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It's worth repeating: Boston is not a rowhouse city. It's better known as a triple-decker city, but this type doesn't dominate the city like the rowhouse does in Philly and Baltimore...
However, if there ever was a stereotypical triple-decker city, it would have to be neighboring Somerville, which has entire streets made up of them...
Yes, Baltimore does deserve its due for its significant rowhouse form. I recalled this graphic from a few years back demonstrating the Philly and Baltimore rowhouse prowess, with an edge to Philadelphia:
I wish Boston had been included, but if it were, it would probably be similar to NYC in overall housing proportion that could be classified as a true "rowhome."
Go further down in the story there is a graphic with Boston is it and yes it is very similar to NYC just with more people in 3-6 unit dwellings . Very few single family homes.
There aren't clear distinctions between a rowhouse and townhouse/brownstone.
There aren't. And Back Bay certainly has plenty of homes that I would call rowhouses, even if they're not as uniform as South End's Bowfronts, or the rowhouses all over Philly, Baltimore, etc. But Back Bay is also full of larger multi-unit buildings that aren't rowhouses by any definition, even if they kind of look like them at first glance (here's a few good examples that look like rowhouses, but are really larger, and mostly multi-unit). South End is almost entirely rowhouses and it's the only Boston neighborhood that is truly what I would call a neighborhood of rowhouses. Beacon Hill has some good examples, and you'll find some in Charlestown, and a few examples in some other spots. But even by the loosest definition and most generous classifications of "rowhouses" in Boston's neighborhoods, rowhouses are not nearly as large a part of Boston's DNA as the other cities on the list.
There aren't. And Back Bay certainly has plenty of homes that I would call rowhouses, even if they're not as uniform as South End's Bowfronts, or the rowhouses all over Philly, Baltimore, etc. But Back Bay is also full of larger multi-unit buildings that aren't rowhouses by any definition, even if they kind of look like them at first glance (here's a few good examples that look like rowhouses, but are really larger, and mostly multi-unit). South End is almost entirely rowhouses and it's the only Boston neighborhood that is truly what I would call a neighborhood of rowhouses. Beacon Hill has some good examples, and you'll find some in Charlestown, and a few examples in some other spots. But even by the loosest definition and most generous classifications of "rowhouses" in Boston's neighborhoods, rowhouses are not nearly as large a part of Boston's DNA as the other cities on the list.
That's a good point I hadn't thought about. Boston's "rowhomes" are arguably the largest if configured as individual units, so especially in a city with a massive shortage of for-sale housing, they're much more likely to be converted to multi-family.
This has happened in Center City Philadelphia to some degree in some of the more mansion-y rowhouse neighborhoods, but it's not nearly as common as in Boston and New York.
Most of the buildings in Back Bay did start as single family housing but because of there size were divided into condos and apartments. On the other hand Beacon Hill and the South End still have many single family row homes. This link shows a map made by the city of Boston showing buildings by land use in the city: Scene Viewer
There aren't. And Back Bay certainly has plenty of homes that I would call rowhouses, even if they're not as uniform as South End's Bowfronts, or the rowhouses all over Philly, Baltimore, etc. But Back Bay is also full of larger multi-unit buildings that aren't rowhouses by any definition, even if they kind of look like them at first glance (here's a few good examples that look like rowhouses, but are really larger, and mostly multi-unit). South End is almost entirely rowhouses and it's the only Boston neighborhood that is truly what I would call a neighborhood of rowhouses. Beacon Hill has some good examples, and you'll find some in Charlestown, and a few examples in some other spots. But even by the loosest definition and most generous classifications of "rowhouses" in Boston's neighborhoods, rowhouses are not nearly as large a part of Boston's DNA as the other cities on the list.
Duderino alluded to this, but just like that other Bostonian posted a photo of "rowhouses" that were clearly built as multi-unit apartment buildings, the buildings on Beacon Street in the foreground of the Street View you posted are just what Duderino described: buildings that began life as single-family residences for the well-to-do and got carved up into apartments after some years.
You can find identical rows of houses-turned-apartments on Spruce Street near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. They don't have the fire-escape balconies on the front, however; Philadelphia's fire code didn't allow fire escapes to be provided in this fashion.
The reality is, a row home can have varying architectural styles and facades by definition. But, for those people saying Boston is the answer, I would say that's not accurate. By %, Boston has far less row homes (regardless of style) than Philly. You can prefer the differing styles in Boston vs. the more uniform federal row homes of Philly, but they're certainly more prominent in Philly than in Boston.
Is Back Bay compromised of row homes? South End? Back Bay in particular is compromised of many different housing types including townhouses and apartment buildings, that aren't truly row homes at all.
EDIT: Just saw the above post, mine is a bit reiterative
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