Charles River Esplanade

This guide to the Charles River Esplanade in Boston follows Joseph Lee Junior, a Brahmin who broke with his own class on New Year's Day 1937 to open Boston's sailing clubs to the working kids of the West End, launching a fleet of homemade dinghies he called the Lee Boys. It traces the pushback from the old-money yacht clubs, a state order to clear the water, and a sail-in staged at the city's most genteel regatta. Stand near the boathouse between the Hatch Shell and the Longfellow Bridge to watch the small boats still on the water today.