This is a taste of the rich history of East Boston, MA

1. East Boston
OUR HISTORY IS BOSTON’S HISTORY

2. INTRODUCTION
The story of East Boston is one of change.
Change in the land, change in the people, and
change in technology. The story of East Boston
is the story of how Boston became, and
continues to be, the center of an urban
metropolis.

3. Immigration
BOSTON’S ELLIS ISLAND

4. Early History
The islands that make up modern day East
Boston were used by Native American Indians
for hunting and fishing grounds.
East Boston annexed to the City of Boston in
1636. This was one of the first non-incorporated
areas to become part of the town of Boston.

5. Early History
Originally, East Boston was a resort and
residential suburb for Boston’s wealthy.
Maverick House.
Source: Boston Public Library (date unknown)
Maverick House.
Source: Images of America, East Boston by Anthony Sammarco. (date unknown)

6. Early 19th Century
East Boston eventually became a center of
Clippership building, shipping, and trade. With
that development, the population of East Boston
became a working class neighborhood,
attracting Irish, Norwegian, Canadian and
Portuguese immigrants to work in its ports,
shipyards and other industries.

7. Early 19th Century
The Launch of The Great Republic in 1853. At the
time, it was considered one of the largest merchant
ships in the world.
The Glory of the Seas built by Donald McKay in 1869.

8. Mid 19th Century
The Irish Potato Famine diversified the neighborhood
again with the arrival of tens of thousands of Irish
environmental refugees.
Despite what many believe, the Cunard line was not the
main means by which the Irish came to Boston. The
Cunard was primarily a mail and freight ship until 1862.
But the Cunard line did spark lower cost passenger ships
straight from Liverpool to East Boston, like the White
Diamond Line. Most of the 1.5 million Irish that
emigrated to the U.S. arrived here in East Boston on these
lower cost ships.

9. Mid 19th Century
Source: The Story of the Irish in Boston: Together with Biographical Sketches
of representative men and noted women . Written by William Taylor Jr
(1889)

10. Late 19th Century
Towards the latter half of the 19th century, even
as demand for clipper ships declined, East
Boston’s trade and port activity increased. This
coincided with the departure of the Irish and the
development of new immigrant communities.
First came Russian and Eastern European Jews.

11. Late 19th Century
Kosher butcher shop and other Jewish run businesses.

12. Early 20th Century
Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans from
Boston’s North and West Ends began moving into
East Boston in large numbers at the turn of the
20th century.
As they moved in, the Eastern Europeans and Irish
migrants moved out.

13. Through the 1970s
East Boston was a primarily Italian immigrant
and Italian-American neighborhood for the first
three-quarters of the 20th century.
This was the first time in East Boston’s history
where the ethnic population was relatively
stable for more than a few decades.

14. Through the 1970s

15. The Last Quarter of the 20th Century
Court ordered desegregation in public housing
developments and schools in the 1970s began the
process of diversifying East Boston. African American and
Puerto Ricans residents first began to move into East
Boston in small numbers during this time.
At the end of the 20th century, the population of East
Boston further diversified with South-East Asian and
North African refugees and Latin-American migrants
moving into the neighborhood and establishing roots.
This change was sometimes the source of conflict,
mirroring the rest of Boston.

16. Source: Associated Press. (1974, September 21). Busing Protests
Spread to East Boston. New York Times.
Source: Schumacher,Edward. (1979, October 22). School Violence
in Boston Reflects A Deep-Seated Racial Animosity. New York
Times.
Source: Butterfield, Fox. (1985, August 31). Violent Incidents Against Asian-
Americans Seen as Part of Racist Pattern. New York Times.

17. The 21st Century – the Modern Era
Consistent with our long history, the neighborhood
is again changing. Today, East Boston is a diverse
mix of ethnicities, with immigrants from Latin
America and Latino/Hispanic-Americans forming
the largest population.
Immigrants from different countries, and different
parts of the USA, continue to diversify the
neighborhood.

18. The 21st Century – the Modern Era
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna ©2006

19. Place of Birth of Current Immigrants
Morocco and Vietnam comprise the two Africa North America
largest African and Asian groups in East 5% 1%
Boston.
Asia
6%
More than half of European
immigrants in East Boston Europe
are from Italy. 9%
Latin America
79%
The largest Latin American
countries represented in East
Boston are:
Source: 2005-2009 American Community Survey, US Census Bureau El Salvador
Colombia
Brazil
Mexico

20. Landscape and
Environment
ISLANDS THAT ARE NO LONGER
ISLANDS

21. East Boston’s Original Landscape
East Boston was originally a group of several
islands. The main island, Noddle Island, was a
popular pastoral spot and an important source
of wood for early colonists. By 1833 most of the
islands had been completely denuded of all but
two trees.

