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Spanning nearly 1 square mile, the South End section of Boston is the largest Victorian neighborhood in America. With its bounty of Victorian row houses and new loft-style developments, the South End has become the first choice of professionals, artists and families alike.
The South End is know for its diversity, food and culture, as well as its close proximity to shopping, public transportation, the Back Bay, Symphony Hall, the Boston Ballet and much more.
Add to this such anticipated events as the annual Garden Tour, Open Studios, Boston Center for the Arts performances and numerous festivals, parades and street fairs, and it is no wonder that so many of us call the South End home
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Boston's South End, bound by Massachusetts Avenue, East Berkeley Street, Albany Street and the Southwest Corridor, is the largest intact Victorian neighborhood in America.
Originally laid out in 1801 by Charles Bulfinch, the South End was designed around the former "Boston Neck," a barren strip of land surrounded by marshes, which connected Boston to the mainland area of Roxbury. Constructed as a grid pattern of streets with center parks and Victorian rowhouses, the South End was infilled by the South Cove Company during the 1830's.
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| | Union Park (Courtesy of Southend Historical Society) |
During the 1840's and 1850's, residential expansion
went into full gear. The residential streets of the "New South End" had center
parks, enclosed by lavish cast-iron fences and fountains. Victorian style
rowhouses were built, with red brick construction, swelled brick facades and
uniform roof cornices. The new streets were based on a grid pattern, and were
termed "a district well laid out." |
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| | Victorian Parlor (Courtesy of S.E Historical Society) |
By 1860, this expansion had produced streets such as
Union Park, Concord Square, Worcester Square and Chester Park. Newly constructed
single-family townhomes were occupied by Boston's upper class. With the
residential expansion also came the emergence of a number of churches and
synagogues, the Boston City Hospital and the original Boston College. Business
also flourished, with manufacturers such as Chickering, Emerson and Vose Piano
calling the South End home.
During the 1870's however, the South End
slipped out of fashion. The infill of the Back Bay lead to the construction of
larger mansions, which attracted many of the affluent South End residence. The
Panic of 1873 also lead to many failed mortgages, and the South End found itself
transformed from a elegant residential neighborhood to a lodging and
boardinghouse district.
By World War II, the South End had emerged as a
nexus for different cultures, religions and beliefs. African Americans, Asian
Americans and Latino Americans, among other groups from around the world, came
to call the South End home. While the culture of the South End thrived, much of
the architecture fell into disrepair, or was demolished to make way for new
housing. |
Tremont Street looking toward the BCA and Atelier |
By 1970 however, the architecture of the South End
was rediscovered by urban professionals and Victorian architecture enthusiasts,
who restored many of the rowhouses to their original glory. In 1973, the South
End was named to the National Registry of Historical Places, and in 1983, the
South End was designated a Landmark District. This designation provided
guidelines for construction and restoration of rowhouses, as to preserve Charles
Bullfinch's vision of an elegant Victorian neighborhood.
Today, the
South End continues to thrive as an energetic, multi-cultured community. The
Victorian rowhouses of the 1800's have been restored as condominiums and
single-family townhouses. Cultural centers, such as the Boston Ballet and Boston
Center for the Arts (BCA) reside, as well as many successful businesses and
restaurants.
Currently, an estimated two billion dollars in residential
construction is underway, making the South End a popular neighborhood for urban
professionals, empty nesters and families alike. |
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