By then the neighborhood had a well-deserved seedy reputation and was afflicted by urban blight and crime. In the early 1970s many artists and gay men moved here for the cheap rent. It also became home for many in the city’s Black population (e.g., 395-397 Massachusetts Ave was home to Martin Luther King Jr. In the first half of the 20th Century, the South End would become the home for many immigrant groups notably Greek, Lebanese, Africans, and Caribbean/West Indies. A good example is Boston’s Union Park in the South End, which was built in the late 1850s. The South End was one of America’s earliest large-scale residential developments and much of that pre- and post-Civil War architecture remains. Each have their own history, architecture and personality.
If you visit Boston, you’ll understand this city is defined by its neighborhoods. Boston is where I live, but the South End is home.
