After the completion of construction on Atlantic Avenue in 1901, the city built a station at the base of the wharf for the state of the art elevated railroad system along Atlantic Avenue.

Unfortunately, by the late 1930s the railroad was shut down, as was the elevated rail system and the station at Rowe's Wharf.  With this loss and a severe decline in the wharf's usage in international trading, the wharf rapidly deteriorated and was nearly entirely abandoned until the 1980s.

Started in the early 1980s, the Boston Harbor Hotel was completed in 1987 and stands tall and prominent today, overlooking the Boston Harbor, Rowe's Wharf, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.  The Boston Harbor Hotel offers stunning views of both the historic Boston Harbor and the "green scar" of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a remnant of the city's past and ever-changing landscape.  Now considered to be the most elegant and extravagant 5-star hotel in Boston, its position as the principal occupant and main attraction of Rowe's Wharf returns the wharf to its former importance and glory.

A merchant by trade, John Rowe is perhaps most well-known for his Rowe's Wharf, still prominent in Boston to this day.  Originally born in England, his family came to Boston as a young child.  Notable positions held by Mr. Rowe include member of the Boston Board of Selectmen and member of the House of Representatives of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.  While working as a merchant, Mr. Rowe gained a reputation as a successful smuggler of slaves, cocoa, rum, and tea.  In fact, it was Mr. Rowe's cargo of tea that was dumped into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party.  He was also involved in the Stamp Act riot in 1765.

Similar to Rowe's Wharf, trade died out as shopping routes changed and India Wharf became less and less prominent.  Eventually by 1870, it was decided that it was no longer needed, and the buildings and the wharf itself were slowly demolished in stages over the next 100 years.  

in 1971, 2 nearly identical towers, the Harbor Towers, opened in the location of the former India Wharf.  Originally designed by the architects behind John Hancock Tower and Boston's City Hall Plaza, the 2 buildings were intended to be affordable housing options for those living in today's Financial District.  The project also doubled as an opportunity to make the area more enticing to Bostonians, as it was mostly composed of parking lots and empty, abandoned construction lots.  

A little over a decade later, as desire to live on the water grew and the Financial District became more appealing to locals, the twin apartment buildings grew in popularity.  By the mid 1980s, both buildings had undergone immense renovations to convert to 600 condominiums instead.  These condominiums today cost between $600,000 and $3 million, depending on the floor, size, and views.  

The buildings now sit directly in between the New England Aquarium and the Boston Harbor Hotel, both less than a half mile away.  Similar to the Boston Harbor Hotel, the 2 Harbor Towers overlook both the Boston Harbor and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, which reminds Bostonians of what formerly sat in its place.