Orient Heights is a historic section of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is commonly considered part of East Boston; it is Boston's northernmost and northeasternmost neighborhood.
The neighborhood sits on a hill, which measures 152 feet in elevation at its highest point. Boston's first Italian immigrants settled on the hill in the 1860s and 1870s, and the neighborhood has remained Italian-dominated since. The main thoroughfare through Orient Heights is Bennington Street, and the principal intersection, Orient Heights Square, is that of Bennington Street and Saratoga Street.
The hill of Orient Heights was once called Hog's Island, but was later renamed Breed's Island, not to be confused with Breed's Hill, the location of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The hill was one of the five islands that comprised East Boston prior to its annexation by Boston in 1836.
Well into the 20th century, Italian and English were still spoken in roughly equal amounts in Orient Heights. It is documented that, as recently as the 1950s, masses at St. Lazarus Church (renamed to St. Joseph - St. Lazarus after a merger of parishes) in Orient Heights were delivered by Pastor Luigi Toma in English, Italian and Latin.
In more recent years, an increasing Portuguese-speaking population has appeared, and nearly a third of the residents have South American ancestry.
Two public elementary schools are in the neighborhood; Curtis Guild Elementary on Leyden Street, and Manassah E. Bradley Elementary on Beachview Road.
In 1912, the Boston Public Library opened a second library branch in East Boston, the Orient Heights branch. The branch was closed in the fall of 2013, and the remaining East Boston branch on Bremen Street is the nearest to the neighborhood.
One of Boston's more popular public beaches, Constitution Beach, is located in the Orient Heights. It is known to locals as "Shay's Beach." The beach underwent renovations in the late 1990s as a new public bathhouse and refreshment stand was added, as well as a new pedestrian walkway over the tracks of the Blue Line onto Bennington Street.
Orient Heights is home to three places on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the most recognizable landmarks of East Boston is the 35-foot (11 m)-high statue of the Madonna. Atop Orient Heights, it is the national headquarters for the Don Orione order. Constructed in 1956, the statue is a full-size replica of the original statue at the Don Orione Center in the Montemario district of Rome, Italy. It was designed by Jewish-Italian sculptor Arrigo Minerbi, who wanted to show his gratitude to the Catholic Church for having shielded him and his family from the Nazis during World War II. Across the street from the Shrine is the Don Orione Home, a nursing home founded by the Don Orione priests. [1] The chapel was designed by Italian architect Mario Bacciocchi.
The Shrine and Home were led by Fr. Rocco Crescenzi (January 6, 1916 - April 3, 2011), who was sent from Italy for this purpose. Crescenzi had been an errand boy for St. Luigi Orione himself. The nonagenarian Crescenzi was still active at the Home and Shrine at the time of his passing.
Atop a hill in Orient Heights sits a large cross. The steel cross on the site today replaced the original wooden cross erected by The Madonna Shrine. It also marks the site of the second battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Chelsea Creek.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Blue Line runs through the neighborhood, which is serviced by the Orient Heights and Suffolk Downs stations. Several MBTA bus routes run through the neighborhood; the 120 down Bennington Street between the Orient Heights and Maverick train stations, and the 712 and 713 between the Orient Heights station and Winthrop. No MBTA buses service the Suffolk Downs station, which with the closing of the Suffolk Downs racetrack and a lack of associated bus routes has the lowest ridership of any heavy rail transit station in the MBTA system.
Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor, close to Logan International Airport. It is located on a peninsula, 1.6 square miles (4.2 km2) in area, connected to Revere by a narrow isthmus and to multiple portions of Boston by a bridge over the harbor inlet to the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation in the Neighborhood of East Boston, a shared border at the Boston Logan International Airport, and at Deer Island.
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts that was annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and downtown Boston by Boston Harbor. The footprint of the East Boston neighborhood as it is known today was created in the 1940s by connecting five of the inner harbor islands using land fill. Logan International Airport is located in East Boston, connecting Boston to domestic and international locations.
The Blue Line is a rapid transit line in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, one of four rapid transit lines operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It runs from Bowdoin station in downtown Boston under Boston Harbor to East Boston and Revere on the inner North Shore, where it terminates at Wonderland. The stop at Airport Station, by way of a free shuttle bus, is one of two rapid transit connections to Logan International Airport. In 1967, during a systemwide rebranding, the line was assigned the blue color because it passes under the Boston Harbor. With an end-to-end travel time of less than twenty minutes, the Blue Line is the shortest of Boston's heavy-rail lines and the only line to have both third rail and overhead catenary sections.
The North End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It has the distinction of being the city's oldest residential community, which has been inhabited since it was colonized in the 1630s. It is only 0.36 square miles (0.93 km2), yet the neighborhood has nearly one hundred establishments and a variety of tourist attractions. It is known for its Italian American population and Italian restaurants.
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a 3 ft narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Blue Line rapid transit service.
