The Seaside Boulevard is one of the most distinctive features of the Azerbaijani capital Baku, which boasts a wealth of sites of historic and architectural interest. With its unique array of plants and trees, the Seaside Boulevard is a firm favourite with both local and foreign visitors.

The history of the Baku boulevard dates back to the beginning of the 20^th century. In 1909, a green area was planted between the Caspian seafront and the street running parallel to it, at that time called Alexander II after the Russian Tsar. The creation of the Baku boulevard was dictated by the need to improve the waterfront in the centre of the city. Construction works in the area began in the second half of the 19^th century. A talented Azerbaijani architect, Gasim Bay Hajibababayov (1811-1874), carried out the first engineering works on the seafront, developing a project for the construction of warehouses there in 1862. In 1867, fountains and a water supply system and a number of other facilities were built.The narrow seafront, used in the second half of the 19^th century mainly for economic purposes, was home to the warehouses and wharves of various trading companies. They divided the front into two parts: the area stretching to the west was called Aleksandrovskaya Seafront, and the one to the east – Petrovskaya. Such a situation created a limitation for the construction of a single coastal street. In 1865, Baku Governor Mikhail Kolyubakin filed a petition for the dismantling of the section of the old fortress wall facing the sea, which was approved by the Caucasian Military District. After the demolition of the fortress wall along the seafront, the construction of new houses began.Baku’s sustained development and population growth, the fall in the water level of the Caspian Sea, and extension of the city to the seafront after the demolition of the fortress walls all necessitated an architectural design for the seafront. The creation of a seaside boulevard was repeatedly discussed in the Baku City Duma. At the end of the 19^th century, various designs were developed to improve the seafront and construct a boulevard, but they were not implemented because of a lack of funds.This issue was resolved through the efforts of Mammadhasan Hajinsky, a talented engineer, skillful organizer and head of the construction department of Baku City government. On April 7, 1909, M. Hajinsky managed to have the building of a seaside boulevard included on the agenda for discussion in the Baku City Duma. The report of this meeting was published on April 9, 1909 in the newspapers Kaspiy and Baku. M. Hajinsky was able to justify the importance of constructing a new boulevard: in his speech, he stressed that Mikhailovsky Garden was not enough to meet the cultural and leisure requirements of the urban population, noting the need to allocate more territory to that end. Speaking about the economic feasibility of improving the seafront, he noted that flower stalls and cool drinks kiosks alone would bring the city treasury 4,000-6,000 rubles a month. Baku City Duma was enthusiastic about the report, allocating 10,000 rubles to creation of the boulevard, and another 2,500 rubles per annum to its maintenance. It was recommended that Baku City Administration start implementation of this project as soon as possible. The Hajinsky Plan was the first document to provide funds for the construction of the boulevard.