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Boston, Massachusetts

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

   Boston, Massachusetts
   Skyline of Boston, Massachusetts

   Official flag of Boston, Massachusetts

                                         Official seal of Boston, Massachusetts
   Flag                                  Seal
   Nickname: "City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)^1,
   Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, America's
   Walking City"
   Location in Massachusetts, USA
   Location in Massachusetts, USA
   Counties Suffolk County
   Mayor Thomas M. Menino( D)
   Area
    - City 232.1 km²  (89.6  sq mi)
    - Land 125.4 km²  (48.4 sq mi)
    - Water 106.7 km² (41.2 sq mi)
    - Metro 11,684.7 km² (4,511.5 sq mi)
   Elevation 43 m  (141 ft)
   Population
    - City (2005) 596,638
    - Density 4,457/km² (11,543/sq mi)
    - Urban 4,313,000
    - Metro 5,804,816
   Time zone Eastern ( UTC-5)
    - Summer ( DST) Eastern ( UTC-4)
   ^1 The State House, according to Oliver Wendell Holmes, is the hub of
   the Solar System
   Website: www.cityofboston.gov

   Boston is the capital and the most populous city of the Commonwealth of
   Massachusetts, a state of the United States of America. Founded in
   1630, Boston is one of the oldest, wealthiest and most culturally
   significant cities in the United States. Boston is recognized as a
   gamma global city. Its economy is based on higher education, research,
   health care, finance, and technology, principally biotechnology.
   Citizens of Boston are called Bostonians.

   The city lies at the centre of Greater Boston, which also includes the
   cities of Cambridge, Quincy, and Newton, the town of Brookline, and
   many suburban communities farther from Boston. The Greater Boston area
   encompasses parts of the states of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and
   Connecticut. The city also lies at the centre of the
   Boston-Worcester-Manchester Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the fifth
   largest metropolitan area in the United States.

History

   The 18th century Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall
   buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries.
   Enlarge
   The 18th century Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall
   buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries.

   "In the political events which have affected the history of the entire
   country, and in shaping the thought of a people who have come to be a
   great nation, Boston has played a leading part." Boston by Henry Cabot
   Lodge

   Boston was founded on November 17, 1630, by Puritan colonists from
   England, on a peninsula called Shawmut by its original Native American
   inhabitants. The peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow
   isthmus, and surrounded by the waters of Massachusetts Bay and the Back
   Bay, an estuary of the Charles River. Boston's early European settlers
   first called the area Trimountaine. They later renamed the town for
   Boston, England, in Lincolnshire, from which several prominent
   "pilgrim" colonists emigrated. A majority of Boston's early citizens
   were Puritans. Massachusetts Bay Colony's original governor, John
   Winthrop, gave a famous sermon entitled "a City upon a Hill," which
   captured the idea that Boston had a special covenant with God.
   (Winthrop also led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement which is
   regarded as a key founding document of the city.) Puritan ethics molded
   an extremely stable and well-structured society in Boston. For example,
   shortly after Boston's settlement, Puritans founded America's first
   public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and America's first college,
   Harvard College (1636). Hard work, moral uprightness, and an emphasis
   on education remain part of Boston's culture. Until the 1760s, Boston
   was America's largest, wealthiest, and most influential city.
   Image:Bos-downtown.jpg
   Back Bay.

   During the early 1770s, British attempts to exert control on the
   thirteen colonies, primarily via taxation, prompted Bostonians to
   initiate the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea
   Party, and several early battles occurred in or near the city,
   including the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill,
   and the Siege of Boston. During this period, Paul Revere made his
   famous midnight ride. After the Revolution, Boston quickly became one
   of the world's wealthiest international trading ports because it was
   the closest major American port to Europe — exports included rum, fish,
   salt, and tobacco. During this era, descendants of old Boston families
   became regarded, in the American popular mind, as the nation's social
   and cultural elites; they were later dubbed the Boston Brahmins. In
   1822, Boston was chartered as a city. By the mid-1800s, the city's
   industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic
   importance. Until the early 1900s, Boston remained one of the nation's
   largest manufacturing centers, and was notable for its garment
   production, leather goods, and machinery industries. A network of small
   rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region
   made for easy shipment of goods and allowed for a proliferation of
   mills and factories. Later, an even denser network of railroads
   facilitated the region's industry and commerce. From the
   mid-to-late-nineteenth century, Boston flourished culturally — it
   became renowned for its rarefied literary culture and lavish artistic
   patronage. It also became a centre of the abolitionist movement.
   Downtown Boston.
   Enlarge
   Downtown Boston.

