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…
Read Part I here. When I began college at UMass Boston in 1972, my love of history and human nature made me want to major in Political Science and Psychology as a dual major because of my involvement in North End politics during the late 50’s early 60’s. In those days, Joe Langone and my close Read More…
February letter from Maria Stella Gulla, Director of ABCD North End / West End Neighborhood Service Center. This month I would like to focus on senior hunger and the ways in which ABCD North End/West End Neighborhood Service Center (NE/WE NSC) works in the community as well as with its neighborhood partners and elected officials to reduce hunger among North End, West Read More…
The first Italians arrived in the North End in the 1860s when the political and economic situation in Italy had become untenable. Their numbers grew here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most were unskilled laborers and lacked the ability to speak English. They faced severe discrimination and took what jobs were available with Read More…
January letter from Maria Stella Gulla, Director of ABCD North End / West End Neighborhood Service Center. It’s a wrap! As the books close on another holiday season and year, the ABCD North End/West End Neighborhood Service Center (NE/WE NSC) wanted to gratefully acknowledge the local community-based organizations, our elected officials, and members of our community for their support throughout the year that Read More…
Rocky Marciano, his very name has a ring of the fury and power that made him the undefeated Heavy Weight Champion of the World for 49 fights 43 by knock outs… Marciano, born Rocco Francis Marchegiano in 1923, defended his Title 6 times and retired undefeated in 1956. At age 46 He died in a 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…
Saw this on UHub (link here), as well as the 4 or 5 signs taped to the ground floor windows of the building….Interesting, because I totally agree…the railings look horrendous & I have yet to hear a North End resident say anything good about them. If they were off the beaten path that’d be one Read More…
One recent morning we awoke to the first snow of winter coating the lindens and elms on Copp’s Hill. The holiday calendar season had now officially arrived although the mad rush of getting and spending was already well underway. But, for that brief moment at dawn, the sounds of traffic, sirens and construction were muffled Read More…
On a recent trip back to Boston for the Thanksgiving holiday, I paid a visit to the North End Library on Parmenter Street to play mah jongg. I had read about the weekly Thursday game on a North End Waterfront post. As anyone who plays mah jongg knows, it is a very addictive game. It 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…