
Central Square is a section of the
neighborhood of
East Boston
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and dow ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. The square begins at the intersection of
Bennington Street
Bennington Street is one of the main thoroughfares in the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts. The street runs almost the length of the residential section of the community, as distinguished from Logan International Airport, whi ...
and Meridian Street, continues up Meridian to its intersection with White Street, and includes all the area to the left. The square’s intersecting streets also include Border, Saratoga, and Eutaw Street. It is within close proximity of the entrance to the
Sumner Tunnel
The Sumner Tunnel is a road tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the w ...
, which motorists take to downtown
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
.
Education
The Mario Umana Middle School Academy is the only school within the confines of Central Square, located at 312 Border Street. It is part of the
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 ...
system. Notably, the school's campus features the only recognized
skate park
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairset ...
in the neighborhood, the Harborside Community Skatepark. The first public branch library in the United States, built in 1870, lies in Central Square.
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 Common ...
's East Boston branch is located at 276 Meridian Street.
Sites of interest
Italia Unita festival
Central Square is the site of the annual Italia Unita festival, where the square is closed off for festivities. Live bands play and food carts serve the crowds.
[Italia Unita website]
/ref>
Liberty Plaza
The Lombardo family invested heavily to create a shopping district in Central Square. They began with a function hall
Function or functionality may refer to:
Computing
* Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards
* Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system
* Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-orien ...
named Lombardo's Function Facility and expanded to create what is now called ''Liberty Plaza'', the square's strip mall
A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...
. They expanded with a large supermarket, Liberty Market. In 2000, the family moved their business to Randolph Randolph may refer to:
Places In the United States
* Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community
* Randolph, Arizona, a populated place
* Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea
* Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated comm ...
, but the shopping plaza is still active and vibrant. The entrance to the Plaza features a small park, known as Bertulli Park or Central Square Park, which doubles as a rotary. Today, stores include CVS Pharmacy
CVS Pharmacy, Inc. is an American retail corporation. A subsidiary of CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store and was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in ...
, Marshalls
Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...
, Sprint
Sprint may refer to:
Aerospace
*Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design
*Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile
Automotive and motorcycle
* Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989
* Chevrolet Sprin ...
, AutoZone
AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has over 6,400 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the US Virgin Is ...
, Shaw's Supermarket
Shaw's and Star Market are two American supermarket chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 150 total stores; 129 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massach ...
, including eateries such as McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...
and Pollo Campero
Pollo Campero is a fast-food restaurant chain, located in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Spain, Bahrain, Belize, Haiti, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Africa, Brazil, Canada, and Italy. The chai ...
.
Trinity Neighborhood House
The Trinity Neighborhood House is a historic
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
brick townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
at 406 Meridian Street. Since 1888, it operated as a social service center and philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
of Trinity Church. In 1966, the House was taken over by the East Boston Social Centers. Today, it has been converted into Section 8 housing for the disabled and formerly homeless. In 1981, the Boston Landmarks Commission declared it a landmark and it was later added to 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 artist ...
in 1992.
References
See also
*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 ...
*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 ...
*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 ...
{{coord, 42.3771, -71.0401, display=title
East Boston
Neighborhoods in Boston
Squares in Boston