Allston, Massachusetts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Allston, Boston, Massachusetts)
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. For other uses, see Allston (disambiguation).

Allston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located in the western part of the city. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134.[1] For the most part, Allston is administered collectively with the adjacent neighborhood of Brighton. The two are often referred to together as "Allston-Brighton".

Housing stock varies but largely consists of brick apartment buildings, especially on Commonwealth Avenue and the streets directly off it; while areas further down Brighton Avenue, close to Brighton, are largely dotted with wooden triple-deckers. Lower Allston, across the Massachusetts Turnpike from the rest of Allston, consists of mostly 1890-1920s single-family and multi-family Victorian homes.

The Charles River, viewed at night in winter from the Weeks footbridge, with Allston to the right and Cambridge, Massachusetts to the left.

Contents

[edit] Demographics

The estimated population of Allston is 21,485, a decline of 1.42% from the 2000 Census. The median home cost is $317,000, a decline of 0.97% in the last year. The cost of living is 9.81% higher than the national average. The population density is 18,505/mi2, about 50% higher than the citywide average of 12,166. The median age is 29.2. 76.45% of residents list status as single.[1]

Allston is home to many immigrant populations, the largest groups being from Russia, East Asia, and South America, particularly Brazil and Colombia.

In the 1990s, census figures indicated that 52.6% of its population was aged 20-34 (as compared to 33% for the city of Boston as a whole), an indication of the strong student and "twenty-something" presence. That presence has created tension between some long-time residents and the student population, which constantly cycles in and out as students matriculate and graduate from Boston's many colleges and universities. In addition to nightly dancing and live music at area bars, house parties abound on surrounding streets, particularly during the school year. This has long been a sore point among other Allston residents.[2]

The largest religious affiliation is Catholic (44.96%), followed by Protestant (4.77%), unspecified Christian (4.62%), Jewish (3.58%), Baptist (2.10%), and Islam (1.97%).[1]

[edit] Geography

The ZIP code 02134 is famously identified with Allston, due to a recurring musical piece on the PBS children's series ZOOM — whose originating station, WGBH, was located in the neighborhood until 2007. Residents and mapmakers refer to the eastern part of the former town of Brighton as "Allston." The border runs along Everett Street, continuing along Gordon Street and Kelton Street.

The neighborhood of Allston is almost completely cut off from the main body of the city of Boston by the town of Brookline, which borders Allston on the south and east. It is connected to the rest of Boston only by a small portion of its eastern border that is shared with the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood. Allston is bordered by the Charles River, separating it from the city of Cambridge to the north, and is split in two by the Massachusetts Turnpike. The area north of the turnpike near the river is often referred to as "Lower Allston" or "North Allston." The western edge of Allston is more roughly defined, but is primarily east of the westernmost point of Cambridge.

The busiest section of the neighborhood lies immediately south of the turnpike and centers on the stretch of Harvard Avenue between Commonwealth Avenue and Cambridge Street, which houses many shops, bars, and restaurants. Recent business promotion initiatives have dubbed this area "Allston Village", though the prevalence of musicians and music venues, such as Harpers Ferry, has given rise to the popular nickname "Allston Rock City".[citation needed] The center of the neighborhood is sometimes referred to as the "Allston Shuffle". Lower Allston has been given the nickname "L.A."; Common Ground, a club/bar located near Harvard Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue, sells t-shirts and other items with the slogan "This is L.A. not Boston," a play on the title of an influential hardcore punk compilation, This Is Boston, Not L.A. released in 1982.

[edit] History and culture

Allston Railroad Station, about 1909

Allston was an eastern section of the former town of Brighton.

In 1868, a new railroad depot and post office in Brighton's eastern portion were given the name "Allston" after Washington Allston, the noted painter who had lived and worked across the Charles River in the Cambridgeport section of Cambridge. It can even be said to have been named for a specific painting: Washington Allston's "Fields West of Boston".

Allston has never existed as a separate political entity in its own right. The Town of Brighton was annexed by the City of Boston in 1874.

The Allston community developed largely around large railroad and livestock operations. The Boston and Albany Railroad (now CSX) operated a major yard. Stockyards and a large abattoir operated nearby in the northern part of Brighton. Much of the railroad yard remains in use today as the CSX Beacon Park Yard, but all livestock activity ended by the mid-twentieth century. CSX plans to move its yard operation west, allowing the plot to be redeveloped by Harvard.[3]

A strip running from Brighton Avenue in Allston out Commonwealth Avenue toward Kenmore Square was Boston's original "Automile," lined with automobile dealerships. Packard's Sales Stable and Riding School[4] gave Packard's Corner its name, which was then perpetuated by the presence of an opulent Packard dealership. Only a Toyota and Vespa dealer remain, but the windowed buildings along the eastern end of Brighton Avenue reflect this history.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Extension, built largely on part of the Boston and Albany right-of-way, opened through Allston in 1964 and 1965.[5]

Major League Baseball's Boston Braves played at Braves Field, (now Boston University's Nickerson Field), at Allston's eastern edge, from 1915 to 1952. The Boston Patriots of the American Football League (now the New England Patriots of the National Football League) played four seasons in Allston: at Nickerson Field in 1960 through 1962; and at Harvard Stadium in 1970.

