South End, Boston

The South End is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States which is bordered by Back Bay, Chinatown, and Roxbury. It is distinguished from other neighborhoods by its Victorian-style houses and the parks in and around the area. The South End is the largest intact Victorian row-house district in the country, covering over . It has eleven residential parks. In 1973, the South End was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The South End has been characterized by diversity since the 1880s, with substantial Irish, Jewish, African-American, Puerto Rican (in the San Juan Street area), Chinese, Italian, and Greek populations. Its 2010 population was 55.2 percent white, 13.3 percent Hispanic, 12.5 percent Black, 16.2 percent Asian, and 2.7 percent "other". 55.2 percent of South End residents had a bachelor's degree or higher; median household income was $57,699, and the median age was 36. 65.6 percent were primarily English speakers, and 12.9 percent primarily spoke Spanish. The neighborhood was expanded and developed by filling in the marshlands, part of a larger project of filling Boston's Back Bay and South Bay between the 1830s and the 1870s. Groundwater levels in Boston had been dropping for years by 2006, damaging some wood pilings by exposing them to air. A series of monitoring wells have been drilled; the water level is checked by the Boston Groundwater Trust, and can be raised by introducing water. which terminated at the B&PRR station bordering the Public Garden. The rail line is now covered by Southwest Corridor Park.

The primary business thoroughfares in the South End are Columbus Avenue, Tremont Street, and Washington Street. Washington Street, the original causeway that connected Roxbury to Boston, experienced reinvestment during the 1990s. The street was once defined by the Washington Street Elevated, an elevated train that was moved below Southwest Corridor Park in the 1980s. Part of the Silver Line, Boston's first bus rapid transit line, runs along Washington Street. The MBTA Orange Line rapid-transit train runs along the partially-covered Southwest Corridor.

SoWa (South of Washington), roughly between Albany to Washington and East Berkeley to Massachusetts Avenue
New York Streets, between Herald, East Berkeley, Albany, and Tremont Streets
Back Streets, roughly between I-93, Harrison, East Brookline, and East Berkeley Streets
Medical area, roughly between the highway, Massachusetts Avenue, Franklin Square, and East Brookline Street

Historic district

Part of the neighborhood is on a National Register of Historic Places district, which is bounded roughly by the Southwest Corridor Park on the northwest, the Massachusetts Turnpike to the north, Herald Street to the east, Albany Street to the south east, and Massachusetts Avenue to the southwest. The area's principal development took place 1850–1873, and resulted in a neighborhood of what were originally single-family brick or brownstone rowhouses, interspersed with retail and civic buildings, as well as six small parks. After the Panic of 1873, these properties were for the most part converted to multi-unit housing.

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. He designed a large residential park called Columbia Square Bulfinch's plan was to route traffic around the square. His plan was abandoned, and Washington Street was allowed to again divide the square (creating separate squares).

Urban renewal

thumb|alt=Five-story, red-brick corner building|Union Park Street and Shawmut Avenue

alt=Four-lane street in winter, with few trees|thumb|[[Columbus Avenue (Boston)|Columbus Avenue]]

The South End was one of many large-scale Boston landfill projects to create new residential districts.

Nearly all the buildings in New York Streets began to be bulldozed in 1955 as part of an urban renewal project to clear slums and make room for industrial activity during a period characterized by urban decline. The resulting superblock was redeveloped into the headquarters of the Boston Herald. It was redeveloped as a mixed-use area known as the Ink Block, with apartments, a grocery store, restaurants, and other retail businesses.

The South End is residential and commercial. Since it is near access to railroads and port facilities, it attracted a number of manufacturers. The project was expected to provide about 200 new jobs for construction workers and "employ approximately 200 employees (full-time equivalents) in management, operations, customer service, retail, and food service functions."

Education

thumb|upright=1.1|alt=Large, modern red-brick hospital|[[Boston University Medical Campus]]

The South End has five primary and secondary schools, providing education from kindergarten through grade 12 as part of Boston Public Schools. The McKinley South End Academy is four schools, a special-education school that focuses on behavioral, emotional and learning needs. The Josiah Quincy Upper School teaches grades six to 12, balancing core-subject requirements with world languages, the arts and physical education. Blackstone Elementary School has over 500 students from diverse backgrounds from pre-kindergarten to grade five. Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, established in 1908, is a four-year South End school for students desiring a technical degree.

Community resources

The South End is served by three public libraries, and the South End Branch has a diverse collection of popular and scholarly materials for adults and children. It has local-history documents, DVDs, CDs and audiobooks for adults, and recurring programs for children. Services include adult medicine, behavioral health, dental care and nutrition to name a few.

