This week: The Esplanade

BOSTON. The Charles River splits city life into two distinct metropolitan regions: On one side sits Cambridge, on the other, Boston. But in-between, on the Boston bank of the river alongside the Longfellow Bridge, is a scenic safe-haven offering respite from the hustle and bustle — with a view.

Picnickers can enjoy the waterfront while they gaze upon the Boston skyline. Community Boating Inc. (CBI) offers visitors and locals the opportunity to rent boats or take classes. Benches along the river simply serve as a lunch break locale for streams of suit-wearing Bostonians.

Alongside the CBI boathouse is yet a different fleet of watercraft, hand-crafted by participants of a yearlong program established to allow families and children in the Boston Public School System to learn how to build boats. John Rowse, a former public school teacher who founded the program, explained that the boat-building and river activities have given students a chance to develop important skills outside of the classroom. “[Then] we take the boats and rent them out to the public in the afternoons,” Rowse said.