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles (10 km) west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is best known for being home to Boston College and a section of the Boston Marathon route. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity. It is located partially in Brookline in Norfolk County; partially in the city of Boston in Suffolk County, and partially in the city of Newton in Middlesex County. Chestnut Hill's borders are defined by the 02467 ZIP Code. The name refers to several small hills that overlook the 135-acre Chestnut Hill Reservoir rather than one particular hill.
Mattapan station is an MBTA light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, part of the Red Line, and is also an important MBTA bus transfer station, with eight routes terminating there. It is located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood. At the station, streetcars use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont station. Mattapan station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms.
Revere Beach station is a rapid transit station in Revere, Massachusetts. Located between Beach Street and Shirley Avenue, it serves the MBTA Blue Line. It serves Revere Beach, a popular summer destination with a substantial year-round resident population. It opened in January 1954 on the site of a former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station, as part of an extension to Wonderland. Revere Beach station was closed and rebuilt from 1994 to 1995.
The Sons of Divine Providence, commonly called the Orionine Fathers, is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded in 1903 by Luigi Orione (1872–1940) in Turin, Italy. Its members add the nominal letters F.D.P. after their names to indicate membership in the congregation. It is dedicated to helping the poor and is currently active in 23 nations.
Wonderland station is a transit station in Revere, Massachusetts located adjacent to Revere Beach. It is the northern terminus of the MBTA Blue Line rapid transit line, as well as a major bus transfer station for Revere and the North Shore area, serving MBTA bus routes 110, 116, 117, 411, 424, 426W, 439, 441, 442, 450W, and 455. The station is fully accessible.
Wood Island station is a MBTA Blue Line rapid transit station located off Bennington Street in the Day Square section of East Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. The station is adjacent to and named for the former Wood Island Park, a once heavily used recreational area for East Boston residents. Most of the park was destroyed in the mid 1960s to expand Logan International Airport. It was built in 1952, replacing a pair of Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad stations that served the area.
Day Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The square consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Bennington Street and Chelsea Street. It is one of the neighborhood's larger and more active business districts with a number of stores, services, and restaurants.
Beachmont station is an elevated rapid transit station in Revere, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Blue Line, and is located above Winthrop Avenue in the Beachmont neighborhood. Beachmont station is fully accessible, with elevators from the lobby to the platforms.
Suffolk Downs station is a rapid transit station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Blue Line, located on the east side of Orient Heights in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named for the now-defunct Suffolk Downs racetrack, located just to the north. Suffolk Downs station has two side platforms, with a footbridge structure of brick, concrete, and steel connecting them. The station is accessible. With just 521 daily boardings in FY 2019, Suffolk Downs is the least-used fare-controlled station on the MBTA subway system.
Orient Heights station is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. The station serves the MBTA Blue Line. It is located off Bennington Street in East Boston's Orient Heights neighborhood. Formerly a Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station under various names from 1875 to 1940, it reopened in 1952. The 1952-built station was closed in March 2013 for a complete rebuilding to provide full accessibility and reopened on November 26, 2013.
North Quincy is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts. It is separated from the city of Boston by the Neponset River, and borders the Quincy neighborhoods of Squantum, Montclair and Wollaston. It contains the smaller neighborhoods of Atlantic and Norfolk Downs, as well as much of Wollaston Beach.
Route 145 is a 6.716-mile-long (10.808 km) circuitous south–north urban state highway in Massachusetts. It is entirely within Suffolk County and primarily serves the peninsular town of Winthrop from East Boston and Revere. Its southern terminus is at Route 1A in East Boston and its northern terminus is at Route 16 in Revere.
Squantum is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, connected to the mainland by a causeway that crosses over a wetland area of the bay. Often thought of as a peninsula, Squantum proper is technically a barrier island as it is surrounded on all four sides by water and is only connected to the mainland and Moon Island via causeways. Located in the northernmost portion of the city, Squantum is bordered on the north by Dorchester Bay and Boston Harbor, on the east by Moon Island and Quincy Bay, on the south by Quincy Bay and North Quincy, and on the west by the Marina Bay development. The population of the neighborhood in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau was 2,365. Squantum has scenic, waterfront views of Boston Harbor and the Boston skyline and has many of Quincy’s most expensive homes. Squantum residents are the wealthiest of any neighborhood in Quincy, according to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, and the home ownership rate is approximately 92%. The neighborhood is further characterized by its tree-lined streets, its "island getaway" feel, close-knit community, and its annual Squantum Fourth of July Parade. As described in a 2020 book, "One road leads in and out of a square mile of land that is a playground for children and a haven for adults." Squantum also has one of the largest Irish populations, on a per capita basis, of any neighborhood in the United States.
Luigi Giovanni Orione was an Italian priest who was active in answering the social needs of his nation as it faced the social upheavals of the late 19th century. To this end, he founded a religious institute of men. He has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church.