Income levels are anecdotally reported as stratified, with concentrations of wealth and poverty, but neither the U.S. census or the city of Boston reports the neighborhood's income. Although gentrification is sometimes cited as a reason for the flight of poorer, non-white residents, the neighborhood has maintained racial and income diversity due to its subsidized, publicly owned, or otherwise low-income housing units and a homeless shelter. Subsidized, below-market-rate housing developments such as Methunion Manor, Cathedral Housing (a public housing project), Villa Victoria, Tent City, Lenox Street Apartments, Camden, Camfield Gardens, 1850 Washington St, and Mandela Homes and represent evolving attitudes to public-housing design and governance.

Although all neighborhoods in Boston experience crime, the city has a comparatively low incidence of street crime. Some parts of the South End are known for street crime, and others are family friendly. The neighborhood has more public playgrounds per square foot than other Boston neighborhoods. The South End is known as an increasingly upper middle class neighborhood, although it is still home to many lower income residents. Some long-time residents are being pushed out by rising rents and property taxes.

The South End has been known as a gay, artistic, and cultural neighborhood, although costs in the neighborhood are rising. Unlike cities such as New York and Los Angeles, there are no city policies to help artists keep their long-term studios. Existing art galleries, however, are flourishing. GardenMoms, one of Boston's most popular online parent groups with over 2,500 members citywide, was founded by several South End mothers in 2002.

2010 census

thumbnail|alt=See caption|South End townhouses

According to the 2010 census, the South End's population was 24,577 (a 12.2-percent increase from 2000). The neighborhood was 55.2 percent white, 13.3 percent Hispanic or Latino, 12.5 percent Black, 16.2 percent Asian, and 2.7 percent other groups. Commuter rail service on the Franklin/Foxboro, Needham, and Providence/Stoughton lines is available at the Ruggles and Back Bay stations. Back Bay is also served by the Framingham/Worcester Line. These commuter rail lines continue to South Station.

The bus rapid transit Silver Line routes SL4 and SL5 between Nubian Square and downtown Boston run on Washington Street through the South End, with several stops between Lenox and Herald Streets. The neighborhood is also served by local MBTA bus routes. Major routes include route on Tremont Street and route on Massachusetts Avenue.

Gallery

1950s

File:Boston Herald Traveler Building.jpg|Boston Herald Traveler Building, 1952–1956|alt=Large, low building

File:Southwesterly from the Railroad Bridge on Harrison Avenue.jpg|Motte Street with 1000 Washington in the background, June 24, 1952|alt=Two large buildings

File:Rear of Houses on Harrison Avenue.jpg|Rear of houses on Harrision Avenue and Johnny Court, 1952–1958|alt=Courtyard with cars and laundry

File:Tot Lot on Troy Street.jpg|Tot lot on Troy Street, 1952–1958|alt=A simple playground, seen from above

File:Shawmut Avenue, southerly from the corner of Tremont Street.jpg|Shawmut Avenue at Tremont Street, December 4, 1956|alt=Intersection with a large ad on a building

File:Don Bosco Technical High School, Warrenton Street.jpg|Don Bosco Technical High School, Warrenton Street, December 4, 1956|alt=Large, windowless wall with cars parked

File:Northeasterly from roof of 100 Arlington Street.jpg|Northeast from roof of 100 Arlington Street, December 4, 1956|alt=See caption

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Contemporary images

Image:Columbus and Dartmouth1.jpg|Columbus Avenue and Dartmouth Street|alt=Red-brick corner building

Image:Appleton and Dartmouth.jpg|Lawrence Street|alt=Flat, red-brick buildings

Image:Warren and Dartmouth.jpg|Dartmouth Place|alt=Residential street

Image:Warren and Dartmouth2.jpg|Side street|alt=Sidewalk view

Image:Union Park2.jpg|Union Park Street|alt=Park bordered by streets

Image:2012 SouthEnd Boston 6837599327.jpg|Worcester Square|alt=Tree-lined square

Image:Tremont and Union2.jpg|Union Park and Tremont Streets|alt=Urban intersection

Image:Tremont Clarendon.jpg|Tremont Street|alt=City street with red-brick buildings

Image:South End John Hancock Tower.jpg|Clarendon Street, with the John Hancock Tower in the background|alt=Old, tree-lined street with a modern building in the background

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References

External links

Pictures

Boston Pictorial Archive. Boston Public Library. Images of the South End, Boston.

Records

The Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción records, 1967-2004 (bulk 1974-1999) are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
The Escuelita Agueybana Day Care Centers records, 1978-1996 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
The United South End Settlements records, 1892-2006 (bulk 1980-1999) are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
City of Boston,Boston Landmark South End Landmark District

Digital Resources

Global Boston: The South End

Organizations

Official SoWa District Website
Eight Streets Neighborhood Association, South End
St. John the Baptist, Hellenic/Greek Orthodox Church of the South End
The Animal Rescue League of Boston
Ellis Memorial & Eldredge House
A Short History of Boston's South End