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Arlington Information
Allston is a section of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, located in the western
part of the city. It is, for the most part, administered collectively with the
adjacent neighborhood of Brighton, leading the two often to be referred to
together, as "Allston-Brighton."
Allston is a diverse neighborhood whose population includes Boston natives,
students from neighboring Boston University, Boston College, MIT and Harvard and
various ethnic groups such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Brazilian, and Irish. In the
1990s, census figures indicated that 52.6% of its population was aged 20-34 (as
compared to 33% for the city of Boston as a whole), an indication of the strong
student and "twenty something" presence. That presence has created tension
between some long-time residents and the student population, which constantly
cycles in and out as students matriculate and graduate from Boston's many
colleges and universities.
The ZIP code 02134 roughly expresses Allston's extents, which was made famous
nationwide by a recurring musical piece on the PBS children's series ZOOM --
whose originating station, WGBH, is located in the neighborhood.
Allston is bordered by the Charles River and the city of Cambridge to the north,
Brookline to the south, and is split by the Massachusetts Turnpike in the
middle. The area north of the turnpike near the river is often referred to as
"Lower Allston" or "North Allston."
All of today's Allston was part of Brighton when that town seceded from
Cambridge in 1807. In 1868, a new railroad depot and post office in Brighton's
eastern portion were given the name "Allston" after Washington Allston, the
noted painter who lived and worked in the area. The entire Town of Brighton was
annexed by the City of Boston in 1874. Allston has never existed as a separate
political entity in its own right.
Allston grew up largely around the large railroad and livestock operations in
its midst. The Boston and Albany Railroad (now CSX) operated a major yard there.
Stockyards and a large abbatoir operated nearby in the northern part of
Brighton. Much of the railroad yard remains in use today as the CSX Beacon Park
Yard, but all livestock activity ended by the mid-twentieth century.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Extension, built largely on part of the Boston and
Albany right-of-way, opened through Allston in 1964 and 1965. Allston lies
almost equidistant from three major universities. A substantial part of the
campus of Harvard University is in Lower Allston, including Harvard Business
School and Harvard Stadium. Harvard also owns large portions of other land in
lower Allston, much of which it hopes to develop as an academic campus. Boston
University lies along Commonwealth Avenue to the east. Boston College, which
straddles the Newton-Brighton line between Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon
Street, is at the end of the "B Branch" of the Boston MBTA subway Green Line,
which follows Commonwealth Avenue.
The "B Branch" of the Boston MBTA subway Green Line runs directly to the
neighborhood along Commonwealth and ends at Boston College, while several bus
lines run to and through. The "C Branch" of the Green Line ends at Cleveland
Circle after passing through Brookline.