25 Facts About East Boston

1.

East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637.

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2.

Logan International Airport is located in East Boston, connecting Boston to domestic and international locations.

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3.

East Boston has long provided homes for immigrants with Irish, Russian Jews and later, Italians.

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4.

From 1920 to 1954, East Boston was the site of the East Boston Immigration Station, which served as the regional immigration hub for Boston and the surrounding area.

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5.

The town of East Boston was first developed on the largest of these, Noddle's, a noted source of timber and grazing land, used for farming by English colonists throughout the eighteenth century.

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6.

East Boston's purpose was to own and develop the land and call it East Boston.

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7.

East Boston's ships included the Flying Cloud, which made two 89-day passages from New York to San Francisco and the Sovereign of the Seas, which posted the fastest speed ever by a sailing ship in 1854.

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8.

The East Boston Company believed the neighborhood could not become a valuable asset until people had a way to reach the area from the Boston mainland.

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9.

Steam railroad system was still in its infancy at this point, and the East Boston Company was approached by an inventor of a new type of rail system, the suspension railway.

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10.

The Maverick and East Boston ferries began service from Lewis Wharf on the mainland to East Boston.

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11.

The Orient Heights section of East Boston was the first area in Massachusetts to which Italians immigrated in the 1860s and 1870s, and today the heart of the Italian community remains in East Boston.

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12.

Unlike Ellis Island in New York, inspectors at the East Boston station processed immigrants at steamship docks, only transferring to the immigration station problem cases who had issues with their paperwork or required a secondary interview.

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13.

Opposite the station, steps leading to East Boston were called the 'Golden Stairs' “because they represented the final climb to golden opportunity in America for countless Europeans.

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14.

When my great grandfather left here to become a cooper in East Boston, he carried nothing with him except two things: a strong religious faith and a strong desire for liberty.

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15.

East Boston has eight places on the National Register of Historic Places:.

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16.

East Boston is the headquarters for District A-7 of the Boston Police Department.

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17.

East Boston's population is ethnically diverse, reflecting the immigrants from around the world who moved there.

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18.

East Boston has two high schools in their district; East Boston High School and Excel Academy Charter High School, which was founded in 2015.

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19.

East Boston has various non-profits that work to address issues the community face like immigration, tenant's rights, youth engagement, environmental justice, housing, and more.

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20.

City of Boston runs two community centers in East Boston: Orient Heights Community Center and Paris Street Community Center.

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21.

In 2019, the East Boston Greenway was renamed the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, honoring Mary Ellen Welch, a well-known community activist.

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22.

East Boston's was one of the first individuals who supported the greenway creation and challenged Massport for their responsibility for noise pollution from the airport.

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23.

Today, East Boston has 230 acres of protected open space, and 371 acres of total open space.

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24.

East Boston has two annual recurring celebrations take place every summer.

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25.

The MBTA's Blue Line stops in East Boston include Maverick, Airport, Wood Island, Orient Heights, and Suffolk Downs.

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