The North End of seventy five years ago was a very different place than it is today and, like many inner city neighborhoods, it had its secrets and kept them closely guarded. North Enders protected their own, sometimes to a fault, and in the daily struggle to make a few bucks and put food on Read More…
Today’s picture shows the interior of St. Mary’s Church in 1958. It’s graduation day for the eighth grade and Fr. Boylan, the pastor, is handing out the diplomas. This magnificent church was built by and for the Irish Immigrants who lived in the North End and even after the Irish left and were replaced by Read More…
A while ago I wrote a column about the Jewish North End and this is a follow up to that article. Today’s picture was taken on Salem Street in 1909. It shows a young Italian boy calling up to some Jewish neighbors offering to light their stove fires. It’s a Saturday morning, the first day of the Read More…
One of the most charming Italian customs is the postprandial evening stroll called the passeggiata. In Northern Italian cities it takes place on Sunday evenings but in the South and Sicily it’s a daily event. After the evening meal families get dressed up and take a leisurely stroll through the piazzas and old sections of their city or Read More…
When tourists visit the North End, they come to see the colonial sites on the Freedom Trail. Sure, they may get some cannoli at Mike’s or a slice of pizza at Umberto’s but Paul Revere’s House and the Old North Church are the main attractions. Those of us who live here know the history of Read More…
The photo I’m sharing today comes from a postcard dated 1908 and depicts the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. I assume the date is accurate because there is a date written on the card and the New York company that printed the card was in business from 1904-1911. The picture appears to have been taken from Read More…
When I was about twelve years old my mother would occasionally send me to buy fish at a fishmonger near Faneuil Hall called Sanborn’s. We got most of our fish from the Sicilian fishermen who hung in my father’s tavern but my mother liked creamed finnan haddie which wasn’t available in the North End. Angelo Read More…
Why is Robert Burns in Winthrop Square?? Boston was once the most walkable of all American cities. It was a city of low rise buildings and meandering streets filled with businesses and small shops which led a walker to a number of interesting squares, each with a character of its own. Post Office Square was Read More…
The two most important events in the lives of early Italian immigrants were weddings and wakes. These were occasions for families and friends to gather, celebrate a happy occasion, console one another over a loss, share gossip and introduce young people to others from the same paese in the hope of engendering a wedding, a Read More…
Here is a picture from my North End postcard collection. It depicts an Italian grocery store or alimentari probably in the early 1960’s. When I was growing up in the North End there were dozens of these stores and every family had its favorite. My grandmother, Colomba, liked Johnny Gaeta’s store on Salem Street near Read More…
What strange times we live in. We have a populist president who chooses to engage with the electorate through social media, 140 characters at a time, and accuses the mainstream news organizations of engaging in Fake News. Truth apparently emanates from the White House through president Trump’s Twitter account and people love it. At last Read More…
Question: where do a bunch of lounge lizards, bar flies and mid-level wise guys go when they want a night on the town with booze and showgirls? Answer: to a fancier bar room, of course. And, if it were the middle of the last century in Boston the only place to go would be Blinstrub’s Read More…