Roslindale is a mostly residential neighborhood within the city of Boston six miles south west of downtown between Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan.
It was originally part of the town of Roxbury. In the 1860s the area was called South Street Crossing because the railroad intersected South Street at the heart of the community. In 1873 it was annexed by the city of Boston.
When the community applied to the US Post Office for a separate community designation, the feds didn’t like South Street Crossing so the quest began for a distinctive name. One member of the community told neighbors that the area reminded him of Roslyn, Scotland, outside Edinburgh. Due to the surrounding hills he described the settlement as being in a dale. By combining the words into Roslindale, the post office had a name that could be used and the appellation stuck.
Like many Boston neighborhoods that were ultimately annexed by the city of Boston, Roslindale grew as a bedroom community after the civil war becoming a streetcar suburb around what is now the Needham line of the MBTA.
In 1887 a railroad bridge through what is now the Arnold Arboretum collapsed killing 23 injuring more than 100 a disaster which prompted train bridge inspections across the US, a practice that continues to this day.
By the 1920s Roslindale had adopted the layout it has today with Adams Park at its center. The Roslindale business district used to be called Roslindale Square and was a major shopping district prior to competition from suburban shopping malls. It’s still struggling to reinvent itself although it has improved in recent years. Key to the effort is a group calling itself Roslindale Village Main Street. This is a community driven locally governed all volunteer organization of Roslindale residents, business and property owners dedicated to promoting and supporting a vibrant and healthy neighborhood business district
The median age in Roslindale is 35. The median household income is $65,000. 12% of the population is below the poverty level.
Roslindale has a population of 33,000 people. Roslindale is 56% White, 20% Latino, 16% Black and 4% Asian. The most common ancestries are Irish and Italian.
Most of the housing stock was built before 1939. 51% of the residents rent. West Roslindale has one and two family residences on tree lined streets. North Roslindale is more densely built with two and three family structures near light industry. Within the community, the mean apartment size is 4.5 rooms. The most common rent paid in Roslindale is between $1000 and $1250 a month. There is no rent control.
