East Boston, Massachusetts
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East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. 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, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...
. The final outline of the East Boston, including
Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...
, was created in the 1940s by connecting five of the inner harbor islands using
land fill Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
. East Boston has long provided homes for immigrants with Irish,
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 po ...
and later,
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
.
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
'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, 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. Since 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 a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
. 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, 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 of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
create a turnpike 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 was also founded, which was the first manufacturing establishment in East Boston. They are credited for the creation of white granulated sugar.


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 Nova Scotian-born American designer and shipbuilder, builder of sailing ships, famed for his record-setting extreme clippers. Early life McKay was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne ...
, 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: * ''Sovereign of the Seas'', an English first-rate warship of 102 guns; later renamed ''Sovereign'' in the navy of the Commonwealth of England in 1650 and then ''Royal Sovereign'' in the n ...
'' (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 driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...
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. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
. The steam railroad 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. This system was one of the earliest suspended railroads to be built. The
railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American English, American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and International Union of Railways, UIC), also called a tra ...
s were propelled by a
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), 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 (locomotive), cyl ...
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 competi ...
to come to East Boston. The ''Maverick'' and ''East Boston'' ferries began service from Lewis Wharf 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 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 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, 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 East Boston Immigration Station, 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 an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...
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 (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...
. 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 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 unde ...
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 County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...
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, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
. The family later moved to a larger home on Monmouth Street. P. J. Kennedy's success enabled him to purchase a home for his son,
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "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 modern-day Nordic count ...
, and another for his two daughters at Jeffries Point. In 1954,
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
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 a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
, 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. 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 from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
mentioned that his family's roots are embedded in East Boston.


Geography


Maps


Sites of interest


Parks

* Belle Isle Marsh Reservation – The largest remaining
salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, 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. I ...
in Boston. It is a reserve for a variety of
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
. * Constitution BeachPublic 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
Public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...
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 A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...
, it includes a meandering brick pedestrian promenade and four shade pavilions, and the Piers Park Sailing Center. As of October 2022, Phase Two of the park's development by the
Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the port authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Po ...
was expected to end in 2023. Phase Three, announced in 2020, is under the oversight of
The Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
.


Community gardens

* Bremen Street Community Garden – The garden is located in the Bremen Street Park, that the
Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the port authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Po ...
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.
The Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
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 –
The Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
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 and present)

Source: * 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. Church at the Well - meeting inside The Well Coffee House on Border st.


Historic


Businesses

* Santarpio's Pizza – one of the original pizzerias that catered to
Italian Americans Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
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 * Eagle Hill * Maverick Square * Orient Heights


Places

East Boston has eight places on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
: * 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 University-preparatory school, prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded i ...
* Bennington Street Burying Ground * Eagle Hill Historic District * Donald McKay House * United States lightship ''Nantucket'' (LV-112) * Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery * Trinity Neighborhood House File:Old East Boston High School.jpg,
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 University-preparatory school, prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded i ...
File:Bennington Street Burying Ground East Boston MA 02.jpg, Bennington Street Burying Ground File:Donald McKay House, East Boston MA.jpg, Donald McKay House File:BostonMA MonmouthSquareEastBoston.jpg, Eagle Hill Historic District File:2017 Lightship Nantucket (LV112) 2.jpg, United States lightship ''Nantucket'' (LV-112) File:Ohabei Shalom Cemetery East Boston MA 04.jpg, Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery File:Trinity Neighborhood House, East Boston MA.jpg, Trinity Neighborhood House 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 cre ...
– defunct as of 2017 * East Boston Memorial Stadium – Since 2015,
Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...
has used the stadium for their baseball, soccer, and softball teams to practice and play games. The stadium belongs to the City of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and serves multiple purposes for the community. East Boston High School also utilizes the stadium annually to hold their graduation ceremony.


Government and neighborhood

East Boston is the headquarters for District A-7 of the
Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...
. 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'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 simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates a branch in East Boston at 50 Meridian Street. The Logan Office Center, which contains the headquarters of the
Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the port authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Po ...
, is adjacent to
Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...
. 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, 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; pinyin: ''Wú Mǐ''; born January 14, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the mayor of Boston, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, since 2021. She is the first woman and the first person ...
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 t ...
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 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, East Boston High School 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 Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Boston), Cathedral o ...
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 a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...
, 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 was a private, coeducational high school in East Boston.


Public libraries

The first public branch library in the United States was established in East Boston in 1870.
Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
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 organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
, Harbor Arts, Piers Park Sailing Center, 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, 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
Michelle Wu Michelle Wu ( zh, t=吳弭, first=t; pinyin: ''Wú Mǐ''; born January 14, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the mayor of Boston, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, since 2021. She is the first woman and the first person ...
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 a subsidy 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 housing". Forms of subsidies include d ...
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

Transportation has long played a role in the shaping of East Boston. Clipper ships were built at the shipyard owned by
Donald McKay Donald McKay (September 4, 1810 – September 20, 1880) was a Nova Scotian-born American designer and shipbuilder, builder of sailing ships, famed for his record-setting extreme clippers. Early life McKay was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne ...
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 l ...
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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
(the Massachusetts Turnpike) has been at Route 1A next to Logan Airport since 2003, and the newer Ted Williams Tunnel (1995) links I-90 from East Boston to the rest of the city.


Logan International Airport

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
Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the port authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the Po ...
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, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...
. The expansion of Logan Airport in the late 1960s and early 1970s displaced families along Neptune Road, 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, which stops at Maverick,
Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
, Wood Island, Orient Heights, and
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 cre ...
in the East Boston area. Massport provides free shuttle buses from the Airport MBTA station to all Logan Airport terminals and the Rental Car Center. The East Boston Greenway, a
shared use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
and park along a former rail line, connects to the Airport station.


Notable people

* John L. Bates, 41st
Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...
* Benjamin A. Botkin, scholar and
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
* Filippo Buccola, gangster, boss of the
Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, the Boston–Providence Mafia,
* Thomas J. Buckley, 18th
Massachusetts Auditor The state auditor of Massachusetts is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Twenty-six individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since the office's creation in 1849. The incumbent ...
* John J. Douglass, member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from 1925 to 1933 * Frank Greer, rower and Olympic gold medalist * Helen Johns, swimmer and Olympic gold medalist * P.J. Kennedy, Massachusetts politician and grandfather of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
. * Augie Lio, former
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
player and member of the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
* Frederick Mansfield, 46th
Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...
* Philip D. McNamara, Catholic priest * William Matthew Prior, noted
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
*
Gene Sharp Gene Sharp (January 21, 1928 – January 28, 2018) was an American political scientist. He was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, and professor of po ...
, scholar * Robert Travaglini, 93rd President of the Massachusetts Senate *
Jermaine Wiggins Jermaine Wiggins (born January 18, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and signed with the New York Jets as an u ...
, former NFL player and Super Bowl XXXVI champion


See also

*
History of Italian Americans in Boston Not all of the 5 million Italians who immigrated to the United States between 1820 and 1978 came through Ellis Island. Many came through other ports, including the Port of Boston. Exactly how many stayed in Boston is unknown, but it was enough t ...


References


Further reading

* G. Gibbs Jr.,
East Boston: A Survey and a Comprehensive Plan
', City Planning Board of Boston, 1915. A historic overview.


External links


EastBoston.com

City of Boston profile
{{authority control Neighborhoods in Boston Hispanic and Latino American culture in Massachusetts Italian-American culture in Boston Populated coastal places in Massachusetts