East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop,

Revere Revere may refer to: Brands and companies *Revere Ware, a U.S. cookware brand owned by World Kitchen * Revere Camera Company, American designer of cameras and tape recorders *Revere Copper Company * ReVere, a car company recognised by the Classic ...

, and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and downtown Boston by

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

. The footprint of the East Boston neighborhood as it is known today was created in the 1940s by connecting five of the inner harbor islands using

land fill Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

is located in East Boston, connecting Boston to domestic and international locations. East Boston has long provided homes for immigrants with

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

and later,

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

's great-grandfather was one of many Irish people to immigrate to East Boston, and the Kennedy family lived there for some time. From 1920 to 1954, East Boston was the site of the

East Boston Immigration Station The East Boston Immigration Station was an immigration station in East Boston that was built from 1919 to 1920 and operational from 1920 to 1954. In 1959, it was declared surplus and sold to the highest bidder. As of 2010, it is owned by Massport a ...

, which served as the regional immigration hub for Boston and the surrounding area. A once Italian dominated community, East Boston has demographically changed to reflect a diverse population of immigrants. After the 1990s, the neighborhood witnessed growing numbers of Latin American immigrants, who have come to make up over fifty percent of the population according to the 2020 Census data.

History

The landmass that is East Boston today originally comprised five islands sited east of the confluence of the Malden, Mystic, and Charles rivers, and across the harbor from the westerly city of Boston. These islands included: Noddle's; Hog's; Governor's; Bird; and

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

. The town of East Boston was first developed on the largest of these, Noddle's, a noted source of timber and grazing land, used for farming by English colonists throughout the eighteenth century.

Early development of the city

Sumner and Noddle's Island

As early as 1801,

William H. Sumner William Hyslop Sumner (July 4, 1780 – October 24, 1861) was an American lawyer, soldier, and writer, and the son of Governor Increase Sumner. He graduated from Harvard College in 1799, and practiced law. He served as a general in the Massachuse ...

, who had inherited a large tract on Noddle's Island, proposed that the

federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

create a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

to connect Massachusett's North Shore (along with Sumner's property on Noddle's) to Boston, arguing that such a road would create a valuable, direct route across Boston's harbor, making it easier for Boston, at the time an isolated peninsula surrounded by water, to expand: "There is no doubt but that the necessities of the town of Boston will some time require a connection with Noddle's Island." When this plan was rejected in favor of a route through Chelsea (a route, not coincidentally, that left the

Boston navy yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

in nearby Charlestown with ocean access), Sumner moved onto other plans to improve Noddle's value. By 1833, Sumner, with partners Steven White and Francis J. Oliver, had bought up half of Noddle's acreage. Together, they founded the East Boston Company, and continued to consolidate additional landholdings. By 1834, the East Boston Company had complete control over the island. The company's purpose was to own and develop the land and call it East Boston. In anticipation of population growth, the proprietors adopted a grid street plan, the first planned neighborhood in the city of Boston. Jeffries Point, located at the southern end of the peninsula that faced Boston, was the earliest area of East Boston to be settled. A bridge to Chelsea was built, roads were laid out, and houses were built. Much of this activity was spurred by the formation of the East Boston Lumber Company. During this period, the

Boston Sugar Refinery The Boston Sugar Refinery was a sugar refinery based in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The refinery was established in 1834, and in 1860 it was credited as the first refinery to create granulated sugar. Additionally, it was the first ...

was also founded, which was the first manufacturing establishment in East Boston. They are credited for the creation of white

granulated sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

The Boston Shipyards and Donald McKay

By 1835, ten wharves had been built. The abundance of wharf area opened the new East Boston to further rapid expansion, and it was the shipbuilding companies that soon became East Boston's most famous industry, and the mainstay of its economy. In 1836, as development began to totally change the former islands, East Boston was annexed to Boston. In 1845,

Donald McKay Donald McKay (September 4, 1810 – September 20, 1880) was a Canadian-born American designer and builder of sailing ships, famed for his record-setting clippers. Early life He was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne County, on Nova Scotia's S ...

