South Boston, Massachusetts

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

History

Geographically, Dorchester Neck was an isthmus, a narrow strip of land that connected the mainland of the colonial settlement of Dorchester, Massachusetts with Dorchester Heights. Landfill has since greatly increased the amount of land on the eastern side of the historical neck, and widened the connection the mainland to the point that South Boston is no longer considered separate from it. South Boston gained an identity separate from Dorchester, but the two were annexed by Boston in pieces, from 1804 to 1870. (See History of Boston, Massachusetts.)

It was here on Dorchester Heights, during the American Revolutionary War that George Washington placed his cannon and forced the evacuation of the British troops from Boston on March 17, 1776. The British evacuated Boston and Fort William and Mary for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Fort William and Mary was replaced with a brick fortification known as Fort Independence. That fort was replaced by a granite fortification (bearing the same name) prior to the American Civil War, and still stands on Castle Island.

During the 1970s South Boston received national attention for its opposition to court mandated school (de facto) desegregation by busing students to different neighborhoods. In the 1990s, South Boston became the focus for a Supreme Court case on the right of gay and lesbian groups to participate in the Saint Patrick's Day (Evacuation Day) parade. The case was decided in favor of the parade's sponsors when the United States Supreme Court supported the South Boston Allied War Veterans right to determine who can participate in their annual St. Patrick's Day parade. Local Dorchester author Paul Joseph Walkowski and Attorney William Connolly detailed the ordeals of the Veterans in their book "From Trial Court to the United States Supreme Court."

"Southie" is home to the first memorial for Vietnam Veterans in the United States. It was dedicated on September 13, 1981 and is located at Independence Square, which is more commonly called "M Street Park."

The City Point area of South Boston, labeled "East Side" by realtors, has seen a major increase in property values due to its close proximity to downtown Boston and gentrification. Poorer areas around Andrew Square and the Lower End, referred to as the "West Side" by real estate brokers, face a lot of the same problems found in many city neighborhoods including drug addiction and street crime.

The section of South Boston north of First Street is targeted for massive redevelopment by the administration of Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Authority^[1]. Initially referred to as the "Seaport District" by the BRA, this area was officially restyled the "South Boston Waterfront" after virulent protest from natives and local politicians, including City Council President James M. Kelly. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project, also known as the "Big Dig" has created a completely new transportation network for this area and quite a few new hotel and office projects have come online in the past few years. The recently opened Boston Convention and Exhibition Center straddles D Street and a new home for the Institute of Contemporary Art hangs over Boston Harbor just north of Northern Avenue.

Demographics

South Boston is well known for being an Irish-American neighborhood. A small portion of its residents are of Polish and Lithuanian descent. According to the 2000 U.S. Census 90 percent of South Boston's population is Irish-Catholic.

Public housing

South Boston is home to some of the oldest public housing projects in the United States. In the last thirty years they have changed from having a mostly white population to a more ethnically mixed population. These housing facilities are under the control of the Boston Housing Authorityand include West Broadway, West Ninth Street (these two facilities are next to each other and commonly called the "D Street Projects"), Old Colony, and Mary Ellen McCormack (also known as the Old Harbor). Other developments are the Foley, and Monsignor Powers.The According to recent information found in the Boston Herald January 14, 2007 edition, 3 out of the 6 most dangerous housing projects in Boston are in Southie. West Broadway, M.E. McCormack, and Old Colony ranked 4th, 5th, and 6th on the list with 88, 77, and 72 reported crimes last year.

Public transportation

South Boston is served by three Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Red Line rapid transit stations: Broadway, Andrew and JFK/Umass (formerly Columbia). MBTA bus service connects these stations with the residential areas of South Boston, downtown Boston and the Back Bay. The MBTA Silver Line, a bus rapid transit service running partly in a tunnel from South Station, also serves the north side of South Boston and City Point. South Boston is also served by 5 bus routes including the numbers 5, 7, 9, 10, 11.

Notable residents

South Boston has produced its share of notable and notorious citizens. Among them are:

• William Bulger, President of the Massachusetts Senate, President of the University of Massachusetts
• James "Whitey" Bulger, brother of William M. Bulger and alleged leader of the Winter Hill Gang, head of Boston's organized crime, who is currently a federal fugitive on the FBI's Most Wanted List [1]
• James Brendan Bennet Connolly, Athlete and Author, who, in 1896, became the first modern Olympic champion [2]
• John Cunniff, Professional hockey coach and athlete [3]
• Richard Cushing, Cardinal Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston
• Raymond Flynn, United States Ambassador to the Holy See and former Mayor of Boston
• Michael Patrick MacDonald, Author
• John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives
• Will McDonough, Sportswriter and Television Analyst
• John Joseph Moakley, Congressman, Chair of U.S. House Committee on Rules
• Stephen Lynch, Congressman, one of the lead investigators in the "Steroids in Baseball" investigation.
• Brian Noonan, Stanley Cup Champion 1994 New York Rangers
• Patricia Wright South Boston Action Center Director

Pop culture references

South Boston is the home of the fictional Irish-American character Will Hunting, a troubled young prodigy played by Matt Damon, who works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Good Will Hunting, a 1997 film directed by Gus Van Sant.

Another notable motion picture which was filmed partially in South Boston is Mystic River (film) directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, and Sean Penn. A local corner store, Miller's Market of 366 K Street, was used as one of the character's businesses.

The movie The Boondock Saints also takes place in South Boston, paying homage to the area's loyalty to Catholicism, St. Patrick’s Day, and Irish heritage.

The movie The Verdict takes place in South Boston and was filmed there. This movie starred Paul Newman and was a legal thriller about an alcoholic lawyer who takes on the Catholic church in a case of medical malpractice involving a Catholic hospital and a dead plaintiff.

The Movie Southie is set in South Boston, about a Boston mobster who returns home to South Boston and finds that things have not changed in the old neighborhood.

Two recent films have been shot in South Boston. The Departed starring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Gone, Baby, Gone the directorial debut of Ben Affleck.

There have been many books written about the South Boston culture ranging from the Politic, in the book The Boston Irish, the personal in All Souls: A Family Story From Southie, the gang related Black Mass, and/or the historical, political, social and personal "That Old Gang Of Mine."

The Dropkick Murphys are a punk band; they frequently reference South Boston's Irish heritage and sports loyalties in their songs - despite forming in nearby Quincy.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer character Faith Lehane was born and raised in South Boston, and maintains a dialect reminiscent of the area.

The Chicago improv comedy show Dirty Water takes place in a fictional bar by the same name in Southie. The bar is loosely based on Kiley's Tavern[4] (Formerly "Lally's Tavern") on Old Colony Avenue and D Street.

Further Reading

• Alcorn, Frank, "Southie Boy", Carmel, Ind.: Cork Hill Press, c2005.
• Malloy, Ione, "Southie won't go : a teacher's diary of the desegregation of South Boston High School", Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1986
• MacDonald, Michael Patrick, "All Souls", London: Little, Brown, 2000, c1999.
• McMullin, Thomas A., "South Boston: My Home Town, The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood", Historical Journal of Massachusetts, Winter 2000. Review of Thomas O'Connor's book.
• O'Connor, Thomas H., "South Boston: My Home Town, The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood", Northeastern University Press, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, 1994.

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