West Roxbury

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West Roxbury
Neighborhood of Boston
Centre Street, West Roxbury.jpg
Centre Street in West Roxbury
Seal of West Roxbury, Massachusetts.png
Seal
Boston ONS Neighborhoods.svg
West Roxbury is a neighborhood located in the southwest corner of the city of Boston.
CountryUnited States
State Massachusetts
County Suffolk
City Boston
Settled1630
Founded1851
Area
 • Total4.61 sq mi (11.9 km2)
 • Land4.56 sq mi (11.8 km2)
 • Water0.05 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total30,446
 • Density6,676.8/sq mi (2,577.9/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern)
Zip Code
02132
Area code 617 / 857

West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, the towns of Dedham and Needham to the southwest, and Hyde Park to the southeast. West Roxbury is often mistakenly confused with Roxbury, but the two are separated from each other by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain.

Contents

Before 1630, the area was inhabited by the Wampanoag Indian Tribe.

Founded in 1630 (contemporaneously with Boston), West Roxbury was originally part of the town of Roxbury and was mainly used as farmland. West Roxbury seceded from Roxbury in 1851, and was annexed by Boston in 1874. The town included the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale.

West Roxbury's main commercial thoroughfare is Centre Street. West Roxbury Main Streets is a local non-profit that works to enhance and promote the business district. The neighborhood has some two-family houses but mostly single family homes; many of Boston's civil servants live there.

West Roxbury is home to District E-5 of the Boston Police Department, Boston Emergency Medical Services Ambulance 5 that posts at the intersection of West Roxbury Parkway at Centre St and Paramedic 5 stationed at the Faulkner Hospital provide EMS service, and there are two Boston fire stations, Ladder 25 & Engine 30 on Centre Street and Engine 55 on Washington Street. The Needham Branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail network has three stations in West Roxbury (Bellevue, Highland and West Roxbury). Several MBTA bus lines run through and/or terminate in West Roxbury. A large Veterans Affairs hospital is located opposite the Charles River on the VFW Parkway near the Dedham line. West Roxbury is home to several places of worship, including three Catholic parishes, churches of various Protestant denominations, and a Jewish synagogue.

The neighborhood was home to an experimental transcendentalist Utopian community called Brook Farm, which attracted notable figures including Margaret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose 1852 novel The Blithedale Romance is based on his stay there. [1]

Like its neighboring communities, West Roxbury's residential development grew with the construction of the West Roxbury branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad; the area grew further with the development of electric streetcars.

Demographics

Until the 2000 census West Roxbury's population had been recorded as declining slightly, but it increased at the 2010 census. This could be due to more rigorous counting procedures instituted by the City of Boston and Massachusetts in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid losing the state's tenth congressional seat. [2] [3]

2010 Census 30,446 (4.9% of 617,594 citywide)
2000 Census 28,663 (4.9% of 589,141 citywide)
1990 Census 29,706 (5.2% of 574,383 citywide)
1980 Census 31,333
Population growth/decline, 2000–2010: +6.2%
Population growth/decline, 1990–2000: -3.51%
Population growth/decline, 1980–1990: -5.19%

West Roxbury has historically been a heavily Irish Catholic neighborhood. [4] In the twentieth century, upwardly mobile Irish Americans moved to the neighborhood from elsewhere in Boston. [5] [6] By the first decade of the 21st century, an influx of new residents contributed to increased ethnic diversity in the neighborhood. [7]

The Irish Social Club of Boston, founded in Dorchester in 1945, moved its headquarters to West Roxbury in 1978, and had a membership of 15,000 in the mid-1970s. [8] The club closed in 2011 due to financial troubles and declining membership (the club had around 300 members at the time, mostly seniors). [8] Support from the city council and state lawmakers allowed the club to obtain a liquor license and reopen, and by 2013 the group had about 800 members. [9]

In March 1965, an investigative study of property tax assessment practices published by the National Tax Association of 13,769 properties sold within the City of Boston under Mayor John F. Collins from January 1, 1960 to March 31, 1964, found that the assessed values in Roxbury in 1962 were at 68 percent of market values while the assessed values in West Roxbury were at 41 percent of market values, and the researchers could not find a nonracial explanation for the difference. [10] [11]

Theodore Parker Church

At Centre and Corey Streets, the Theodore Parker Church features seven stained glass windows made by the Tiffany Studios between 1894 and 1927. The original church, designed in 1890 by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr., is now a parish hall. Henry Seaver designed the current church in 1900. Theodore Parker (1810–1860), an advocate of progressive religious ideas, abolitionism and women's suffrage, was minister of this Unitarian congregation from 1837 to 1846.

