 Author Nancy Seasholes defines what "landmaking" is in terms of adding land to the city of Boston. 

<p>Originally known as the Boston Embankment, the Charles River Esplanade was originally created in 1910 as part of the Charles River Dam project. Between 1928 and 1936, it was expanded to create more park space. It originally included the strip of land occupied now by Storrow Drive, so when the roadway was built in 1949, the park went through another expansion in order to reclaim some of its lost land. </p><p>His hands and arms are trussed in chains and locks as Harry Houdini prepares to leap into the Charles River. Spectators line the Harvard Bridge in the background. Soon after disappearing under water, Houdini will emerge triumphant with his locks miraculously open. Such 'impossible' escapes were Houdini&rsquo;s forte, and they made him easily the most famous magician in American history. Another Houdini feat was to let himself be padlocked into a wooden crate, which was then thrown into a river. And in another trick &ndash; one we don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;d want to witness &ndash; he would swallow loose thread and needles and then regurgitate them with all the needles threaded. In the 1908 photo, Houdini is standing on the Charles River embankment near what today is MIT. For the new photo, we asked some fans of the river to reenact the scene. Standing in for Houdini is John DeVillars. Back in 1995, DeVillars was regional administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, from which position he promoted the goal of a </p>  Peter Vanderwarker, Peter Vanderwarker

Landmaking in Boston

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