Boston's North End
3/5
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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.
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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)