Westerly Burying Ground conflict and secession

Westerly Burying Ground, also known as Westerly Burial Ground, (currently at Centre and LaGrange Streets) was established in 1683 to permit local burial of residents of Jamaica Plain and the western end of Roxbury. When West Roxbury was still part of Roxbury, the town's first burial place was what is today Eliot Burying Ground, near Dudley Square. This was a long distance to travel for the inhabitants of West Roxbury, and in 1683 the town selectmen voted to establish a local burying place, now known as Westerly Burying Ground. A conflict between the rural and more urbanised parts of the town led to the split of West Roxbury from Roxbury proper in 1851. [12] West Roxbury became part of the City of Boston on 5 January 1874. [13] Westerly Burying Ground served as this community's burial place well into the 19th century. The oldest graves contain many of the town's earliest and most prominent families. Eight veterans of the American Revolution and fifteen veterans of the American Civil War are also buried here. War veterans interred are detailed in the article “Westerly" and the Civil War. [14] The site has a large collection of three centuries of funerary art. One-third of its extant gravestones date from the 18th century; almost half date from the 19th century, and about twenty from the 20th-century. Westerly Burying Ground has many individual mound tombs; mound tombs at other burying grounds are typically larger, built to contain a number of bodies. The oldest gravestone, from 1691, commemorates James and Merriam Draper, members of a prominent West Roxbury family. Headstones, skilfully carved locally, provide an historic record of three centuries of West Roxbury residents.

Boston United Hand in Hand Cemetery

Boston United Hand in Hand Cemetery is located on Centre Street straddling the Dedham line. Dating back to 1875, the original plot was full by 1896 but subsequently expanded multiple times. There are graves as recent as 1980 in the West Roxbury portion; the Dedham portion is still active. Chestnut Hill's Congregation Mishka Tefila currently owns the cemetery. [15]

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the West Roxbury Post Office in West Roxbury. [16] West Roxbury is represented by a city councilor, Ben Weber.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Boston Public Schools operates public schools. Ludwig van Beethoven Elementary School, [17] William Ohrenberger School, [18] Joyce Kilmer K-8 School, [19] and Patrick Lyndon K-8 School are in West Roxbury. [20] The three schools in the West Roxbury Education Complex, Media Communications Technology High School, [21] Parkway Academy of Technology and Health, [22] and the Urban Science Academy were located in West Roxbury, but closed in 2019 due to structural issues in the building. [23]

The Roxbury Latin School, a private school for boys, is located in West Roxbury. [24] The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston operates the Holy Name Parish School as well as the St. Theresa of Avila School in West Roxbury. [25]

Catholic Memorial School, which is an all boys private middle and high school, is located on Baker Street.

Public libraries

West Roxbury Branch Library 1989Branch.JPG
West Roxbury Branch Library

Boston Public Library operates the West Roxbury Branch Library. In 1876 the city library took over the West Roxbury Free Library, establishing a delivery station in West Roxbury. The West Roxbury facility was upgraded to a library branch in 1896. In the years of 1921 and 1922 a library building was constructed on the West Roxbury Branch Library current site. In 1973, a fire destroyed the adjacent West Roxbury Congregational Church. The land formerly occupied by the church was donated to the trustees of the library system so an addition could be built. The addition opened to the public on 24 September 1989. [26]

Events

The Corrib Classic 5K Road Race is held annually at Billings Field, LaGrange Street, the first Sunday in June. Since starting in 1994 with 250 runners the event has grown into the largest community event, attracting about 2000 runners, plus event volunteers, families and friends. Centre and Lagrange Streets are briefly closed during the race. It is a benefit event hosted by the Bligh family of the adjacent Corrib Pub and Restaurant that has raised over half a million dollars over the years for a variety of local causes. [27] The Parkway Little League Parade, is a small event to start little league baseball and softball for the areas of West Roxbury and Roslindale. Young baseball and softball players dress up in their team uniforms and march from Fallon field in Roslindale to the Guy Cammarata Complex in West Roxbury. The Shamrock Shootout is an annual street hockey tournament that takes place in West Roxbury. The event was started in 2008 for neighborhood kids who had school off for Evacuation Day. The tournament is free with registration. [28]

