Allston–Brighton is a set of two interlocking neighborhoods,

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part ...

and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, both part of the city of Boston, Massachusetts.

Geography

Allston and Brighton's border runs along Everett Street in the north, south along Gordon Street, and terminates at the

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

town line along Kelton Street (with land to the east of these streets falling in Allston, to the west, Brighton). Allston and Brighton are also identified by their respective postal zip codes (Allston's is 02134, Brighton's is 02135). Allston is generally understood as being in the northeast corner of Allston–Brighton, while Brighton is seen as the larger southwestern portion of Allston–Brighton encompassing Brighton Center and the generally less urbanized neighborhoods. They are connected to the rest of Boston by a tiny strip of land containing

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

along the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

, with Brookline lying to the south and southeast,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

to the north and

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

to the west, so they retain a very distinct neighborhood identity together. Allston–Brighton is often perceived as being separate from the rest of the city since many urbanized

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

areas such as Cambridge and

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are independently governed cities, but it is in fact part of the city of Boston. It is divided by the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...

(also known as

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

) into the main southern area and a smaller northern "spur" separated from Cambridge by the Charles River.

History

Allston–Brighton was formerly an agrarian area known as Little

. It was incorporated into the city of Boston and received one of the earliest

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

lines, becoming one of the nation's first

streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

s and home to some of Boston's moderately wealthy classes.

Demographics

Today the area is a middle-class urbanized area occupied largely by a mix of dense residential neighbourhoods and small businesses. It is home to the

New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...

Headquarters, and the

WGBH Educational Foundation The WGBH Educational Foundation (also known as GBH since August 2020) is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, and op ...

, operators of radio & television stations

WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States ** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation ** WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's sec ...

, &

WGBX-TV WGBX-TV (channel 44), branded on-air as GBH 44 since 2020, is the secondary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation, it is sister to Boston's primary PBS member station ...

; public broadcasters responsible for a large amount of national programming. Students from Boston's many universities are a large demographic in the area, and many residents resent the ongoing expansion of the

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

campuses . Thanks in large part to students, Brighton Avenue at the heart of

has become a major nightlife destination featuring many bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Sports

The combined neighborhood supports a

youth hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cl ...

team, "Allston–Brighton Youth Hockey" which holds most practices at the Reilly Memorial Rink in

Cleveland Circle Cleveland Circle, an area of Boston, Massachusetts, is located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, and more specifically the Aberdeen section of Brighton, in very close proximity to Brookline and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, at the intersectio ...

References

Further reading
Brighton Board of Trade history page
* Dr. William P. Marchione, "A Short History of Allston-Brighton" * Dr. William P. Marchione, The Bull in the Garden (1986) * Dr. William P. Marchione, Images of America: Allston–Brighton (1996)
''1871 Atlas of Massachusetts''.
by Wall & Gra
Map of Massachusetts.Map of Middlesex County.
* History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879
Volume1 page 278 Brighton
by Rev. Frederic Whitney. Note Brighton was originally part of Middlesex County before joining Boston which is Suffolk County.

External links

* * * * * * *. A good map of roads and rail lines around East Allston/Brighton, showing the town line brook of Brookline. *. See 1903 west maps. Click (slowly and repeatedly) on bottom right of small map image for big map image if your

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