, as a sole owner, established his own shipyard on Border Street. His ships included the '' Flying Cloud'' (1851), which made two 89-day passages from New York to San Francisco and the ''

Sovereign of the Seas ''Sovereign of the Seas'' may refer to one of these ships: * , an English Royal Navy warship of 102 guns; later renamed ''Sovereign'' and ''Royal Sovereign'' * ''Sovereign of the Seas'' (clipper), an 1852 clipper ship built by Donald McKay in Bos ...

'' (1852), which posted the fastest speed ever by a sailing ship (22 knots) in 1854. In the 1840s and 1850s, the principal shipbuilders besides McKay included Paul Curtis and Samuel Hall. In addition, Sylvanus Smith became a noted shipbuilder in East Boston.

Connections to the mainland

In the 1830s, the largest problem keeping East Boston from thriving was transportation. The East Boston Company believed the neighborhood could not become a valuable asset until people had a way to reach the area from the Boston mainland. As a temporary solution, they set up a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

to carry 15 people at a time from Boston Proper to the neighborhood. It was used primarily for occasional visits from public officials and laborers. Though they did not have the ridership to support additional boats, the company purchased the Tom Thumb

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

. The

steam railroad Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...

system was still in its infancy at this point, and the East Boston Company was approached by an inventor of a new type of rail system, the

suspension railway A suspension railway is a form of elevated monorail in which the vehicle is suspended from a fixed track (as opposed to a cable used in aerial tramways), which is built above streets, waterways, or existing railway track. History Experimental d ...

. This system was one of the earliest suspended railroads to be built. The

railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...

s were propelled by a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

hanging from a suspended track. Henry Sargent, the inventor, stated "that his invention would make the Island a center of attraction to many people." The Company allowed it to be built on its land and it was in use for nine days in 1834, then closed citing lack of ridership. In the mid-1830s, the Company made several investments to further East Boston's development. They continued attempts to get the

Eastern Railroad The Eastern Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine. Throughout its history, it competed with the Boston and Maine Railroad for service between the two cities, until the Boston & Maine put an end to the compe ...

to come to East Boston. The ''Maverick'' and ''East Boston'' ferries began service from

Lewis Wharf Lewis Wharf is a showpiece of waterfront urban renewal in Boston's historic North End. The granite structures on the wharf were built as an early 19th-century shopping mall in the era before railroads when water transport was the most efficient wa ...

on the mainland to East Boston. The ferry service from Noddle's Island was replaced in 1904 by the streetcar tunnel that became the

MBTA Blue Line The Blue Line is a rapid transit line in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, one of four rapid transit lines operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It runs from Bowdoin station in downtown Boston under Boston Harbo ...

, the first underwater tunnel in North America.

Boston's "Ellis Island"

Since the mid-19th century, the community served as a foothold for immigrants to the United States: Irish and Canadians came first, followed by Russian Jews and Italians, then Southeast Asians, and, more recently, an influx from Central and South American countries. The

Orient Heights Orient Heights is a historic section of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is commonly considered part of East Boston; it is Boston's northernmost and northeasternmost neighborhood. The neighborhood sits on a hill, which measures 152 fee ...

section of East Boston was the first area in Massachusetts to which Italians immigrated in the 1860s and 1870s, and today the heart of the Italian community remains in East Boston. The Madonna Shrine, which is the national headquarters of the Don Orione order, sits on top of the Heights and is a replica of the original religious structure in Rome. In the 1880s, the Immigrants House operated in East Boston to help immigrants during their arrivals with economic support and social services. The building in which the Immigrants House operated was later named Landfall and served as the first senior citizen housing in the community. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, areas of East Boston served as an internment camp for Germans taken off of ships. Period images show small unfenced buildings and tiny gardens built by the internees, leading right up to the water's edge. In 1919, moves were undertaken to formalize these facilities. Originally officials planned to use one of the Harbor Islands to replace their rented quarters on Long Wharf, but this plan was abandoned for a site on Marginal Street, directly on the East Boston wharves. Construction began in late 1919 on the

