Latest news: A new study in the Civil and Structural Engineer Magazine (September 2014) by Ronald Mayville has provided more details on specifically the molasses tank failed. Notably, the walls were at least 50 percent too thin and lacked reinforcements at certain areas of stress. Read more in the January 14th Boston Globe article. Video: The Read More…
A few weeks ago while attending a meeting in the Time Warner building in New York City, I decided to skip out of a boring afternoon lecture and visit the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. This was one of the things I always wanted to do because the Lower East Side was a Read More…
If you walk down Hanover St. today the most noticeable characteristic would be the tremendous number of restaurants and coffee shops, many with long lines of tourists waiting to get in, a very different scene from the mid twentieth century. When I was young there were a half dozen or so upscale North End restaurants; Read More…
Stitching together the North End and Waterfront neighborhood in the late 1970’s, a large group of North End women created this phenomenal 12′ x 12′ wall hanging, recently on display at the North Bennet Street School and previously at Boston City Hall. Featuring historic and contemporary images from the community, the quilt-like artwork highlights our shared history Read More…
Over this past weekend, the hanging sign in front of the Paul Revere House, located at 19 North Square, went missing. We are hoping for more information or a location on the whereabouts of the sign. If anyone finds it abandoned somewhere, in their trash, or if you know of any information, please let us know. If found anywhere or you Read More…
We live in an era, and in a country, where the government provides a wide range of social and educational services for its citizens. Newly arrived immigrants can obtain housing, food, a monthly stipend and even an education in their native language all paid for by the Federal and State governments. But imagine you were Read More…
Photo mystery: The North End once had a Jewish enclave. The photo above looks like it was taken in the early Twentieth Century and the legend said it was the corner of North Bennet and Salem Streets. But, I think that isn’t accurate. Can any of our urban sleuths who read NorthEndWaterfront.com identify the location? At the Read More…
In the early 20th century, Boston was home to one of the only schools in the country that taught the craft of pottery making. What started as a social service undertaking in the North End by a group called the Saturday Evening Girls, lead to a successful Pottery business in Boston. The Saturday Evening Girls met at Read More…
The Callahan Tunnel was rededicated on Saturday morning by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Acting MassDOT Secretary Frank DePaola, former Secretary Jeff Mullan, City Veterans Commissioner Francisco Urena, Lt. Callahan’s niece and other family members presided over the ceremony. The tunnel originally opened on Veterans’ Day in 1961, and was named in memory of Lt. Read More…
Featured in Part 3, the final cartoon throwback of our series, is the Prized Cartoon that took first place in the contest by Our Boston Magazine. Published in the August, 1926 issue, the cartoon speaks to a lot of similar issues that North Enders face with parking today, almost 100 years later. Traffic, street closings, narrow one-way streets, sporadic Read More…
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation would like to invite you to the REDEDICATION OF THE CALLAHAN TUNNEL When: Saturday, November 15th, 10:00 AM Where: 128 North Street, Boston, MA On Saturday, November 15th, MassDOT Officials invite you to join Acting MassDOT Secretary and CEO, Frank DePaola and area officials to celebrate the rededication of the Read More…
Many of the Boston’s wharves fell victim to fires during the 1950s and 1960s. The Union Wharf fire on November 2, 1952 was one of the most spectacular blazes ever seen in the North End or Boston’s waterfront. Union Wharf on Commercial Street was “built to burn” and long feared by Boston firefighters, according to a Boston Fire Historical Read More…