Notable people

Sites of interest

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Public Library</span> Library in Massachusetts, US

The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth, meaning all adult residents of the state are entitled to borrowing and research privileges, and the library receives state funding. The Boston Public Library contains approximately 24 million items, making it the third-largest public library in the United States behind the federal Library of Congress and New York Public Library, which is also privately endowed. In 2014, the library held more than 10,000 programs, all free to the public, and lent 3.7 million materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxbury, Boston</span> Neighborhood of Boston in Massachusetts, United States

Roxbury is a neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaica Plain</span> Neighborhood in Boston

Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of 4.4 square miles (11 km2) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbury during the formation of West Roxbury in 1851 and became part of Boston when West Roxbury was annexed in 1874. In the 19th century, Jamaica Plain became one of the first streetcar suburbs in America and home to a significant portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslindale</span> Neighborhood of Boston in Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan. It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby Jamaica Plain. Roslindale has its own branch of the Boston Public Library, the neighborhood is covered by Boston Police District E-5 in West Roxbury, Boston EMS Ambulance 17 is stationed in Roslindale, and the Boston Fire Department has a station on Canterbury Street which houses Ladder 16, Engine 53 & District Chief 12. Roslindale's original Engine Company 45, was deactivated on April 10, 1981, due to budget cuts. Roslindale was once called the "garden suburb" of Boston. The portion of the Arnold Arboretum south of Bussey Street is located in Roslindale.

The Southwest Corridor or Southwest Expressway was a project designed to bring an eight-lane highway into the City of Boston from a direction southwesterly of downtown. It was supposed to connect with Interstate 95 (I-95) at Route 128. As originally designed, it would have followed the right of way of the former Penn Central/New Haven Railroad mainline running from Readville, north through Roslindale, Forest Hills and Jamaica Plain, where it would have met the also-cancelled I-695. The 50-foot-wide median for the uncompleted "Southwest Expressway" would have carried the southwest stretch of the MBTA Orange Line within it, replacing the Washington Street Elevated railway's 1901/1909-built elevated railbed. Another highway, the four-lane South End Bypass, was proposed to run along the railroad corridor between I-695 in Roxbury and I-90 near Back Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest Hills station (MBTA)</span> Transit station in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Forest Hills station is an intermodal transfer station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA rapid transit Orange Line and three MBTA Commuter Rail lines and is a major terminus for MBTA bus routes. It is located in Forest Hills, in the southern part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Most Providence/Stoughton Line and Franklin/Foxboro Line trains, and all Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains, pass through the station without stopping. Forest Hills station is fully accessible on all modes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Street (Boston)</span> Street in Boston, Massachusetts

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods in Boston</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Needham Line</span> MBTA Commuter Rail line

The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at just 13.7 miles (22.0 km) long, it carried 4,881 daily riders in October 2022. Unlike the MBTA's eleven other commuter rail lines, the Needham Line is not a former intercity mainline; instead, it is composed of a former branch line, a short segment of one intercity line, and a 1906-built connector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest Hills, Boston</span> United States historic place

Forest Hills is a part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Forest Hills is characterized by hilly terrain and wooded areas within and adjacent to its borders. In general, the area slopes upward from Hyde Park Ave and downward from Walk Hill Street.

John M. Tobin Jr. is a former member of the Boston City Council, having represented District 6 from 2002 through 2010. His district included the neighborhoods of West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Roslindale and Mission Hill. His has been the Vice President of City and Community Affairs at Northeastern University since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslindale Village station</span> MBTA Commuter Rail station

Roslindale Village station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station on the Needham Line, located in the Roslindale Square business district of the Roslindale neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. The station has a single side platform serving the line's single track, with a mini-high platform for accessibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Roxbury station</span>

West Roxbury station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Boston, Massachusetts, served by the Needham Line. It is located on an embankment above Lagrange Street in the West Roxbury neighborhood. The station is accessible with a short mini-high platform on the outbound end of the main platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway</span> Historic parkway in West Roxbury, Massachusetts

