North End, Boston, Massachusetts

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Image of the North End, Boston neighborhood. The Old North Church is at center, a Big Dig vent building is near the bottom, and the green Tobin Bridge over the Mystic River is at the top.

Boston's North End is the city's oldest residential community, where people have lived continuously since it was settled in the 1630s. Though small (⅓ mi²), the neighborhood has approximately 100 eating establishments and a variety of tourist attractions.

[edit] History

The North End was home to some of Boston's wealthiest residents and later to the first community of black people created by freed and escaped slaves.

In the early 19th century, the Irish began to migrate to the North End in huge numbers and dominated the neighborhood until approximately 1900.

The North End then became one of the centers of Jewish life in Boston; Hebrew inscriptions can still be found on several buildings.

On January 15, 1919, the North End was the site of the Boston Molasses Disaster.

The Skinny House, reported by the Boston Globe as having the "uncontested distinction of being the narrowest house in Boston," stands near the top of Copp's Hill within sight of Old North Church and Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.

In the early 20th century, the North End became the center of the Italian community of Boston. It is still largely residential up to the present and well-known for its small, authentic Italian restaurants.

The construction of the elevated Central Artery (Interstate 93) in the 1950s divided the North End from the rest of Boston. With the completion of the Big Dig, the old elevated highway has been completely removed and the North End is finally being re-joined with the rest of the city.

[edit] Architechture and landmarks

Although the North End is part of Boston's original area of settlement, the bulk of the architecture one sees there today dates from the late nineteenth to early 20th centuries (tenement architecture is especially prominent). The neighborhood has a mixture of architecture from all periods of American history, including early structures such as the Old North Church (1723), the Paul Revere House (1680), the Pierce-Hichborn House (1711), and the Clough House (1712).

The historic Copp's Hill is the site of Copp's Hill Burying ground, one America's oldest cemeteries. The cemetery contains many graves dating back to the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries including Puritan divines Cotton and Increase Mather and Prince Hall, founder of Prince Hall Freemasonry. The Skinny House, the narrowest house in Boston, is across the street.

The Freedom Trail passes through the North End, making official stops at some of the sites mentioned above.

[edit] Gallery

Old North Church with plaque commemorating Paul Revere

The Skinny House with Copp's Hill Burying Ground in the foreground

Old North Church and nearby red brick buildings typical of the neighborhood

From left to right can be seen the Skinny House, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, and the Copp's Hill Burying Ground.

Statue of Saint Francis of Assisi near the Old North Church is indicative of the historically Roman Catholic nature of the neighborhood's Italian-American community.

The Copp's Hill Burying Ground in the foreground with the Custom House Tower and One International Place glimpsed in the background.

[edit] References