22. East Boston’s Original Landscape
1774 Hinton Map of Boston.
Source: Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library
1775 Map of Boston and Environs.
Source: Boston Redevelopment Authority

23. East Boston Company
When the islands of East Boston were annexed
to Boston, the city took little interest in its
development for almost two hundred years. In
the early 19th century, General W.H. Sumner
incorporated the East Boston Company, which
created a street and development plan for
Noddle Island. That street plan, with very little
change, continues to exist to this day.

24. East Boston Company
1834 Lewis Plan for the East Boston Company.
Source: Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library

25. Landfilling
East Boston as it exists today was created in the
early 19th century by joining five islands
through wharfing out* along the harbor and
also general infilling the mud flats between the
islands.
The EB Company planned to first fill the mud
flats in the eastern part of Noddle’s Island.
*Wharfing out is a specific form of landmaking in which the space in between docks is
filled in as they extend into water. This is different than general infilling where land is
made by depositing fill in tidal areas.

26. Landfilling
1851 Eddy Plan showing improvements and lots sold.
Source: Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library

27. Landfilling
1893 Walker Map.
Source: Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library

28. Landfilling
Aerial Photograph of Boston Municipal Airport, 1932
Source: Boston Public Library
Aerial Photograph of Boston Logan Airport, 1950
Source: Boston Public Library

29. Landfilling
The biggest landfilling project to occur in East Boston was in
the creation of Boston’s Logan airport. The City of Boston
began construction on the Boston Airfield in the mid 1920s by
filling the mud flats just north of Jeffries Point.
The airport’s expansion was slow until the 1950s.
Originally, airport expansion was pursued by filling in between
Noddle, Bird, and Governor’s Island.
In expanding the airport to Governor’s Island, the City
demolished Fort Winthrop. This was originally intended to be
a defensive stone fort but it was never fully completed. The
earthen fort served as a recreational spot for Boston residents
until it was taken for the airport in 1946.

30. Landfilling
In 1968, the state, which had been operating the
airport since 1959, decided to take over Wood
Island Park and some surrounding neighborhoods
to further expand the airport. Residents were
outraged. A group of mothers laid down in the path
of trucks coming to work on the expansion in
protest. Several were arrested and the airport’s
expansion continued. Today, Logan Airport
comprises two-thirds of the land space of East
Boston and continues to be a source of controversy
among residents.

31. Land Use
WHERE PEOPLE LIVED, WORKED,
AND PLAYED

32. Urban Development
In the early 18th century, General W.H. Sumner
incorporated the East Boston Company, which
created a street and development plan for
Noddle Island. That street plan, with very little
change, continues to exist to this day.

33. Clipperships
From the 19th through most of the 20th
century, East Boston’s waterfront was a busy
port and industrial center. Through the mid-
19th century, East Boston was the center of New
England’s Clippership building. Lining the
streets leading to the ports were warehouses
that held goods entering and leaving Boston.

34. Clippership building
Source: Boston Public Library

35. Ferries
The ferries were the most important means of
transportation between East Boston and Boston
proper until the construction of the trolley
tunnel in the early 20th century. They
continued to be heavily used until about mid-
20th century. The North Ferry accommodated
only passengers, while the South Ferry could
accommodate both commercial traffic and
passengers. Ferry service ended in 1952.

36. Ferries
North Ferry.
Source: Images of America, East Boston by Anthony
Sammarco. (date unknown)
People’s Ferry Line.
Source: Images of America, East Boston by Anthony Sammarco. (date unknown)

37. An Active Port
When Eastern Railroad constructed the first rail
line in 1838, there was only one pier in East
Boston, located near Maverick Square. Within a
few decades, the entire waterfront transformed
into a busy working port.
The famous Cunard line had its own wharf from
1840 until the mid-20th century.

38. An Active Port
Boston and Albany Piers, c. 1925
Source: Boston Public Library
Docks in East Boston, c.1906
Source: Library of Congress

39. Railroads
Through much of its history, East Boston was a
busy center for the transport of both goods and
people. Railroads facilitated much of that from
the 19th through the mid-20th centuries.
Eastern RR built the first rail line in 1838. It was
quickly followed by Boston and Albany. Boston,
Revere Beach, and Lynn Railroad also
established a line through East Boston.

40. Railroads
Bremen Street Railyard, c. 1925
Source: Boston Public Library

41. Other Industry
Other industries located along the waterfront
included coal storage
warehouses, slaughterhouses, macaroni
manufacturing companies, sugar processing
facilities, metal works and foundries, and docks for
lobster trawlers.
The National Ice Cream Company, famous for ice
cream brands like Fudgesicle and the Eskimo Pie
started in East Boston near what is now the Sumner
Tunnel entrance. The facility sold ice cream to
residents, as well as distributors, from this location.

