Boston's North End
3/5
()
About this ebook
Anthony Mitchell Sammarco
Anthony Mitchell Sammarco is a noted historian and author of over sixty books on Boston, its neighborhoods and surrounding cities and towns. He lectures widely on the history and development of his native city.
Read more from Anthony Mitchell Sammarco
Boston: A Historic Walking Tour Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEast Boston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA History of Howard Johnson's: How a Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became an American Icon Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A History of Howard Johnson's: How a Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became an American Icon Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dorchester Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boston's Immigrants: 1840-1925 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoston: A Century of Progress Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boston's West End Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSomerville Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5South Boston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoxbury Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCharlestown Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jamaica Plain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMedford Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDorchester: Volume II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoston's South End Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCambridge Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Forest Hills Cemetery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWest Roxbury Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoston's Back Bay in the Victorian Era Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoslindale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoston's Financial District Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMilton: A Compendium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Boston Rode the El Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Downtown Boston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Boston's North End
Related ebooks
Historic Photos of Boston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWest Central Georgia in Vintage Postcards Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Old Los Angeles and Pasadena in Vintage Postcards Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSouth Boston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWest Seneca Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOcean City, New Jersey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Italian/American Experience: A Collection of Writings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings~And Then There Were Four: Berlin Memories - 1930S and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCapital Intentions: Female Proprietors in San Francisco, 1850-1920 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Noble Bondsmen: Ministerial Marriages in the Archdiocese of Salzburg, 1100–1343 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Brooklyn Heights Promenade Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsItalians in Chicago Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerica's Last Real Home Front Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChicago's Historic Hyde Park Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSan Francisco Crime Tour Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKentucky's Famous Feuds and Tragedies: Authentic History of the World Renowned Vendettas of the Dark and Bloody Ground Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOcean Beach Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Alamo's Ghosts and Other Hauntings of San Antonio, Texas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPanama City Beach: Tales from the World's Most Beautiful Beaches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLong Island: Historic Houses of the South Shore Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDoña Tules: Santa Fe's Courtesan and Gambler Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Search For Old King's Road Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsColonial Inns and Taverns of Bucks County: How Pubs, Taprooms and Hostelries Made Revolutionary History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSquirrel Hill: A Neighborhood History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHidden History of Helena, Montana Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPortland’s Historic Eastern Cemetery: A Field of Ancient Graves Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Brief History of Mount Dora, Florida Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne-Room Schoolhouses of New Hampshire: Primers, Penmanship & Potbelly Stoves Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Travel For You
50 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notes from a Small Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kon-Tiki Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5RV Hacks: 400+ Ways to Make Life on the Road Easier, Safer, and More Fun! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpotting Danger Before It Spots You: Build Situational Awareness To Stay Safe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South: Shackleton's Endurance Expedition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fodor's Best Road Trips in the USA: 50 Epic Trips Across All 50 States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lonely Planet The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist: A Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fodor's Bucket List USA: From the Epic to the Eccentric, 500+ Ultimate Experiences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpanish Verbs - Conjugations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStar Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Travel Guide to Ireland: From Dublin to Galway and Cork to Donegal - a complete guide to the Emerald Isle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFodor's New Orleans Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fodor's Bucket List Europe: From the Epic to the Eccentric, 500+ Ultimate Experiences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDisney Declassified Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tales from the Haunted South: Dark Tourism and Memories of Slavery from the Civil War Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rocks and Minerals of The World: Geology for Kids - Minerology and Sedimentology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Native Mexican Kitchen: A Journey into Cuisine, Culture, and Mezcal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVagabonding on a Budget: The New Art of World Travel and True Freedom: Live on Your Own Terms Without Being Rich Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRV Living: RV Repair: A Guide to Troubleshoot, Repair, and Upgrade Your Motorhome and Understand RV Electrical Safety Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Boston's North End
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I was a little disappointed in this book but not disappointed enough that I wish that I had not purchased it. The author could have selected photographs of more landmarks or at least organized the ones he had in a better fashion. There are places where he has photographs of the same building a few pages apart with nearly the same description and narrative from the previous entry. Also some of the "then" pictures are as recent as the 1970s. I would have expected more photos from the turn of the century and earlier than there were. Narratives could have been better written. Most of his older photos came from either his personal collection or the Boston Public Library. I am certain there are other places in Boston which had collections that would have enhanced the work. (There were a handful of other sources for one or two pictures.) I did recognize many of the places from my 2006 visit to Boston. This book had potential to be much better than it is.
Book preview
Boston's North End - Anthony Mitchell Sammarco
Boston.
INTRODUCTION
This ancient part of the city is well worth a long ramble, not only for certain important historical landmarks, but for impressions of several interesting quarters where live al fresco fashion, but enterprising and industrious, various nationalities, particularly Italians, Portuguese, and Hebrews.
—Lindsay Swift, Literary Landmarks of Boston, 1903
The North End of Boston is rich in the history and culture of the city of Boston. Since 1630 when the Shawmut Peninsula, later to be known as Boston, was settled by Puritans from England, this neighborhood evolved from a unique place of residences and artisan shops that were tightly encircled by wharves that projected into Boston Harbor and that helped to fuel the economy of Massachusetts Bay Colony for well over two centuries. Today, however, the North End is an eclectic and vibrant neighborhood that retains a characteristically Italian flavor from those immigrants and their descendants who called this place home during the 20th century, but it is truly a melange of many cultures and ethnicities that trace their origins to all parts of the world.
The North End is a cohesive neighborhood separated from City Hall Plaza by Chardon Street and ringed with wharves that are still lined with granite warehouses that have been converted to condominiums but also echo back and remind us of the profitable mercantile trade that predominated 19th-century Boston. The hodgepodge of street patterns remain almost unchanged from the 17th century, with Hanover (Middle) Street, Salem (Back) Street, and North (Fish) Street being the main thoroughfares, but with such ancient names as Salutation, Methodist, and White Bread Alleys, as well as Moon, Sun, Court, and Ship Streets. A densely settled area even three centuries ago, the North End saw topographical changes in the early 19th century with the North Cove (Causeway Street) being filled along with the infilling of Dock Square to create the area of Quincy Market. By mid-century, the waterfront had been extended with wharves further projecting into Boston Harbor, which allowed larger ships to dock in Boston. The influx of sailors in the 19th century was incredible, and after long periods at sea, these men descended upon the North End to patronize the dance halls and taverns. Fr. Edward Taylor, himself a retired sailor, established his bethel in North Square to stem the evil and licentious behavior of these hearty souls.
Known by multitudes of tourists for the nationally important Paul Revere House, which is also the oldest standing building in Boston, and the Old North Church, the North End is the destination of people visiting the city from all parts of the world. The red-lined Freedom Trail meanders through this neighborhood rich in Colonial and Revolutionary War history that, by the time of the mid-19th century and with the influx of new immigrants, had fallen from fashion. Beginning in the 1840s, successive waves of immigrant groups coming to Boston settled in the North End. Beginning with the Irish, these groups included German and Russian Jews, Italians, and almost every ethnic group that would serve to make it a thriving nexus of cultures. Former Unitarian and Congregational places of worship (the first Sunday school in the United States was opened in 1815 at Christ Church)