Welcome to Lynn

Lynn is a coastal city in Essex County northeast of Boston, set on Nahant Bay and Lynn Harbor. Once the leading shoemaking center in the United States, it pairs a historic downtown and an oceanfront parkway along Lynn Shore Drive with Lynn Woods, a city-owned forest park of about 2,200 acres.

About Lynn

Settlers from Salem arrived in 1629 and called the plantation Saugus. In 1637 it was renamed for Lynn Regis, England. Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant were later set off as separate towns. The Eastern Railroad reached central Lynn in 1838, and after the shoe-sewing machine arrived in 1848, factory production made Lynn the country's leading shoe center. Lynn became a city in 1850, and the shoemakers' strike of 1860 was the largest in the nation up to that time.

In 1892 the Thomson-Houston company of Lynn became part of General Electric, and GE's River Works plant on Western Avenue became a center of jet engine production during World War II. Lynn borders Salem to the northeast, Swampscott to the east, Nahant to the southeast, Saugus to the west, and Lynnfield and Peabody to the north, with Revere across the Pines River to the south.

Getting Around

The MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line stops in downtown Lynn, with service to North Station in Boston, and a second stop, River Works, serves GE employees only. A seasonal MBTA ferry runs from the Blossom Street Pier to Long Wharf in downtown Boston. Many MBTA bus routes start at Central Square, including several to Wonderland station on the Blue Line and route 426 to Haymarket. Routes 1A, 107, and 129 pass through the city, and the Lynnway runs along the harbor.

Lynn Real Estate

Lynn real estate reflects the city's industrial and seaside past. Two-family houses and three-deckers make up much of the housing, many of them built along the old streetcar lines of Western Avenue, Essex Street, and Eastern Avenue, along with side-hall cottages built for shoe workers. West Lynn grew around the brickyards and the GE plants, while the Highlands and Wyoma have Queen Anne side-hall houses from the late 1800s.

Along Lynn Shore Drive and Ocean Street, the Diamond District has large Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Georgian Revival houses, which the Massachusetts Historical Commission counts among the most significant in New England. Neighborhoods include Downtown and Central Square, West Lynn, East Lynn, the Highlands, Wyoma, Pine Hill, and the Diamond District.

Living in Lynn

Lynn Woods Reservation covers about 2,200 acres, nearly a fifth of the city. Frederick Law Olmsted advised on its design in 1889, and today it has carriage roads and trails, Dungeon Rock, a municipal golf course, and two observation towers built under the Works Progress Administration. High Rock Tower, a stone tower completed in 1905, rises above downtown with views over the city and the ocean.

On the waterfront, Lynn Shore Drive follows Nahant Bay past King's Beach, Red Rock Park, and Lynn Beach, a sand spit about 1.5 miles long that connects the city to Nahant. The Northern Strand Community Trail, a path on a former rail line, ends in Lynn after running from Everett through Malden, Revere, and Saugus.

Questions About Lynn

What kinds of homes are in Lynn?

Lynn has many two-family houses and three-deckers, especially along Western Avenue, Essex Street, and Eastern Avenue, plus former shoe workers' cottages. The Highlands and Wyoma have Queen Anne houses, and the Diamond District along Lynn Shore Drive has large Victorian and Colonial Revival homes.

How do you get to Boston from Lynn?

The MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line runs from downtown Lynn to North Station, and a seasonal MBTA ferry runs from the Blossom Street Pier to Long Wharf. MBTA buses connect Lynn with Wonderland station on the Blue Line and with Haymarket.

What is Lynn Woods?

Lynn Woods Reservation is a city-owned park of about 2,200 acres with trails, carriage roads, Dungeon Rock, and a municipal golf course. Frederick Law Olmsted advised on its design, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

To see homes for sale in Lynn, browse the listings below. Thinking of buying or selling in Lynn? Call (617) 848-9616 or get a free home valuation. Lynn is part of our North of Boston guide.

Photos: Kcboling, CC BY-SA 4.0 and Pilgrimsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.