, which served as Boston's first purpose-built immigration station. The East Boston Immigration Station operated from 1920 to 1954 as the region’s immigration hub. In 2011, the Immigration Station was torn down. Unlike

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

in New York, inspectors at the East Boston station processed immigrants at steamship docks, only transferring to the immigration station problem cases who had issues with their paperwork or required a secondary interview. Opposite the station, steps leading to East Boston were called the ‘Golden Stairs’ “because they represented the final climb to golden opportunity in America for countless Europeans." The station operated from 1920 to 1954 as the region’s immigration hub. The population of East Boston, which was recorded as a mere thousand in 1837, exploded to a high of just over 64,000, according to the 1925 census. The sudden rise is attributed to the immigrants who came from

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. Today, the neighborhood is home to over 40,000 inhabitants, with a

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

per household of around $46,000.

Kennedy family

The

Kennedy Family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy be ...

lived on Meridian Street in what is now a small home wedged between a Hispanic market and hardware store, approaching the Meridian Street branch of the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...

. The family later moved to a larger home on Monmouth Street.

P. J. Kennedy Patrick Joseph Kennedy (January 14, 1858 – May 18, 1929) was an American businessman and politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He and his wife Mary were the parents of four children, including future U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ...

's success enabled him to purchase a home for his son,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, and another for his two daughters at Jeffries Point. In 1954,

famously paraded through East Boston with his wife, Jackie, in anticipation for his campaign to run for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, to secure votes from the neighborhood. In a famous photograph, Kennedy is shown walking down Chelsea Street heading towards Maverick Square, waving to the crowd in front of

Santarpio's Pizza Santarpio's Pizza is a restaurant in the neighborhood of East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was originally established in 1903 as a bakery. Frank Santarpio began selling pizza there three decades later. A landmark to locals and a destin ...

. On numerous occasions throughout his career in the United States Senate, Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

mentioned that his family's roots are embedded in East Boston.

Geography

Maps

Sites of interest

Parks

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation Belle Isle Marsh Reservation in East Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts is an urban nature preserve and public recreation area containing mostly coastal wetlands. The 350-acre (1.4 km2) Reservation includes the largest remaining salt marsh in ...

— The largest remaining

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

in Boston. It is a reserve for a variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

. * Constitution Beach — Public beach in East Boston's Orient Heights neighborhood. * Golden Stairs Terrace Park — Historic site immigration site, outdoor staircase from the former Boston Immigration center landing into East Boston; symbolically "the ''golden steps'' into ''opportunity''," and the United States. Now a small public park. *

Piers Park Piers Park is a public park owned by Massport located on the southwest side of East Boston, overlooking Boston Harbor and downtown Boston. Designed by Pressley Associates Landscape Architects of Boston, the park was conceived to reclaim a condem ...

—

Public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

constructed on top of an original 1870

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

and

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

, it includes a meandering brick pedestrian promenade and four shade pavilions, and the

Piers Park Sailing Center Piers Park Sailing Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community sailing organization located at 95 Marginal Street in East Boston, Massachusetts. The sailing center utilizes Boston Harbor and offers programs for a variety of ages and skill levels. ...

. As of October 2022, Phase Two of the park's development by the

Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals in ...

was expected to end in 2023. Phase Three, announced in 2020, is under the oversight of

The Trustees of Reservations The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...

