Downtown Crossing

Downtown Crossing is a shopping district in Boston, Massachusetts, located due east of Boston Common and west of the Financial District. It features large department stores as well as restaurants, souvenir sellers, general retail establishments, and street vendors. The section of Washington Street between Temple and Bromfield streets (and portions of Winter and Summer streets) are closed to most vehicular traffic; pedestrians may walk freely in the street. In the early 1900s and 2000s, the area along Washington and Tremont Streets, roughly from School Street to Beach Street, has also been referred to as the Ladder District. The side streets between the two main thoroughfares look like the rungs of a ladder when viewed on a map, hence...