   In the 1820s, Boston's ethnic composition began to change dramatically
   with the first wave of European immigrants. Groups like the Irish and
   Italians moved into the city and brought with them Roman Catholicism.
   (This trend of immigration continued throughout the 1800s - most
   famously when the Potato Famine hit Ireland.) Currently, Catholics make
   up Boston's largest religious community and since the early 20th
   century the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics —
   prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O'Neill and John F.
   Fitzgerald.
   Boston in 1772 and 1880. The original area of the Shawmut Peninsula was
   substantially expanded by landfill.
   Enlarge
   Boston in 1772 and 1880. The original area of the Shawmut Peninsula was
   substantially expanded by landfill.

   Between 1630 and 1890, the city tripled its physical size by land
   reclamation, specifically by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps
   between wharves along the waterfront, a process Walter Muir Whitehill
   called "cutting down the hills to fill the coves." The largest
   reclamation efforts took place during the 1800s. Beginning in 1807, the
   crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50- acre (20  ha) mill pond
   that later became Haymarket Square (just south of today's North Station
   area). The present-day State House sits atop this shortened Beacon
   Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created
   significant parts of the South End, West End, Financial District, and
   Chinatown. After The Great Boston Fire of 1872, workers used building
   rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. Boston's Back Bay
   land reclamation project proved dramatic. During the mid-to-late 19th
   century, workers filled almost 600 acres (2.4 km²) of brackish Charles
   River marshlands west of the Boston Common with soil brought by rail
   from the hills of Needham Heights. Boston also annexed the adjacent
   communities of East Boston, Dorchester, South Boston, Brighton,
   Allston, Hyde Park, Roxbury, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and
   Charlestown.
   Scollay Square, Boston, Boston, in the 1880s
   Enlarge
   Scollay Square, Boston, Boston, in the 1880s

   By the early and mid-20th century, the city was in decline as factories
   became old and obsolete, and businesses moved out of the region for
   cheaper labor elsewhere. Boston responded by initiating various urban
   renewal projects, including the demolition of the old West End
   neighbourhood and the construction of Government Centre. In the 1970s,
   Boston boomed after thirty years of economic downturn, becoming a
   leader in the mutual fund industry. Boston already had a reputation for
   excellent healthcare services. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General
   Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, and Brigham and Women's
   Hospital led the nation in medical innovation and patient care.
   Universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Boston University attracted many
   students to the Boston area. Nevertheless, the city experienced
   conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing, which resulted in
   unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s. The
   unrest served to highlight racial tensions in the city.
   Hyatt in Boston downtown
   Enlarge
   Hyatt in Boston downtown

   Housing prices sharply increased in the 1990s. In 2004, the Boston
   metropolitan area had the highest cost of living of any in the country,
   and Massachusetts was the only state to lose population.

   The City of Boston has a City Archaeologist on staff, and also a City
   Archaeology Program and an Archaeology Laboratory, Education and
   Curation Centre which houses over 27 collections owned by the
   Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Part of the job of the City
   Archaeologist is to oversee any lots of land to be developed for
   historical artifacts and significance, and to manage the archaeological
   remains located on public land in Boston.

Geography and climate

   A simulated-color satellite image of the Boston area taken on NASA's
   Landsat 3.
   Enlarge
   A simulated-colour satellite image of the Boston area taken on NASA's
   Landsat 3.

Geography

   According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
   of 89.6   square miles (232.1  km²)— 48.4 square miles (125.4 km²) of
   it is land and 41.2 square miles (106.7 km²) of it is water. The total
   area is 46.0% water. With an elevation of 19  feet (5.8 m) above sea
   level at Logan International Airport, Boston is bordered by the cities
   of Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge,
   Watertown, Newton, Brookline, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Milton, and
   Quincy—often known as, and considered a part of, Greater Boston.