Community Gardens

* Bremen Street Community Garden — The garden is located in the Bremen Street Park, that the

owns and operates. The garden is run by garden coordinators. * Eagle Hill Community Garden sunflower blooming in the Eagle Hill Memorial Community Garden on Border Street. —

maintains the garden in collaboration with residents. * EBNHC Wellness Garden — The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center operates the garden to promote healthier lifestyles by giving garden plots to patients and Let's Get Movin' participants. * Joe Ciampa Garden —

maintains the garden in collaboration with residents. * "Nuestro Jardín" ("Our Garden") — sited across from the Umana School, was formerly reserved for use by schoolchildren, but is now maintained by a community-based youth program and Eastie Farm, a non-profit that works in addressing the effects of food insecurity and climate change in East Boston.

Places of Worship (Past & Present)

* Maverick Congregational Church – Formerly named the First Congregational Church; East Boston's first place of worship. * Church of the Most Holy Redeemer – The first Roman Catholic church in East Boston. * Our Lady of the Assumption Church * Saratoga Street Methodist Episcopal Church – As of 2022, the church's location is the Central Park Lanes Bowling Center. * First Presbyterian Church – In 1996, the church closed down but since the 2000s two other congregations gather there; Iglesias del Dios Vivo and La Luz del Mundo. * Church of the Sacred Heart * Maverick Congregational Church * St. John's Episcopal Church – Wallis Howe from Martin and Hall Architects built the church in 1903 and since the 2000s, the East Boston APAC Headstart has operated there. * Church of Our Father – Organized in 1845, this was the only Unitarian church in the neighborhood. In 1900, the church was sold and moved; the East Boston Post Office is located in the former building. * Temple Ohel Jaocob – Founded in 1893 as the first place of worship for the Jewish community, this was the neighborhood's oldest and longest synagogue. * Church of St. Mary Star * Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Italian immigrants built the church in 1907, and in 2004 the Archdiocese of Boston closed the church.

Historic

Businesses

— one of the original pizzerias that catered to

Italian Americans Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

who had emigrated to East Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods.Levitt, Jonathan. "Putting toppings at bottom adds to flavor of Santarpio's." ''Boston Globe''. 6 December 2006.

Neighborhoods

* Central Square *

Day Square Day Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The square consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Bennington Street and Chelsea Street. It is one of the neighborhood's larger and m ...

* Eagle Hill *

Maverick Square Maverick Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is East Boston's oldest commercial center. At the heart of the square is Maverick Station, which is part of the Blue Line of the MBTA. In ...

Places

East Boston has eight places on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

: * Baker Congregational Church *

Barnes School Barnes School, Deolali, is a boarding school in west India. It was established in 1925, on the basis of a 1718 original foundation. It is a private co-educational prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded in 1925, under the auspices o ...

Bennington Street Burying Ground The Bennington Street Burying Ground is a historic cemetery on Bennington Street, between Swift St. and Harmony St., in East Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1838, in a late version of the traditional rectilinear colonial c ...

Eagle Hill Historic District The Eagle Hill Historic District is a residential historic district roughly bounded by Meridian, Princeton, and White Streets meeting in Prescott Square in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. This part of East Boston was de ...

Donald McKay House The Donald McKay House is a privately owned historic house at 78–80 White Street in East Boston, Massachusetts. It was the residence of Donald McKay, a builder of clipper ships. History The house was built in 1844 in the Greek Revival archite ...

United States lightship Nantucket (LV-112) United States lightship ''Nantucket'' (LV-112) is a National Historic Landmark lightvessel, lightship that served at the Lightship Nantucket position. She was the last serving lightship and at time of its application as a landmark, one of only t ...

* Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery *

Trinity Neighborhood House The Trinity Neighborhood House is a historic brick townhouse at 406 Meridian Street located in the Eagle Hill section of East Boston, Massachusetts. History The house was built in 1847 for entrepreneur Noah Sturtevant and was thus named the Noah ...

