Allston–Brighton is a set of two interlocking neighborhoods, Allston 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 along the Charles River, with Brookline lying to the south and southeast, Cambridge to the north and

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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 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 (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 Cambridge. It was incorporated into the city of Boston and received one of the earliest streetcar 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 Headquarters, and the WGBH Educational Foundation, 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, & WGBX-TV; public broadcasters responsible for a large amount of national programming. Students from Boston's many universities are a large demographic in the area as Boston University’s campus falls in Allston and Boston College‘s campus straddles the Brighton and

city limits. Brighton Avenue at the heart of Allston 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.

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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