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Boston Duck Tours is a privately owned company that operates historical tours of the city of Boston using WWII replica amphibious DUKW vehicles. The company is owned and operated by SEAWEED INCORPORATED.
Boston Duck Tours first started running tours in Boston, MA on October 5th, 1994.
Boston Duck Tours has 3 departure locations throughout the city of Boston. These are at the Prudential Center, the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium[1]
The Ducks
[edit]The History of the DUKWs
[edit]During the early days of World War II, the allies needed to unload cargo directly over the beach because there were no docks. The solution was a vehicle that was half boat and half truck that could run on land and water. Code-named DUKW, known as DUCKs by the soldiers, the first "DUCK" was actually a GMC truck enclosed in a watertight shell. DUKWs played a crucial role in the allied invasions in Sicily[2], the Pacific, and D-Day. More than 40% of all over-beach supplies in Normandy[3] were transported by DUKWs during the first four months of WWII. [4]
Duck Names and Colors
[edit]The Ducks are painted every color of the rainbow and all have names that have something to do with the city of Boston. Many of the Ducks' names have come from local area school children that participated in the "Name the Duck" contest. Some of the Duck names are "Beacon Hilda" and "Longfellow Bridget" which are a play on the neighborhood of Beacon Hill, and the Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River from Boston to Cambridge.
Company History
[edit]Start Up
[edit]The unique idea of a Duck Tour did not originate in Boston. Duck operations have been in existence in the Midwest for decades. What Founder Andrew Wilson did is take a unique product and brought it to a major metropolitan city.
Local Flood Rescue
[edit]In 2010, Boston Duck Tours was asked to help transport flood victims in Wayland, MA. Torrential rains had left Pelham Island area of Wayland isolated and the Ducks were brought in to ferry people in and out of their neighborhood until the waters resided.[5]
Professional Sports Championship Parades
[edit]In 2002, the Boston Duck Tour Ducks were first used as the parade vehicles for the New England Patriots after the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI over the St. Louis Rams. Since that time, the Boston Duck Tour Ducks have participated in a total of 7 professional sports championship parades in Boston. There have been 3 for New England Patriots(2002, 2004, 2005)[6], 2 for the Boston Red Sox(2004, 2007)[7], 1 for the Boston Celtics(2008)[8], and 1 for the Bruins(2011)<re>http://bruins.nhl.com/</ref>.
Growing and expanding locations
[edit]Boston Duck Tours Started running tours in Boston with 4 Ducks and now runs a fleet of 28 Ducks. The first departure location was on Long Wharf in front of the New England Aquarium. In 1997 the Boston Duck Tours operation was moved to the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston at the Prudential Center. In 2002, Boston Duck Tours opened a second departure and ticketing location at the Museum of Science. In 2009, Boston Duck Tours opened a 3rd departure and ticketing location at the New England Aquarium. Each year, Boston Duck Tours carries approximately 600,000 passengers.
References
[edit]- ^ http://www.bostonducktours.com/about_pofd.aspx
- ^ http://www.history.com/topics/invasion-of- sicily
- ^ http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii- eur/normandy/nor4o.htm
- ^ http://www.bostonducktours.com/duck_history_main.html
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/04/a_boston_icon_r.html
- ^ http://www.patriots.com/team/history/super-bowls.html
- ^ http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/history/features.jsp
- ^ http://www.nba.com/celtics/history/Championship_07_08.html