Read Part 1 here. Next to the confessional booth was a statue of St. Lucy, a young Sicilian virgin who plucked out her own eyes and offered them to the wicked old man who had complimented her on their beauty. In her hand, St. Lucy held out a golden plate that contained her eyeballs. It Read More…
Everyone on North Street knew Joey was a good kid. Whenever he walked by Sonny Fuze Box’s shop he would tap on the window to say hello. If his mother sent him to the Ace of Spades’ corner store for some milk and to play a few numbers, Ace knew he didn’t have to worry Read More…
This is Part 3 of a series on the history of North Square in Boston’s North End. Catch up on Part 1, Paul Revere & Banca Italiana, Part 2, The Italian Banks and Part 3, What News on the Rialto? The first Italians began arriving in Boston around 1860 and were mainly from Northern Italy, especially the region Read More…
St. Patrick’s Day is an auspicious time to recall that before the North End was Italian it was Irish, inhabited by refugees trying to escape the terrible famines of the 1840’s. When they arrived here the Irish met an unyielding wall of prejudice and enmity. The original settlers of Boston, mostly Swamp Yankees, used to Read More…
This is Part 3 of a series on the history of North Square in Boston’s North End. Catch up on Part 1, Paul Revere & Banca Italiana and Part 2, The Italian Banks. Tourists love visiting the North End. They love exploring our narrow streets and alleys, buying a slice of pizza at Umberto’s or some Read More…
In our grandparents time the three main shopping streets in the North End were Salem, Hanover and Endicott, in that order, but the business center of the North End was always North Square. It would be difficult to over emphasize the importance of North Square in the day to day lives of the early Italian Read More…
City planners hate neighborhoods like the North End. The narrow, meandering streets, the old fashioned, inefficient tenement housing and the chaotic life on the sidewalks are anathema to city planners and don’t correlate with the neat, highly structured algorithms they studied in graduate school. How much better it would be if they could raze those Read More…
When the Italian tsunami swept into the North End during the late 19th century Yankee Bostonians were aghast. Bad enough they had to deal with the Irish and the Jews but this new group was even more threatening. These Italians were a strange bunch. They were clannish and only socialized with their own kind, ate Read More…
“North End Italian Feasts” is the grand finale in a series of 1990 skits from “My Corner of Boston” performed at the North End Union, produced by resident Rosaria DiFinzio. See all the scenes here. Rosaria may not have realized it but when she wrote and produced these North End skits she was continuing an Read More…
“Lo Stano Medico; The Strange Doctor” is the seventh in a series of 1990 skits from “My Corner of Boston” performed at the North End Union, produced by resident Rosaria DiFinzio. See all the scenes here. There was never a shortage of doctors in the North End, they were on every corner, up one flight. Read More…
“Songs by Rosaria” is the fifth in a series of 1990 skits from “My Corner of Boston” performed at the North End Union, produced by resident Rosaria DiFinzio. See all the scenes here. This skit has Rosaria singing in French and Italian and I think she does a fantastic job. She is accompanied by the Read More…
“Childhood Memories” is the fourth in a series of 1990 skits from “My Corner of Boston” performed at the North End Union, produced by resident Rosaria DiFinzio. See all the scenes here. In this skit Rosaria reminisces about growing up and playing in the streets of the North End. It’s almost inconceivable to today’s parents Read More…