Featured Apartment:
Boston-North End - Boston with buildings overlooking the Charles River that offer dramatic city views. The studio, one, two, and three bedroom units feature fully renovated kitchens, hardwood floors oversized rooms, and ample closet space. View More Listing -->
North End Information
Boston's North End is the city's oldest residential community, where people
have lived continuously since it was settled in the 1630s. It has been home to a
number of immigrant populations. However before the waves of immigrants began to
arrive The North End was home to some of Boston's wealthiest residents and later
to the first community of African Americans created by freed and escaped slaves.
In the early 1800's the Irish began to migrate to The North End in huge numbers
and dominated The North End until approximately 1900. The North End then became
one of the centers of Jewish life in Boston and Hebrew inscriptions can still be
found on several buildings. In the early 20th century, it became the center of
the Italian community of Boston. Today, it is still largely residential and
well-known for its small, authentic, Italian restaurants.
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), and the Paul Revere House
(1680), the Pierce-Hichborne House (1711), and the Clough House (1712). The
Copps Hill burial ground (1660) is one of America's oldest cemeteries and
contains many graves dating back to the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries
including Puritain divines Cotton and Increase Mather and Prince Hall, founder
of the Prince Hall Masons.
The Freedom Trail passes through the North End, making official stops at Paul
Revere's house and Old North church. On January 15, 1919, the North End was the
site of the Boston Molasses Disaster.
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.
The North End is famous for its selection of bakeries, eateries and Old-world
feeling. In this 1/3 of a square mile-sized neighborhood, there are
approximately 100 eating establishments. Among these, Bova's bakery on Salem
Street is unique in the city of Boston for being open 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year.