Allston is home to Harper's Ferry and The Paradise, music venues which host local and national indie rock, punk, and other acts.

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges and universities

Allston lies near two major universities. A substantial part of the campus of Harvard University is in lower Allston, including Harvard Business School and Harvard Stadium. Harvard also owns large portions of other land in lower Allston, much of which it plans to develop as an academic campus, particularly as an auxiliary site for the Harvard Medical School and other healthcare-related programs. Boston University lies along Commonwealth Avenue to the east. Berklee College of Music also has a practice and rehearsal building near Commonwealth Avenue, on Fordham Road, which runs between Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue.

[edit] Public schools

Public schools in Allston are part of the school district of Boston Public Schools.

Gardner Pilot Academy (also called the Thomas Gardner School), located on Athol Street, serves Allston residents pre-kindergarten through grade five.[6] In April of 2008 a science teacher at Gardner Pilot Academy won the "Ultimate Science Classroom," a raffle prize furnished annually by the National Science Teachers Association. The school received approximately $40,000 in science teaching materials and apparatus.[7]

The Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, located on Armington Street, is the oldest public school for the hearing impaired in the United States.[8] The school was attended by Helen Keller (Shichtman, 23) and Alexander Graham Bell's work at the school inspired him to begin experiments in an apparatus to help deaf children hear. These experiments eventually led to the telephone (MacKenzie, 56-57). The school serves the hearing impaired in Boston from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Jackson Mann School, also on Armington Street, serves residents from kindergarten through eighth grade.

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] Transportation

The "B" Branch of the Boston MBTA subway Green Line runs through the neighborhood along Commonwealth Avenue. The former "A Line" of the Green Line ran along Brighton Avenue, though it has been replaced by MBTA bus route 57. Other MBTA bus lines serve Allston, including routes 64, 66, 70 and 86. 43.88% of residents commute by mass transit, compared with 2% for the country as a whole.[1]

In May 2006, Harvard officials said that they would like to establish a commuter rail stop in Allston on the Framingham/Worcester line.[9]

[edit] Events

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007)
  • Allston Squirt Gun Day is an unsanctioned event organized by young residents and held yearly in late August. Participants are asked to wear green and gather at the intersection of Harvard Avenue and Brighton Avenue.[10] The event is typically short-lived as it creates a panic among those unaware of what is going on.[11] In 2009, the Squirt Gun festivities continued as a sanctioned event at nearby Ringer Park.
  • In 2003, the community, along with neighboring Brighton, saw an outbreak of bedbugs in hundreds of apartments. This was due to the practice of people buying used mattresses or accepting ones left behind by former tenants, commonplace among Allston's bohemian artist and musician element.[citation needed] A $200 subsidy was offered to tenants with infested mattresses [12], and bedbug extermination workshops were held by the Boston Inspectional Services Housing Division.
  • In 2005, the New England Foundation for the Arts selected a site in Allston for its Art & Community Landscapes program.[13] The artist team of Legge Lewis Legge[14] was chosen to design this site which is known as the Lincoln Street Green Strip.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d http://www.bestplaces.net/zip-code/Allston-Massachusetts-02134.aspx
  2. ^ Boston Phoenix article
  3. ^ Patrick-Murray Administration Finalizes Agreement with CSX Transportation
  4. ^ History of Packard's Corner
  5. ^ Mass Pike Website
  6. ^ http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/442
  7. ^ http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/881
  8. ^ http://www.hmsboston.org/
  9. ^ Harvard Crimson, "University Plans Allston T Stop," May 10, 2006.
  10. ^ http://www.myspace.com/allstonsquirtgunday
  11. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/24/police_put_damper_on_water_balloon_fight_in_allston/
  12. ^ Allston Brighton Development website
  13. ^ NEFA site
  14. ^ Legge Lewis Legge site
  15. ^ Lincoln Street

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 42°21′10″N 71°07′56″W / 42.3529°N 71.1321°W / 42.3529; -71.1321

v • d • e
Neighborhoods in Boston
Boston map
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allston,_Massachusetts"
Languages