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway is a historic parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Washington Street at the Dedham-West Roxbury border, from where it travels north and then east, ending at a junction with Centre Street, near the Arnold Arboretum. The highway is almost entirely contained within the West Roxbury neighborhood, although it passes through part of the Chestnut Hill neighborhood near its junction with the West Roxbury Parkway. Most of its length, from Spring Street in West Roxbury to its eastern end, is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), a successor to the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) which oversaw the road's construction. The parkway was built in stages between 1930 and 1942, and was designed to provide a parkway connection from the Upper Charles River Reservation to other MDC parks via the West Roxbury Parkway. The DCR portion of the road was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The road formerly carried the designation for U.S. Route 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stony Brook (Charles River tributary, Boston)</span> Buried river in Boston, Massachusetts

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church (Dedham, Massachusetts)</span> Church in Massachusetts, United States

St. Mary of the Assumption Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, in the Archdiocese of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkway, Boston</span>

Parkway is a section of the West Roxbury and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Parkway takes its name from the parkways that pass through West Roxbury, specifically West Roxbury Parkway and VFW Parkway. Much of the land that makes up Parkway was once owned by the Weld family, as evidenced by Weld Street that runs through the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rail in Dedham, Massachusetts</span>

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Patrick O'Beirne was an Irish-born priest who ministered in the Archdiocese of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaica Plain High School</span> High school in Boston, Massachusetts

Jamaica Plain High School is a defunct four-year public high school that served students in ninth through twelfth grades in the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, United States. The school held its first classes in 1849 and was last located at 144 McBride Street from 1979 until its closure in 1989.

References

  1. ↑ My Friends at Brook Farm, John Van Der Zee Sears
  2. ↑ "Demographic and Housing Profile" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "West Roxbury Profile" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  4. ↑ J. Anthony Lukas, Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families (Vintage Books, 1986), p. 209.
  5. ↑ Timothy J. Meagher, The Columbia Guide to Irish American History (Columbia University Press, 2005), p. 132.
  6. ↑ Susan Gedutis, See You at the Hall: Boston's Golden Era of Irish Music and Dance (Northeastern University Press, 2004), p. 191.
  7. ↑ Sarah Schweitzer, A cultural remix in West Roxbury: Neighborhood keeps charm with influx of outsiders, Boston Globe (September 2, 2009).
  8. 1 2 Matt Rocheleau, After 65 years, Irish Social Club of Boston closes abruptly, Boston Globe (April 20, 2011).
  9. ↑ Ed Forry, The Irish Social Club is ready for the future, Boston Irish Reporter (February 7, 2013).
  10. ↑ Oldman, Oliver; Aaron, Henry (1965). "Assessment-Sales Ratios Under the Boston Property Tax". National Tax Journal. 18 (1). National Tax Association: 36–49. doi:10.1086/NTJ41791421. JSTOR   41791421. S2CID   232213907.
  11. ↑ Rothstein, Richard (2017). The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation. pp. 170–171. ISBN   978-1631494536.
  12. ↑ West Roxbury Timeline. The town was incorporated 24 May 1851.
  13. ↑ About West Roxbury, City of Boston
  14. ↑ “Westerly” and the Civil War
  15. ↑ "Cemetery Detail Map" . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Post Office Location – WEST ROXBURY." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  17. ↑ "Ludwig van Beethoven Elementary School." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  18. ↑ "William Ohrenberger School." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  19. ↑ "Joyce Kilmer K-8 School." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  20. ↑ "Patrick Lyndon K-8 School." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  21. ↑ "Parkway Academy of Technology and Health." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  22. ↑ "Media Communications Technology High School." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  23. ↑ "Boston School Committee Votes to Close 2 West Roxbury High Schools". 20 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "Directions." Roxbury Latin School. Founded in 1645, it has been located on Saint Theresa Avenue in West Roxbury since 1927. The school's endowment is estimated at US,3.8 million, the largest of any boys' school in the United States. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  25. ↑ "Holy Name Parish School." Holy Name Parish. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  26. ↑ "West Roxbury Branch Library." Boston Public Library. Retrieved on 23 May 2010.
  27. ↑ http://www.coolrunning.com/major/09/corrib/general_info.html The 16th Annual Corrib Classic 5K
  28. ↑ "Shamrock Shootout Golf Invitational | Dallas, Texas". Archived from the original on 9 January 2011.
  29. ↑ "Millennium Park". Newton Conservators. Retrieved 29 June 2023.

Further reading

A hundred comparative historic photos, 1850–2000, of the area around Centre Street.

42°16′45″N71°08′58″W / 42.27917°N 71.14944°W / 42.27917; -71.14944

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