Revere Beach - The End and Birth of An Era

The End and Birth of An Era

The beach began to deteriorate in the late 1960s, and by the early 1970s had become a strip of honky tonk bars and abandoned buildings. The "Blizzard of 1978" proved to be the final death knell for the "old" Revere Beach, as many of the remaining businesses, amusements, pavilions and sidewalks and much of the sea wall were all destroyed.

The focus of a major revitalization effort by the MDC and the City in the 1980s and was officially reopened in May 1992. As part of this work the pavilions were restored, the boulevard renovated and the beach resanded. In the place of amusements are high rise, luxorious condos. On the weekend of July 19, 1996, Revere commemorated the centennial of the first opening of Revere Beach with a three-day celebration.

On July 26, 2004, Revere Beach was designated a National Historic Landmark.

This revitalization effort has also been reflected in the health of the beach itself. Since its designation as a National historic landmark, several policies have been put into place to help restore Revere Beach’s water starting with the reinforcement of the BEACH Act that was passed by congress in 2001 seeking to improve water quality of public beaches in the United States to reduce or remove the risk of disease from pathogens in our nations public bathing waters. This act also put in place an online database where the results of these tests can be publicly viewed as well as a system for notifying swimmers if bacterial levels were found to be above the accepted standard of 104 CFU/100mL in a single day or an average of 35 CFU/100mL over five days.

Revere Beach undergoes routine testing for Enterococcus, a pathogen indicating bacteria responsible for illnesses as slight as sore throat to meningitis, gastroenteritis, and encephalitis. The water is tested on a weekly basis at four different sites throughout the summer, from June to August. These sites are Oak Island, Revere Beach Bathhouse (state police station), Beach Street, and Point of Pines. This data is collected by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which is regulated by Bureau of Environmental Health

In the summer of 2006 the average concentration of enterococcus of all four points of collection was an astounding 103.9605263 CFU/100mL, which is barely under the standard of 104CFU/100mL in the state of Massachusetts. Since then, the number has gone down to a healthy 24.3CFU/100mL in 2010. Although the water does occasionally jump in concentration of bacteria from time to time the general health of the beach has greatly improved. This has also lead to the birth of new small businesses and investment in the area by the city. Revere Beach Boulevard was repaved and angle parking was done away with to create larger sidewalks and better travel.

Since Revere Beach was a major area of crime concentration, investment in the betterment of the beach has led to a decline in aggravated assault, manslaughter, motor vehicle theft, and burglary. (

Today, the beach is in regular use and is seeing a flurry of new investment, both private and public including a $9 million state financed renovation

Some attractions include the annual New England Sand Sculpting Festival, which has taken place at Revere Beach each July since 2004. During this festival an area of the beach is fenced off, creating a temporary art gallery for visitors. Event organizers have proclaimed that the festival is the largest sand-sculpting contest in New England. A total of $15,000 in prize money is available for the 2010 event. The annual contest has drawn visitors from greater Boston and New England with its beautiful sculptures and in general has increased the appeal of the beach as an attraction.

Another great attraction is the Revere Beach Farmers Market. The Revere beach farmers market showcases a variety of vendors including local farms, bakeries, and fish markets. The Market is open from noon to 6pm every day from July 23 to October 29. The farmers market has also partnered with Revere CARES Coalition to give workshops on the healthy preparation of meals and snacks using locally grown products to promote a fitter healthier community.