42. Other Industry
Coal Packets (date unknown)
Source: Boston Public Library
Source: Boston Public Library
Industry on Sumner at New and Border
streets, 1911
Source: Boston Public Library

43. Redevelopment
One common redevelopment pattern seen in
the 1990s and 2000s was to take closed or
abandoned schools and turn them into
housing, usually for seniors and the disabled.
Former Chapman Elementary School currently
the Chapman House Apartments Former Lyman School currently the Lyman
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna©2006
School Apartments
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna©2006

44. Redevelopment
Another common redevelopment pattern we see is the transformation
of former industrial spaces into either housing or open space.
The gumball factory was built in 1920 by the Cox Confectionary
Company. It was converted to condos in 1989 by a private developer.
The former Goddess Bra factory at 156 Porter Street was recently
converted into condos. It was built in 1900 and was originally a GE
light bulb manufacturing facility.
Piers Park, East Boston’s award winning waterfront park, was the site
of the National Dock Storage Warehouses (at Pier 4) as well as one of
the largest grain elevators in Boston. The Bremen Street Park was
previously a massive railyard. The YMCA at the southwestern end of
the park was previously an engine house and later a box spring
manufacturing facility.

45. Redevelopment
Piers Park, 2008
Source: Marcos Luna © 2008
Pier 3 and Grain Elevator, c.1934
Source: Boston Public Library.

46. Social Institutions
East Boston had always had lively social institutions for all
kinds of people.
The Maverick House was a popular hotel and banquet
hall originally built in 1838. It was a summer resort for
the wealthy, a place of “jollification” for area
residents, and an overnight spot for people waiting to
catch a ship to Europe or a train further north. It is
rumored that the late King Edward of England, before
becoming king, stayed at the Maverick house when
visiting Boston. The Maverick House was an important
landmark until 1929 when new owners demolished it and
built a filling station and parking lot.

47. Social Institutions
The Trinity House was built in 1847 as a private
residence. It became a settlement house operated
by the Trinity Church in 1906 long before the
settlement movement took hold. The Trinity House
was an important community resource for Eagle Hill
residents, offering social
services, outreach, language training, and
acculturation before there were other community
institutions doing so. It eventually evolved into a
recreation center for the Italian community with
mother’s clubs, children’s camps, and men’s and
women’s activities.

48. Social Institutions
East Boston had one of the highest
concentrations of religious institutions of any
neighborhood in the city. East Boston once had
over ten Catholic churches alone. Many of these
churches have either closed and been converted
to other uses or been demolished in the building
of the tunnels and freeways.

49. Buddhist Temple, formerly the Church of Our Father Unitarian
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna ©2006
Maverick Congregational
Church, now the site of the East
Boston Social Centers
Source: Boston Public Library
East Boston Head Start school, formerly St. John’s Episcopal Church
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna ©2006

50. Social Institutions
Many social service organizations, both secular and
church affiliated, were created to provide support
and social services, as well as education, to
newcomers. The Goodwill House, the Immigrant
Home, the Sailor’s Home, and the Mission House,
were some of many missions, settlement houses,
and social service agencies serving immigrants and
the working class. In addition, local public schools
like the Lyman School and East Boston High School
provided vocational and language courses.

51. Social Institutions
East Boston Branch Library
Source: Boston Public Library
Immigrant ‘s Home, c1912
Source: Boston Public Library
Trinity House
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna, ©2006
Lyman School, date unknown
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna, personal collection

52. Social Institutions
The Paris Street Public Gym and
Baths is one of the oldest public
gyms and bathhouses in the country.
It opened in 1909 to provide
recreation space, educational and
social programs for the rapidly
growing population. It also provided
a much needed source of personal
hygiene during a time in which
indoor plumbing was only beginning
to be installed in many of the
tenements. People were able to use
the bathing facilities for a small fee
with different schedules of
availability for men and women
(with or without children). Paris Street Gymnasium and Baths
Source: Neenah Estrella-Luna ©2006

53. This is just a sample of the varied
and complex history we would
like to share at the East Boston
Visitor Center and Museum.
We would like your help in telling
this story. For more information
on how you can help, please
contact:
The East Boston Initiative:
Ron Hardaway, Project Coordinator
RHH118@comcast.net
617.569.1818
Susan Parker Brauner, Site Manager
spbrauner@comcast.net or
This work by Neenah Estrella-Luna is licensed under a Creative Commons
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