentiful local flora and fauna.

When the summer heat does reach Beverly, respite can be found at one of the city's many beaches for swimming. Like the rest of the North Shore, keep in mind that the water will be cold no matter the season. If desiring a more dry summer pastime, the city often hosts different summer events including a monthly block party on Cabot Street for each summer month. Even with no events going on, Cabot Street in the summer is quite pleasant with many different shops and stores catering to foot traffic and cafes with outdoor seating.

In summer, a notable time to visit Beverly is during its annual Homecoming at the end of July and beginning of August. Events range from local performances, lighthouse tours, lobster eating, and are culminated by fireworks show over Beverly Harbor.

While summer is probably the nicest season to experience Beverly, it also is thoroughly pleasant in the autumn, with foliage peaking around mid-October, as well as in the springtime during May and June when the flowers come into full bloom. And if you plan to visit during the winter months, the Atlantic Ocean has a moderating effect on the temperature, causing the city to not get as cold or icy as areas inland. Visitors should be fine so long as they wear the usual seasonal clothes.

History
Before European settlement, the area was part of Salem and the Naumkeag Territory. It was settled by Europeans in 1626 by Roger Conant. Because of religious differences with Governor John Endecott, Beverly was set off and incorporated as a town in 1668, when it was named "Beverley" after Beverley, the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Surviving from the settlement's early history is the Balch House, built, according to dendrochronological testing performed in 2006, about 1679.

The first ship commissioned for the US military, by the US Army (the US Navy had yet to exist), was the armed schooner Hannah. It was outfitted at Glover's Wharf and first sailed from Beverly Harbor on September 5, 1775. For this reason Beverly calls itself the "Birthplace of America's Navy" – a claim disputed by other towns, including nearby Marblehead. The Hannah can be found on the patch of the city's police department.

Beverly has also been called the "birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution," as the site of the first cotton mill in America (1787), and largest cotton mill of its time. The town is the home of one of the country's first Sunday schools (which was built in 1810). Beverly was incorporated as a city in 1894.

In 1902, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation built a quarter-mile stretch of factory buildings in Beverly. The stretch was an early landmark example of reinforced concrete construction, devised by concrete pioneer Ernest L. Ransome. In 1906 it went into production. Closed in 1987, the complex was bought by Cummings Properties in 1996, and developed into a campus of hi-tech companies and medical offices. Parker Brothers, makers of Monopoly and other games, has offices in Beverly. The city is also home to the Landmark School, known worldwide for the education it provides for students with learning disabilities.

President William Howard Taft rented a house for the summer White House from Mrs. Maria Evans in Beverly. In the summers of 1909 and 1910, he lived in a house located at what is now the site of the Italian Garden in Lynch Park, the city's principal public park, and in 1911 and 1912 he rented a different house a mile away, "Parramatta", from Mrs. Robert Peabody. Beverly Hills, California, was named in 1907 after Beverly Farms in Beverly because Taft vacationed there.

The city, during the Cold War, also once hosted a Nike missile site near Beverly Airport. In addition, the water at Wenham Lake used as the city's primary water supply has for centuries been known for the purity of its ice, being at one time given a royal warrant as the ice used by Queen Victoria.

By car
Beverly is served by Route 128 exits 18-22 which connects the city to the rest of the greater Boston area.

By bus
MBTA bus 451 travels between Salem train station and North Beverly via Cabot or Tozer Street. Service is often very infrequent, weekdays only.

By train
Take the Newburyport/Rockport line on the MBTA Commuter Rail. For a small city, Beverly has an astonishing five train stations within its borders which make the community well-connected. These stations are the Beverly, North Beverly, Montserrat, Prides Crossing, and Beverly Farms stations, so if you needs to get around Beverly it may be beneficial to do so by train.

By plane
Beverly is served by Beverly Regional Airport, a city-owned, public use airport in the northwestern part of town. Open to general aviation, there are typically no scheduled commercial flights; however, it is catagorized as a reliever airport by the NPIAS to relieve small aircraft from Logan Airport and has been known to take the occasional charter plane.

For all commercial flights, please refer to the Boston page for Logan International Airport.

Get around
Depending on the neighborhood, Beverly can be navigated by a variety of transportation means. In the city's downtown, walking is recommended as there is much to see on a walk up Cabot, Rantoul, or Loring Streets. Biking is also encouraged. Both means of transportation have been encouraged the city, with Beverly planning on making its center more bike and walk friendly in the near future.

If you're traveling to the neighborhood of North Beverly, Montserrat, Prides Crossing, or Beverly Farms from the downtown, as stated before each of them possesses an eponymous train station that makes it convenient to move around. Keep in mind that, having so many train stations, some of these neighborhood stations are flag stops during non-peak times. In addition, Prides Crossing station has the third lowest ridership on the entire MBTA, so trains only stop there at peak times when flagged. If at a non-peak time and going to Prides Crossing via train, stop at Beverly Farms station instead and make the short walk east. The Newburyport/Rockport line splits into the Newburyport and Rookport branches after Beverly station, with North Beverly being on the Newburyport branch and Montserrat, Prides Crossing, and Beverly Farms, being on the Rockport branch, so make sure to get on the right train to where you need to go.

For the more isolated neighborhoods such as Centerville or the outer reaches of Beverly Farms, it may be advantageous to travel by car. However, in nice weather travel by bicycle is a pleasant if strenuous form of transportation as the isolated wooded roads of the aforementioned neighborhoods can make for an enjoyable ride.

Buy
There are numerous shops to visit in Beverly, especially along Cabot Street which is home to comic book store Paper Asylum, bookstore Cabot Street Books & Cards, and chocolatier Winfrey's Fudge & Chocolates. Cabot Street is also home to several clothing and consignment stores such as Worthy Girl and The Golden Hangar, housed in a historic building at Ellis Square. A block away from the Montserrat School of Art, goods & gifts shops Field House and Good Neighbor are in the center of the city and sell a creative array of items.

Elsewhere, in North Beverly there is the North Beverly Plaza, a center of commerce for decades home to Staples, Modell's Sporting Goods, The Paper Store, Dressbarn, Gamestop, and more. Further north, there is Commodore Plaza which is home to a branch of Edible Arrangements, athletic supply store New England Running Company, and across the street from dressmaker Over the Rainbow. Also in North Beverly, there is Barbara's Hang-Up a picture frame shop highly visible from Route 128 and the highly acclaimed bookstore Annie’s Book Stop.

Eat
There are numerous places to eat in Beverly (including over seven competitive pizza places) but here are a few of the most prominent:

Stay safe
Beverly is generally a very safe community, with a violent and property crime rate below the state average. In daytime, you should feel safe walking pretty much anywhere in the city.

The neighborhoods of Gloucester Crossing and Downtown near Rantoul/Park Streets are somewhat rougher and grittier than the rest of the city, so it may be advisable to take caution in those areas at night. Still, the chance of a violent crime committed on someone, especially a visitor, is quite low.

Go next

 * Take Route 1A or Route 97 north to Wenham, home of the Wenham Museum and Gordon College.
 * Drive on Route 128 or Route 127 east to Manchester-by-the-Sea, home of Singing Beach, or go further to the seaport towns of Gloucester and Rockport on Cape Ann.
 * Go south on the Veterans Memorial Bridge or Kernwood Bridge to Salem, famous for its 1692 witchcraft trials and annual Halloween celebration.
 * Go west on Route 128, Route 62, or Conant St. to Danvers, home of the Liberty Tree Mall and the actual location of the 1692 witchcraft hysteria.