Boston Information

Boston is home to all walks of life. You will find the different neighborhoods of Boston as unique as the people that live
there.

Beacon Hill is a neighborhood of Boston covering approximately one square mile and home to about 10,000 people. It is a wealthy neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses, with some of the highest property values in the United States. It is known for its narrow streets, brick sidewalks, and gas-lit streets. Like many similarly named areas, the neighborhood is named for the location of a former beacon atop the highest point in central Boston, once located just behind the current site of the Massachusetts State House.

Charlestown was founded in 1628, and settled July 4, 1629, by Thomas Graves, Rev. Francis Bright, Ralph, Richard and William Sprague and about 100 others who preceded the Great Migration. John Winthrop's company stopped here for some time in 1630, before deciding to settle across the Charles River at Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate city and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it was annexed by Boston in 1874. Charlestown is located northeast of Boston proper on a peninsula extending southeast between the Charles River and the Mystic River. Although Charlestown has had a substantial Irish American population since the migration of Irish during the Irish famine of the 1840's recently the neighborhood has changed dramatically because of its close proximity to downtown and its unique architecture.

Charlestown was the location from which Paul Revere began his famous "midnight ride" before the Battle of Lexington and Concord. A local restaurant still in operation, The Warren Tavern, claims to have been one of Revere's favorite taverns.

On June 17, 1775 the Charlestown Peninsula was the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In fact, the battle actually took place on Breed's Hill, which overlooked the harbor and the town and was only about 400 yards from the southern end of the peninsula; Bunker Hill was near the northwest end of the peninsula, close to Charlestown neck and about a mile from the Charles River.

The established Chinatown within New England is located in the downtown area of Boston. The district centers on Beach Street near the city's South Station. The area hosts many Chinese, Japanese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese restaurants and markets.

Downtown Crossing is a shopping district in Boston, Massachusetts, located due south of the Boston Common and west of the Financial District. It features large department stores -- at one time including the flagship stores of both the Filene's and Jordan Marsh chains (a large Macy's department store replaced Jordan Marsh's Downtown Crossing location in 1996 following the merger between the chains; the Filene's store closed in 2006, when the chain was acquired by Macy's and the Filene's name was phased out) -- as well as restaurants, music stores, souvenirs, general retail establishments, and many street vendors.

Boston's North End is the city's oldest residential community, where people have lived continuously since it was settled in the 1630s. It has been home to a number of immigrant populations. Before the waves of immigrants began to arrive, however, the North End was home to some of Boston's wealthiest residents and later to the first community of African Americans created by freed and escaped slaves. In the early 1800s, the Irish began to migrate to the North End in huge numbers and dominated the neighborhood until approximately 1900. The North End then became one of the centers of Jewish life in Boston and Hebrew inscriptions can still be found on several buildings. In the early 20th century, it became the center of the Italian community of Boston. Today, it is still largely residential and well known for its small, authentic Italian restaurants.

South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood in Boston, located south of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. It was formerly known as Dorchester Neck and its residents refer to today as “Southie”. South Boston is well known for being an Irish-American neighborhood. 

Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston. Back Bay and neighboring Beacon Hill are considered Boston's most upscale neighborhoods, with townhouses selling regularly for over $3,000,000. Popular shopping destinations are located along Newbury and Boylston Streets as well as in Copley Square. Architecturally the neighborhood is dominated by Victorian brownstone architecture.

Cambridge is a city in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of Cambridge, England. Cambridge is most famous for the two prominent universities that call it home: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

Fenway-Kenmore is a neighborhood (sometimes thought of as two neighborhoods) in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the home of Fenway Park, the famous CITGO sign, Kenmore Square, much of Boston University, Berklee College of Music, Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Art, Northeastern University, Simmons College, and the Museum of Fine Arts.