North End, Boston

The North End has some of the oldest buildings still standing in Boston. Among the highlights are Paul Revere's home and the Old North Church from where the signal was sent letting the revolutionaries know that the British troops were advancing via the water. There are some charming areas with cobblestone streets and squares. The North End also became the focus of European immigrants during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The area is now best known for it's collection of Italian shops and restaurants. Be sure to get a cannoli at Modern or Mike's Pastry shops. Heck, get one at both!

The North End doesn't have any T stations but it's just across the bridge that spans I-93 from the Haymarket station. A better idea may be to get off at the Government Center station and ealk across City Hall Plaza, past City Hall and then the Holocaust Memorial. through the hustle and bustle of Haymarket and then across the Hanover Street bridge that will take you directly onto the main commercial street in the North End.

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Those of us who are old enough can still remember the commercial. We can picture the kid in our minds, running up the streets like a maniac while his mother yelled "Aaaaaantho-NAY!" out a window, and all for a plate of Prince Spaghetti.

Well it all happened here: in the North End.

Our daughter wanted to see an Italian festival and the one being celebrated at our time in Boston was "Madonna Della Cava". This was a small celebration complete with a band (playing "In Heaven There Is No Beer"!?!), a banner of the Madonna and the "society" of worshippers. As the Madonna is carried through the neighborhood, with the band and followers trailing behind, people lean out of second story windows to pin money to her. There are several traditions of blessings and then she is carried to a near-by church. The rest of the festival consists of food, booths, face-painting, hair wrapping, etc. We did not stay long enough, but there was to be more music and dancing at night. Definitely worth the experience.

This is the Italian part of town. Many of its back streets and alleyways could be confused with Beacon Hill, but there's little similarity beyond appearance. Enjoy one of the many nice Italian restaurants in the area. Then walk over the hill with the old burial grounds to find the part of town that was flooded with molasses in the Great Molasses Flood of January 15, 1919, killing 21 people.

The Sorrento Cheese Fisherman’s Feast, Boston’s oldest continuous Italian Festival, celebrates its 96th year this summer. Since 1911, this North End Feast has celebrated the devotion of immigrant Sicilian fishermen to the Madonna del Soccorso di Sciacca (Our Lady of Help). This year the Feast takes place August 17 – 20.
Thursday August 17th

7:00PM: Procession of the Madonna del Soccorso to Waterfront Park for the Blessing of Fishing Waters

9:00PM: The fifth annual Sorrento Cheese Tower Building Competition, featuring local Italo-American personalities competing to win money for their chosen charities. This event will be hosted by renowned chef Mary Ann Esposito.

Friday August 18th

6:00PM – 8:00PM: Cooking demonstration featuring local chefs and hosted by renowned chef personality Mary Ann Esposito with book signing and followed by wine tasting.

8:00 PM Lou Vanaria, Mario from the Bronx Tales, performs on the Sorrento Cheese Stage.

9:30PM: Sorrento Cheese presents 60’s Teen Idol Lou Christie. His hits include multimillion selling success singles LIGHTNING STRIKES, RHAPSODY IN THE RAIN and I’M GONNA MAKE YOU MINE.

Saturday August 19th

12:00PM onwards: Special Children’s activities, including face painting, games and prizes.

3:00PM – 4:00PM: For Kids - A special demonstration on “How to Build a better Cheese Sandwich” featuring renowned chef personality Mary Ann Esposito

4:00PM – 6:00PM: Cooking demonstration featuring local chefs and hosted by renowned chef personality Mary Ann Esposito with book signing

9:00PM: Julius La Rosa and Anna-Maria Alberghetti perform on the Sorrento Cheese Stage.

Sunday August 20th

Noon: 7-hour procession of the Madonna through the North End Streets.

12:00PM onwards: Continuous Live Music and Special Children’s activities, including face painting, games and prizes.

8:00PM: The famous Flight of the Angel
As the statue of The Madonna returns to North Street, a young angel flies from a fourth floor window and recites a prayer to her.

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If you love to hang out in a very friendly and family-like neigbourhood, come to North End, as a lot of Bostonians do so in the evening and weekends.
You will find small shops here, with real italian home made pasta, salami, sun dried tomato, panna aqua, san benedetto green tea, parmezan and so on.
Also, the old sicilian owner of the grocery will greet you in advance after a few times.
You can also try italian tastes in the small restaurants. People are chatting on the streets, and except for those who are waiting in the queue to buy some sicilian canelli at Mike`s Pastry everybody is laid back, and happy.

We might even bump into each other on these streets, because accidentally i also live here.

The text reads:-
Established 1933 from the income of the George Robert White Fund bequeathed to the City of Boston for creating works of public utility and beauty.
Dedicated for the Enjoyment of the Community and to the Memory of those Men and Women of the North End who helped to make Boston the Pride of later Generations.
The site of this mall was once a part of the pasture of Christopher Stanley who died in 1646 leaving a parcel of land for the maintainence of the Free School and this became the first Private Benefactor of the Public Education in Boston.
On the neighbouring Sheafe Street lived Samuel Francis Smith 1808 - 1895 Author of "America"

My first reaction was that this was a rather negleted public right of way which starts at St Stephens Church and ends at the Old North Church and now badly needs refurbishment.

Opened in 1714 as a Congregational Church, it has a large amount of Charles Bullfinch work in the current building. To my surprise it has since 1862 been a very simple Roman Catholic Church building which I found rather beautiful.