Uphams Corner, or Upham's Corner, is a commercial center in
Dorchester, the largest neighborhood of
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: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. The intersection of
Dudley Street/Stoughton Street and Columbia Road is the heart of Uphams Corner, and one of Dorchester's main business districts.
It is served by the
MBTA Commuter Rail's
Fairmount Line
The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Except for a short portion in Milton, it lies entirely within Boston, running southwest from South Station through the neighborh ...
(at the
Upham's Corner stop, as well as several
MBTA bus lines.
The district has several historical sites, including the
Strand Theatre, the Columbia Square Masonic Hall Building (1895), and Dorchester North Burying Ground (1634), one of the nation's oldest and one of seven seventeenth-century burying grounds in Boston.
The Uphams Corner business district is part of the North Dorchester section of Boston, home to a diverse mix of people, including African American, Cape Verdean, Haitian, Hispanic, white, and Asian populations. Of the residents living within a mile of Uphams Corner, about 43% are Black, 22% white, and 19% Hispanic. Dining options in the area include southern soul food cuisine as well as several ethnic restaurants including Cape Verdean, Caribbean, Chinese, Greek, and Italian.
History
Upham's Corner is named for Amos Upham (1788-1879), who opened a dry goods store in 1804 on the site of the present Columbia Square building. This store was run by three generations of the Upham family, into the mid-1890s.
Education
The Edward Everett Elementary School, Boston Collegiate Charter Middle and High Schools, the William E. Russell Elementary School, the Roger Clap Innovation School, the John W. McCormack School, the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot School, and Conservatory Lab Charter School are located near Upham's Corner.
Creative economic development
In 2015
Artmorpheus a Boston-based nonprofit, launched th
Fairmount Innovation Lab a partnership initiative with th
Fairmount Cultural Corridor The Lab is an interdisciplinary space designed to support innovative, local entrepreneurs and artists launching enterprises. Created as a hub and launchpad for accelerating creative and social enterprise in the Fairmount Indigo corridor, the Lab encourages collaboration across disciplines and sectors.
The Fairmount Innovation Lab runs Launchpad, a startup accelerator, a selective four-month program that offers creative and social entrepreneurs with coworking space, lean business model training, expert mentors, shared resources and community with an evolving roster of thinkers and doers.
Public art
In 2014, Boston Mayor
Marty Walsh
Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...
announced a major municipal investment in the Uphams Corner Main Street area's infrastructure. The $3.1 million investment was put in place to help finance a number of neighborhood initiatives, including revamping local storefronts, adding street and sidewalk lights and improving the Strand Theatre. The monetary move also had positive implications in the realm of public art. Walsh's transition focused on fostering public art and injecting culture into each of Boston's various neighborhoods, along with bringing Boston to the forefront of global innovation and technology. As per Walsh's announcement, new arts and culture programs through the Uphams Corner ArtPlace initiative will help to boost the commercial district's aesthetics, including a $500,000 public art commission from the Boston Foundation and Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative.
Strand Theatre
In 2005, the city of Boston made a $6 million, four-year capital investment to rejuvenate the historic
Strand Theatre in Upham's Corner. On January 9, 2007, Mayor Thomas Menino gave his State of the City Address from the stage of the Strand Theatre to help bring attention to restoration efforts and help revive the venue's historic prominence in the city of Boston. Advertised as Dorchester's New Million Dollar Photoplay Palace, the Strand Theatre originally opened in 1918 as one of the first theaters designed specifically for motion pictures.
Popular culture
Some of the exteriors and interiors in the film ''
Gone Baby Gone
''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a ...
'', directed by
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup.
Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...
, were shot in Uphams Corner.
Redemption Hunting – New York Times
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References
External links
Uphams Corner Main Street
Dorchester Atheneum
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Neighborhoods in Boston
Dorchester, Boston
Streetcar suburbs
Populated places established in 1630
1630 establishments in Massachusetts