The street is flanked on both sides by apartment complexes. Lindsay Place dominates the western side, with four buildings built in 1886 which are protected historic buildings. Bowdoin Place, completed in 2003, extends along the street's eastern half. In the 18th century Governor James Bowdoin lived at the corner of Beacon and Bowdoin Streets. He had "one of the largest gardens of that day [in Boston], ... a large house and an extensive lot of land. ... He had a garden abounding in the finest fruits—pears and peaches, apples and grapes." At the turn of the 19th century, Joseph Coolidge, Sr., lived here in a large house built by architect
Charles Bulfinch. Bulfinch himself lived on Bowdoin Street, briefly. From 1946 to his death,
John F. Kennedy kept an apartment at 122 Bowdoin Street. statue, State House, 1859 == Government buildings ==