South+Boston

= **South Boston ** = Aim + Culture Hayley Fester The culture within South Boston was one not seen anywhere else in the United States; a place where immigrants from across the globe and locals of the Boston area shared a similar goal and aim for their futures: to live freely. However, to live in such a unique area, there were bound to be many conflicting ideals between races and religions within the area: “It was precisely this interrelationship of ethnicity and morality--this distinctive socioreligious culture--that would cause residents of South Boston to react violently and self-righteously to anything they regarded as a challenge to their ethnic pride, their religious beliefs and their moral principles” (O’Connor 82). Through this, the great differences in such classes and groups was seen as a breaking point in the community. However, South Boston was still seen as this great center for worldwide culture to engage all citizens of the state and influence great reactions and events. Through all of this friction between racial groups yet strength in community, it is said that “the South End’s social and cultural life stimulate the intellect and nourish the spirit” (south-end-boston.com). In this, it is shown the unique disparity of cultures within South Boston and how the people created this specialistic community. South Boston has a totally unique society that creates a culture with a wide range of personality and individuals.

Audience Hayley Fester South Boston is home to a wide range of people coming from all across the world, and each one had a special place in making South Boston it’s unique and welcoming place it is. Throughout the early 1900s, African-Americans lingered in South Boston and created a great jazz scene with the many clubs implemented. Also in these early years, many immigration races came to South Boston. Among these various races were Indian, Ethiopian, French, Italian, Venezuelan, Thai, and (most prominently) Irish people. This special and extremely unique place may be summarized in this way, “To this day, the South End is a place where people of differing financial circumstances, race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual preference live as neighbors” (south-end-boston.com). Following this flow of diversity came a group of middle-class people and professions who were attracted to the urbanity of the area and the grand Victorian townhomes. By the 1990s, the poor residents that had lived in the area by and by were having to leave completely due to the increasing rents and property taxes. However, to this day, there have been added areas to South Boston to house poorer families and preserve the unique diversity of this area.

History Hayley Fester Throughout South Boston’s intense and ever-changing history, there has always remained one thing; the magnificent wonders of a place made for all. Before the 1840s, South Boston was only a few mansions and wide open fields. But in the 1840s, South Boston grew to have it’s marshy areas filled by people because of overpopulation in downtown Boston and Beacon Hill. Later in the 1850s, Charles Bulfinch created a plan for South Boston in order to better it as a town and give it a real function as a living area. He built connected townhomes; installed small green parks with fountains throughout the area; and added a variety of architectural designs to the town. In the next fifteen years, “...the new South End became the fashionable place for well-to-do young families to build their homes. The houses they constructed reflect a variety of different architectural styles, which, along with many beautiful churches, add to the visual interest of the area” (south-end-boston.com). Following this glamorous beginning, in the 1870s a financial crisis occurred that forced many people to leave and the bank to repossess homes and reduce property value. All former residents moved back to Back Bay (in the suburbs). In the 1900s, nearly all residents were tenements and lodgers who created the jazz scene within South Boston. In following years, many immigrants came to the city but in the 1960s poverty and crime ravished the town. There was a physical decline of the beautiful buildings and gardens. Thus, a South End Historical Society was formed. This led to much fame in the community and in 1983, South Boston was declared a Boston Landmark District. Finally in the 1990s with rising rents and property taxes, the area became more upper-middle-class and full of commercial enterprises as the area grew more and more rapidly into the great city it is seen as today.

Works Cited Vadum, Arlene. “A Short History of Boston’s South End.” The South End. n.p., n.d. Web. 6 November 2013. O’Connor, Thomas H. South Boston, My Home Town: The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood. Lebanon: University Press of New England, 1988. Print.