File:Old East Boston High School.jpg,

File:Bennington Street Burying Ground East Boston MA 02.jpg,

File:Donald McKay House, East Boston MA.jpg,

File:BostonMA MonmouthSquareEastBoston.jpg,

File:2017 Lightship Nantucket (LV112) 2.jpg,

File:Ohabei Shalom Cemetery East Boston MA 04.jpg, Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery File:Trinity Neighborhood House, East Boston MA.jpg,

File:Baker Congregational Church East Boston MA 02.jpg, Baker Congregational Church

Sports arenas and stadiums

Suffolk Downs Suffolk Downs is a former Thoroughbred race track in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The track opened in 1935 after being built by Joseph A. Tomasello for a cost of $2 million. It was sold in May 2017 to a developer who plans to crea ...

— defunct as of 2017 * East Boston Memorial Stadium — Since 2015,

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. With 7,560 students (includes all campuses, 7,379 at the Boston location alone), it is the eighth-largest university in metropolitan Boston. It was founded as a l ...

has used the stadium for their baseball, soccer, and softball teams to practice and play games. The stadium belongs to the City of

and serves multiple purposes for the community. East Boston High School also utilizes the stadium annually to hold their graduation ceremony.

Government and neighborhood

Boston Fire Department, Engine 5 Firehouse (1)

East Boston is the headquarters for District A-7 of the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

. The Boston Fire Department has three fire stations in East Boston: Ladder 2 & Engine 9 in Maverick Square; Engine 5 in Day Square; and Ladder 21 & Engine 56 in Orient Heights.

Boston EMS Boston Emergency Medical Services (Boston EMS) provides basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS) ambulance units throughout the neighborhoods in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Boston EMS is a public safety agency respond ...

's Station 7 is based at Logan Airport, but provides emergency medical services to all of East Boston. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates a branch in East Boston at 50 Meridian Street. The Logan Office Center, which contains the headquarters of the

, is adjacent to

Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

. As of the 2022 election cycle, East Boston's local elected officials include State Representative Adrian Madaro representing the First Suffolk, State Senator Lydia Edwards representing the First Suffolk and Middlesex, and City Councilor Gabriela "Gigi" Coletta, who represents District 1 of Boston.

Historic Demographics

East Boston's population is ethnically diverse, reflecting the immigrants from around the world who moved there. Since the early 1900s, immigrants have been a part of the East Boston community. First Irish and Canadians, then Russian Jews and Italians, Southeast Asians, and finally Latinos. In 2011, East Boston was estimated to have 41,128 residents living in 14,832 housing units. Hispanic/Latino people speaking Spanish or Portuguese are the largest language groupings (can be of any race and from more than 20 countries), making up 54.4% of the population, followed by non-Hispanic white (35.5%). Other races include Asian (4.4%), black or African American (2.9%), biracial or multiracial individuals (1.9%), and other races (0.9%). The median household income for an individual in East Boston was $45,849, while the median income for a family was $47,198. According to 2020 Census Data, analyzed by the

Boston Planning & Development Agency The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a Massachusetts public agency that serves as the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial de ...

, East Boston shared the highest population of Hispanic or Latinos in Boston with 50.4% of the neighborhood. East Boston’s total population is 43,066 with half of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino and the second largest demographic group being White at 36.6%. The demographics for Hispanic or Latino decreased from 2010 when the group made up 52.9% of the population. In September 2022, Mayor

Michelle Wu Michelle Wu ( zh, t=吳弭, first=t; born January 14, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the mayor of Boston, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts since 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

questioned the 2020 Census data for the whole city, sharing concerns over uncounted individuals, citing the pandemic as a factor for low census turnout, and expressing her belief that Boston's total numbers needed to be adjusted higher.

