Barking Crab Belongs Waterside

My comments are in opposition to the recently publicized Seaport Square proposal to relocate the Barking Crab inboard, into a new building.

As a 24-hour neighbor, daily walker of the Harbor Walk, and frequent customer of the Barking Crab, I treasure the Barking Crab as one of the few remaining authentic, colorful, inviting features of Boston's waterfront. If it weren't there now a developer would try to create it. It's authenticity and charm stem as much from its immediate position on the Channel as from its great food, lively atmosphere and excellent customer service. It always appears well maintained, freshly painted and delightfully funky. The experience of eating there, whether in the tented open air or inside during the chillier months, is one of being on a wooden boat in the harbor, enjoying the ocean breeze, surrounding boating activity and magnificent views of the downtown skyline. It would be a terrible loss to Boston's cultural heritage and urban texture to relocate the Barking Crab into a new building away from the water's edge - a fate suffered by the Daily Catch, now buried under the shadowy arcade of the Federal Courthouse.

The continuity of the Harbor Walk is important. I walk through the restaurant's parking area to get from the Children's Museum to the Federal Courthouse walkways. It would be easy to formalize this connection with some cooperative planning among the City, the restaurant owners and the developers of Seaport Square - the kind of win-win that everyone can feel good about.

Melanie Ray
Fort Point Channel Resident & Business Owner