Nicholas Dello Russo is a lifelong North Ender and columnist. Often using vintage photographs, Nick tells the stories of growing up in the North End along with its culture and traditions. It was a time when the apartments were so small that residents were always on the streets enjoying "Life on the Corner."
Commentaries Photos & Videos

Life on the Corner: St. Michael’s Cemetery [Part II]

For fifty years, St. Michael’s Cemetery permitted Italians to erect tremendously elaborate monuments to memorialize their dead. Many of these were carved by Italian craftsmen who emigrated to work in the quarries in Barre, Vermont. The monuments pictured in this article were all carved by hand and it would be almost impossible to duplicate them Read More…

Commentaries Photos & Videos

Life on the Corner: St. Michael’s Cemetery [Part I]

Our story begins in Southern Italy from where almost all North Enders originated especially the hill towns surrounding Avellino and Sicily. The Italians who traveled to America were desperately poor and led an agrarian life which had changed little since the Middle Ages. The voyage itself was perilous and they all traveled in Third Class Read More…

Community People

Dom Campochiaro Remembered at Annual St. Mark’s Society Mass & Breakfast

On Sunday April 26 the Societa Cattolica Italiana di San Marco, St. Mark’s Society, held its annual Mass and breakfast at Sacred Heart Church and St. John’s school hall. The Mass was in honor of the deceased members of the society and was the tenth anniversary Mass for Armando, “Eddie”, Vignolo the longtime president of Read More…

Commentaries Community Health & Environment Photos & Videos

Life on the Corner: A Walk Down Hanover Street – Part III

Here is the final photo of Hanover Street in the 1940’s and it depicts the block between Parmenter and Prince Streets. The first thing to notice is that although the cars and trucks are different, double parking was an issue even back then. Some things never change and probably never will. There are three pastry Read More…

Commentaries Community Photos & Videos

Life on the Corner: A Walk Down Hanover Street – Part II

It’s a misty day on Hanover Street during the late 1940’s. The street was still paved with cobblestones at that time and don’t those old cars look terrific? They give the scene a noir feel which seems right in character. This photo was taken from the corner of Cross Street looking North towards the Coast Read More…

Photos & Videos

Life on the Corner: Ghost of Old North Church

Here is another picture from the walls of Nick’s Tavern, my family’s bar on Lewis Street. The photo was taken during World War II when many North End boys were overseas serving their country. It appears to be a dinner honoring wounded and fallen servicemen. The woman in the middle is a Gold Star mother. Read More…