Race and ancestry

According to the 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups in ZIP Code 02128 are:

Education

Public schools

Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the ...

operates numerous schools in East Boston. BPS assigns students based on student preference and priorities of students in various zones. Due to the geography of East Boston, every child in the neighborhood is guaranteed a seat at a school in East Boston. The district instructs parents wanting to send their children to East Boston schools to place East Boston campuses on their school assignment priority lists higher than non-neighborhood campus. The East Boston Early Childhood Center is a district K0–1 school in East Boston. The Dante Alighieri Montessori School is a district K0-6 school. District elementary schools include Samuel Adams, Manassah E. Bradley, Curtis Guild, Patrick J. Kennedy, Hugh R. O'Donnell, and James Otis. The Mario Umana Academy and Donald McKay K-8 School are the two district K–8 schools in East Boston. East Boston has two high schools in their district;

East Boston High School East Boston High School is a public high school located in the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts. Specifically, the school is situated in the Eagle Hill Historic District. East Boston High is part of the Boston Public School ...

and Excel Academy Charter High School, which was founded in 2015. Excel Academy Charter School also has two charter middle schools located on Moore St. and Bremen St. in East Boston.

File:East Boston High School (1).jpg,

File:Samuel Adams Elementary School (2).jpg, Samuel Adams Elementary School File:Manassah E. Bradley Elementary School (2).jpg, Manassah E. Bradley Elementary School File:Curtis Guild Elementary School (1).jpg, Curtis Guild Elementary School File:Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School.jpg, Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School File:Donald McKay K-8 School (1).jpg, Donald McKay K-8 School File:Hugh R. O'Donnell Elementary School (1).jpg, Hugh R. O'Donnell Elementary School File:James Otis Elementary School (1).jpg, James Otis Elementary School

= Private schools

= In spring 1892, a school named after Fr. James Fitton was dedicated on the Holy Redeemer site. In 1974, a school merger occurred, producing the current East Boston Central Catholic School. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...

operates East Boston Central Catholic School on the Most Holy Redeemer Parish site. It is a K1–8 private school in East Boston. The school is managed by a board from the Our Lady of the Assumption,

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Ca ...

, Most Holy Redeemer and Sacred Heart parishes. In Spring 2008, the Archdiocese ordered the closure of St. Mary, Star of the Sea School, a K–8 school in East Boston. The parish attached to the school had closed three years prior to the closure of the school. Until it closed in 2007,

Savio Preparatory High School St. Dominic Savio Preparatory High School, formerly St. Dominic Savio High School, was a Roman Catholic high school located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1958 and closed in 2007. History The s ...

was a private, coeducational high school in East Boston.

Public libraries

Orient Heights Branch, Boston Public Library (2)

The first public branch library in the United States was established in East Boston in 1870.

currently has one location in East Boston, a
365 Bremen Street
in the Bremen Street Park. This branch opened in November 2013. The old branches at 276 Meridian Street and 18 Barnes Avenue were closed in 2013, shortly before the current branch opened.

Community Centers and Resources

East Boston has various non-profits that work to address issues the community face like immigration, tenant's rights, youth engagement, environmental justice, housing, and more. Such organizations are Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), East Boston Main Streets, East Boston Social Center,

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, Harbor Arts,

, and more. The City of Boston runs two community centers in East Boston: Orient Heights Community Center (now called The Martin Pino Community Center) and Paris Street Community Center. These Centers are an initiative of a citywide organization called Boston Center for Youth and Families. The Centers aim to assist local youth with after-school programming.

Open space

In the early 1990s, East Boston had the least open space of any Boston neighborhood, except Chinatown. However, the city of Boston, and East Boston in particular, has undergone several major initiatives to increase open space in Boston. One such initiative is called Urban Wilds. Unveiled in 2016, it focuses on protecting "urban wilds" in Boston's neighborhoods. The city has identified four sites in Boston which it is targeting to improve coastal habitats, rejuvenate fish populations, restore soil, and use for flood control and water quality improvement purposes. The city's creation of the

East Boston Greenway The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway (formerly the East Boston Greenway) is a rail trail and park in East Boston that is located along the path of a former Conrail line. The greenway connects several significant open space areas in East Boston, includi ...

