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History

Charles River Park is in what used to be known as Boston’s West End. Much of the area was reclaimed from the river with landfill taken from Beacon Hill. Charles Bullfinch, the architect behind the gold domed Massachusetts State House, designed several mansions in the neighborhood including the 1795 Harrison Gray Otis House at 141 Cambridge Street, next to the Old West Church, where the phrase “no taxation without representation” was coined. The area became popular with wealthy merchants.

In the early 19th century, African Americans started moving into the West End. Many worked as domestic servants for the wealthy on nearby Beacon Hill which was strongly abolitionist. After the Civil War the black voice became stronger as the merchants moved out. In the late 19th century the West End started to welcome new immigrants, a diverse group of Europeans including Irish, Poles, Lithuanians and Jews. During this period the neighborhood's population peaked at 23,000. By the 20th Century the Irish migration slowed while Jewish immigration increased. Here Jews established synagogues, labor unions and loan societies. In 1931 actor Leonard Nimoy was born in the West End. By the 1950’s the area was filled with the working poor. The population had dropped to 7500 and was largely Jewish and Italian. Physically its narrow streets resembled the North End.

 

The city as a whole was considered a backwater, with aging housing stock and manufacturing jobs leaving to take advantage of lower paid labor elsewhere In the 1950’s, Mayor John B. Hynes announced that he’d revitalize the city with a plan he called “New Boston.” His scheme would involve wholesale demolition and rebuilding of vast swathes of the city. Scollay Square, just to the south, with its notorious burlesque houses, was to be replaced by a new Government Center.

 

The supposedly blighted neighborhood of the West End would be razed, replaced by new apartments. Tenants were assured that affordable housing would be made available. In October 1957, the Boston Redevelopment Authority held a hearing on the project. Hundreds of West End residents attended overwhelmingly opposing the plan but the lure of new tax revenue was too great. Blocks of apartment buildings were condemned. Thousands were displaced and a thriving neighborhood was destroyed, replaced by high rises, shopping centers and parking structures.

Description

The area borders the Charles River between Longfellow Bridge and the Charles River Dam Bridge. To the north is the Charles River and the south is Cambridge street. Because of its convenient location, the area used to promote itself with two signs along Storrow Drive that appealed to commuters stuck in rush hour traffic “If You Lived Here - You’d be Home by Now.” The area is well served by the Red Line subway on its western edge and the Green Line at Government Center to the south.

Residents

The area’s residents tend to be upper-middle class professionals drawn by its proximity to Massachusetts General Hospital, the Government Center, and the city’s financial center.

Rental housing

Due to the razing of the old West End, Charles River Park is a series of large super block towers of apartment buildings and condominiums all of which were built from the 1960’s on. Condominium owners tend to stay with little turnover. Rents range from $1800 - $5000 a month for a one bedroom apartments depending on floor space, views and amenities. The complex managers boast that it’s a park like oasis in the city.

Fun Stuff

The area is convenient to downtown Boston, with all the live theater, first run movies and first rate restaurants found in the heart of a major city. Downtown Crossing with its department stores, is just a couple of subway stops south. It’s a pleasant walk along the Charles River Esplanade to the Hatch Shell for free Boston Pops Concerts on summer evenings. TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins and Celtics, is also nearby. For New Year’s Eve, much of the city’s First Night Celebration (which originated in Boston) is centered a couple of subways stops away around the Boston Common.