For a few days next week, Boston will become the epicenter of the business travel industry as thousands of delegates, journalists and support personnel arrive for the National Business Travel Association’s annual convention. With 6,000 people expected to attend, this year’s NBTA convention will be one of the largest conventions the city has hosted in recent years. It’s all made possible by the opening three years ago of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, a multi-functional convention and exhibition center located on the Boston waterfront. The BCEC represents a revival of sorts for one of the last under-utilized portions of the Boston waterfront. It replaces run-down (and in many cases, abandoned) warehouses and factories with state-of-the-art architecture. It’s the lynchpin in a redevelopment project that will ultimately include hotels, restaurants, retail and residential space. In some respects, this particular stretch of real estate is Boston’s final frontier and I feel like I’m witnessing history in the making. I’ve always been fascinated by old photographs that capture cityscapes of days gone by; images of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood are among my favorites. It’s a portion of the city that was built from the ground up – literally. Until the mid-19th century, the acreage that is home to Trinity Church, John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center didn’t even exist. It was a 450-acre expanse of tidal flats when city planners decided to fill the land and expand the city. Today it’s one of Boston’s prettiest neighborhoods. So, next week when I’m strolling through the BCEC, stopping to chat with exhibitors and pick up new and exciting information about the business travel industry, I’ll also be thinking about what lies ahead for the South Boston waterfront; what the great, new neighborhood will look like in 10, 20 or 30 years. Maybe I’ll take a couple of photos, so I can look back and compare today versus tomorrow. – Lisa Matte, Editor-in-chief