, which stretches from the wharfs at Maverick Square to the Bayswater Urban Wild, has also been a major addition to the neighborhood's green space. In 2019, the East Boston Greenway was renamed the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, honoring Mary Ellen Welch, a well-known community activist. She was one of the first individuals who supported the greenway creation and challenged Massport for their responsibility for noise pollution from the airport. Today, East Boston has 230 acres of protected open space, and 371 acres of total open space. This averages out to 5.98 acres of protected space per thousand individuals. This is less than the citywide average of 7.43 acres per thousand people. As of June 2022, East Boston had the lowest tree canopy cover in the city with only 7% coverage compared to the City's 27% total coverage. The low tree coverage has been cited as an additional environmental burden by many activists that deprives the community of benefits like lower air and noise pollution. A youth group from Neighborhood of Affordable Housing began working in 2017 to advocate for greater tree cover in the community and enhance efforts on addressing the lack of cover. In September 2022, Mayor

announced increased efforts from her administration to address low tree coverage in the whole city such as adding more jobs and planting more trees.

Housing

Until 2011, there were a total of 16,090 housing units in East Boston. Of these, 14,832 were occupied and 1,258 were vacant. Out of the 14,832 occupied units, 4,248 were owner-occupied and 10,584 were renter-occupied. The median gross rent was $1,092. Homelessness is an issue in the shelters and on the streets of East Boston. To help families transition out of East Boston's homeless shelter, the City of Boston, Crossroads Family Shelter, and the East Boston Community Development Corporation joined together in 2015 create

subsidized housing Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housin ...

on Havre Street. There are seven new affordable units planned.

East Boston Celebrations

East Boston has two annual recurring celebrations take place every summer. Eastie Week takes place for two weeks every July in collaboration between Boston Harbor Now and local partner organizations. During the celebrations, the organizations offer free and affordable events for families in East Boston. Eastie Pride Day is a long-standing celebration founded by former City Councilor Sal LaMattina that takes place at Piers Park. The celebration is open and free to the public and offers food, music, kids games, and community resources.

Transportation

Eastern Terminus of Interstate 90 Close-Up

Transportation has long played a role in the shaping of East Boston.

Clipper ships A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had ...

were built at the shipyard owned by

in the mid-19th century. A subway tunnel connecting the neighborhood to the rest of the city opened in 1904 and was the first

undersea tunnel An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry li ...

of its kind in the United States. Rows of houses were torn down to build the Sumner Tunnel in 1934 and the Callahan Tunnel in 1961, directly connecting automobile traffic from downtown Boston. In the early 1920s, an airfield was built, and eventually it was expanded to become Logan International Airport. The eastern terminus of

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 ...

(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 ...

) has been at Route 1A next to Logan Airport since 2003, and the newer

Ted Williams Tunnel The Ted Williams Tunnel is a highway tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts. The third in the city to travel under Boston Harbor, with the Sumner Tunnel and the Callahan Tunnel, it carries the final segment of Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) ...

(1995) links I-90 from East Boston to the rest of the city.

Logan International Airport

Main article:

Logan Airport, New England's primary international airport and 48th busiest in the world, resides mainly in East Boston (though part of the airfield itself lies in Winthrop). There has been continual controversy surrounding Logan, as constant conflict with the

has been a source of bitterness among some local residents since its inception. One expansion of the Airport resulted in the loss of Wood Island Park, a green space designed by the noted landscape architect

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

. The expansion of Logan Airport in the late 1960s and early 1970s displaced families along

Neptune Road Neptune Road is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The road is fragmented, bisected by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Blue Line which surfaces from the subway southwest of the road. Much of the po ...

, which is now used for warehouses and rental car property. The airport has since implemented four "airport edge buffers," which include parks and greenery to appease residents. The neighborhood is easily accessible to downtown Boston via the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Blue Line. The MBTA's Blue Line stops in East Boston include

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

, Wood Island,