It was Patriots’ Day. April 15, 2013. If you’ve ever been to Boston in April, you know the vibe is basically electric. It's a city-wide holiday. The Red Sox play an early game at Fenway, and the Boston Marathon—the world's oldest annual marathon—is the main event. People were cheering. Families were lined up deep. Then, at 2:49 p.m., everything changed. If you’re asking where was the Boston bombing, the answer is more specific than just "the finish line." It happened on a very particular stretch of Boylston Street, right in the heart of the Back Bay neighborhood.
The bombs didn't go off at the exact same spot. They were placed about 210 yards apart.
The Exact Coordinates of the Boylston Street Blasts
To really understand the geography of that day, you have to look at the storefronts. The first pressure-cooker bomb detonated right outside Marathon Sports at 671 Boylston Street. This is just feet away from the actual finish line. Imagine the scene: runners are finally seeing that painted line, pushing through the last few meters of a 26.2-mile journey, and suddenly, a blast rips through the crowd of spectators on the sidewalk. It was chaotic.
The second blast followed about 12 seconds later.
This one was further up the course, near the intersection of Boylston and Exeter Streets, specifically in front of the Forum restaurant at 755 Boylston Street. Because of the way the buildings are situated in the Back Bay, the sound echoed violently. The granite facades of the historic brownstones acted like a canyon.
People often think it was a single event. It wasn't. It was two distinct locations, strategically chosen for maximum visibility. The distance between the two bombs meant that even as people were reeling from the first explosion, a second wave of trauma was hitting a completely different group of spectators just a block away.
Why the Finish Line?
The finish line of the Boston Marathon is iconic. It sits right in front of the Boston Public Library and Copley Square. On any other day, it’s a busy commercial hub. On Marathon Monday, it’s the center of the universe for the running world. The Tsarnaev brothers—Tamerlan and Dzhokhar—knew this. They chose a spot where the crowds were the densest.
You had thousands of people packed behind metal barriers. There was nowhere to run.
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The Manhunt: It Didn't Stay on Boylston Street
While the actual bombing was localized to those two spots on Boylston Street, the tragedy quickly spilled over into the surrounding areas and eventually the suburbs. This is where the map gets complicated.
Three days after the finish line attacks, the FBI released photos of the suspects. Things went from tense to terrifying. On the night of April 18, the violence moved across the river to Cambridge. Sean Collier, an MIT police officer, was shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car on the MIT campus. That happened near the intersection of Vassar and Main Streets.
Then came the carjacking.
The brothers took a Mercedes SUV and headed toward Watertown. If you talk to anyone who lived in the Boston area back then, they remember the "shelter-in-place" order. The entire city of Boston, along with Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, Brookline, and Cambridge, essentially shut down. It was a ghost town.
The Watertown Shootout
The climax of the pursuit happened in a quiet residential neighborhood in Watertown. Specifically, around Laurel Street and Dexter Avenue. This wasn't a professional tactical operation at first; it was a frantic, middle-of-the-night gunfight. Residents woke up to the sound of hundreds of rounds being fired and the literal explosion of another pressure-cooker bomb.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was tackled by police there, but in the chaos, his brother drove the stolen SUV over him while escaping. Tamerlan died later at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Dzhokhar vanished.
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The Boat in the Backyard
The final location in this grim geography was 67 Franklin Street in Watertown. After the lockdown was lifted on the evening of April 19, a resident named David Henneberry went out to his backyard. He noticed the tarp on his dry-docked boat, the Slipping Out, was loose.
He saw blood.
He called 911.
The standoff that followed involved thermal imaging from a State Police helicopter, which famously showed the heat signature of the younger brother hiding inside the boat. That backyard became the final "where" of the manhunt.
Looking Back at the Impact Zones
Today, if you walk down Boylston Street, you’ll see markers. There are two memorial pillars, designed by sculptor Pablo Eduardo, standing at the sites of the two explosions. They are made of granite and bronze, intended to blend into the city's architecture while honoring the lives lost: Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, and Martin Richard.
It’s a weird feeling walking there now. You see people going into the Apple Store or getting coffee at the nearby cafes, and for a second, it feels like any other street. But then you see the memorial. You see the "Boston Strong" logos that still pop up in windows.
What People Get Wrong About the Location
A common misconception is that the bombs were on the race course. They weren't. They were behind the spectator barriers on the sidewalk. The runners weren't the primary targets of the physical blast; the people cheering for them were. This distinction matters because it speaks to the intent of the attackers—to hit the "softest" part of the event where families, children, and supporters were gathered.
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Another thing? The finish line isn't just a mark on the ground. It's an entire zone. The "Where Was the Boston Bombing" question usually leads people to Copley Square, which served as the medical tent area and the post-race staging ground. The proximity to the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel and the Old South Church added to the logistical nightmare for first responders.
Lessons in Urban Security
The geography of the attack changed how major cities handle events.
- Checkpoints: You don’t just walk onto Boylston Street anymore during the marathon without passing through a security screening.
- Cameras: The "White Hat" and "Black Hat" suspects were identified largely through a massive sweep of private surveillance footage from businesses like Lord & Taylor.
- Inter-agency Communication: The chaos in Watertown showed that different police departments needed better ways to talk to each other in real-time.
Remembering the Lives Affected
We talk a lot about coordinates and street names, but the "where" is also about the people. Over 260 people were injured. Many lost limbs. The trauma wasn't just on Boylston; it was in the hospitals like Massachusetts General and Boston Medical Center, where surgeons worked through the night.
The resilience of the city is what people remember most. "Boston Strong" isn't just a catchphrase; it was a psychological response to the violation of their most sacred public space.
If you are visiting Boston and want to pay your respects, start at the finish line. Walk West toward Exeter Street. You'll pass Marathon Sports. You'll pass the spots where the pillars stand. It’s a short walk—maybe three minutes—but it covers the ground that changed the city forever.
Practical Steps for Visiting or Researching
If you're heading to the area to see the memorials or study the event, here's how to navigate it:
- Start at 671 Boylston Street: This is the site of the first memorial. It's right near the finish line, which is painted on the asphalt year-round.
- Move to 755 Boylston Street: This is the second site. It's closer to the intersection of Exeter Street.
- Visit the Boston Public Library: The courtyard inside is a place of peace and reflection, just steps away from where the chaos unfolded.
- Check the Marathon Dates: If you're visiting in April, be aware that the area is heavily restricted during the week of the race.
- Read "Long Mile Home": For a deep, geographically accurate account, Scott Helman and Jenna Russell’s book is the gold standard for understanding how the events moved through the city.
The locations on Boylston Street are now part of the city’s DNA. They serve as a reminder of a terrible afternoon, but also of the incredible bravery of the bystanders and first responders who ran toward the smoke while everyone else was running away.