North End, Boston

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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.

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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. It is known as the city's Little Italy for its Italian-American population.

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

In 1919 the Boston Molasses Disaster occurred; this infamous event killed several residents. This is one of the more odd enginering acidents today.

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 and well-known for its small, authentic Italian restaurants and for the first Italian cafe, Caffe Vittoria.

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 has re-joined the rest of the city.

Jane Jacobs, in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, used this neighborhood repeatedly as an example of a thriving community, even though the establishement in Boston at that time considered it a slum. She described the North End in 1959 in this way: The streets were alive with children playing, people shopping, people strolling, people talking. Had it not been a cold January day, there would surely have been people sitting. The general street atmosphere of buoyancy, friendliness, and good health was so infectious that I began asking directions of people just for the fun of getting in on some talk.

Architecture 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 of 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 famous Great Brink's Robbery took place in the North End. The Brink's Building in which the robbery took place still stands as the North End Parking Garage.

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

Inhabitants

The North End houses many of the city's Italian-American population.

Gallery

Old North Church with plaque commemorating Paul Revere	Statue of St. Lucy at St. Leonard of Port Maurice Church	The Skinny House with Copp's Hill Burying Ground in the foreground	Old North Church and nearby red brick buildings typical of the neighborhood	Statue of Saint Francis of Assisi near the Old North Church
Statue of St. Rita of Cascia at St. Leonard of Port Maurice Church	The Copp's Hill Burying Ground in the foreground with the Custom House Tower and One International Place glimpsed in the background	Street scene outside one of the many Italian restaurants for which the North End is known	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.

References

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Coordinates: 42°21′54″N 71°03′18″W / 42.364949°N 71.055107°W / 42.364949; -71.055107