   Much of the Back Bay and South End are built on reclaimed land—two and
   a half of Boston's three original hills were used as a source of
   material for landfill. Only Beacon Hill, the smallest of the three
   original hills, remains partially intact. The downtown area and
   immediate surroundings consist mostly of low-rise brick or stone
   buildings, with many older buildings in the Federal style. Several of
   these buildings mix in with modern high-rises, notably in the Financial
   District, Government Centre, Back Bay, and the South Boston waterfront.
   To this day, the South End Historic District remains the nation's
   largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighbourhood. Smaller
   commercial areas are interspersed amongst single-family homes and
   wooden/brick multifamily row houses.

   The Charles River separates Boston proper from Cambridge, Watertown,
   and the neighbourhood of Charlestown. To the east lies Boston Harbour
   and the Boston Harbour Islands National Recreation Area. The Neponset
   River forms the boundary between Boston's southern neighborhoods and
   the cities of Quincy and Milton. The Mystic River separates the
   neighborhoods of East Boston and Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett.

Climate

   Beacon Hill in the winter.
   Enlarge
   Beacon Hill in the winter.

   Boston experiences a continental climate that is very common in New
   England. The weather in Boston, like much of New England, changes
   rapidly. It is not uncommon for the city to experience temperature
   swings of 54 Fahrenheit degrees (30 Celsius degrees) or more over the
   course of a couple of days. Summers are typically warm and humid, while
   winters are cold, windy and snowy. It has been known to snow in
   October.

   The earliest recorded 90 °F temperature in a year was in late March
   1998, while February in Boston has seen 70 degrees only once in
   recorded history, on February 24, 1985. Spring in Boston can be hot,
   with temperatures in the 90s, though it is just as possible for a day
   in late May to remain in the 40s. The hottest month is July, with an
   average high of 81.9 ° F (27.7 ° C) and a low of 65.1 °F (18.4 °C). The
   coldest month is January, with an average high of 35.8 °F (2.1 °C) and
   a low of 21.6 °F (-5.6 °C). Periods exceeding 90 °F in summer and below
   10 °F in winter are not uncommon, but rarely prolonged. The record high
   temperature is 104 °F (40 °C), recorded July 4, 1911. The record low
   temperature is -18 °F (-28 °C), recorded on February 9, 1934.

   The city averages 42  in (1,080  mm) of rainfall a year. It also
   coincidentally averages 42 in (108  cm) of snowfall a year, although
   this increases dramatically as one goes inland away from the city.
   Massachusetts' geographic location's jutting out into the North
   Atlantic also make the city very prone to Nor'easter weather systems
   that can dump more than 20 in (50 cm) of snow on the region in one
   storm event.
   Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
   Avg high °F
   (°C) 35.8
   (2.1) 37.6
   (3.1) 45.9
   (7.7) 55.9
   (13.3) 66.6
   (19.2) 76.2
   (24.6) 81.9
   (27.7) 80.0
   (26.6) 72.9
   (22.7) 62.8
   (17.1) 52.2
   (11.2) 40.5
   (4.7) 59.0
   (15)
   Avg low °F
   (°C) 21.6
   (-5.8) 23.0
   (-5.0) 31.3
   (-0.4) 40.3
   (4.6) 49.8
   (9.9) 59.2
   (15.1) 65.1
   (18.4) 64.0
   (17.8) 56.8
   (13.8) 46.9
   (8.3) 38.3
   (3.5) 26.8
   (-2.9) 43.6
   (6.4)
   Rainfall in inches
   (millimeters) 3.92
   (99.6) 3.30
   (83.8) 3.85
   (97.8) 3.60
   (91.4) 3.24
   (82.3) 3.22
   (81.8) 3.06
   (77.7) 3.37
   (85.6) 3.47
   (88.1) 3.79
   (96.3) 3.98
   (101.1) 3.73
   (94.7) 42.53
   (1,080.2)

Demographics

                                         Town (to 1820) and City of Boston
                                                        Population by year
                                                                    Census
                                                      year Population Rank
     __________________________________________________________________

                              1790   18,320   3
                              1800   24,937   4
                              1810   33,787   4
                              1820   43,298   4
                              1830   61,392   4
                              1840   93,383   5
                              1850 136,881   3
                              1860 177,840   5
                              1870 250,526   7
                              1880 362,839   5
                              1890 448,477   6
                              1900 560,892   5
                              1910 670,585   5
                              1920 748,060   7
                              1930 781,188   9
                              1940 770,816   9
                               1950 801,444 10
                               1960 697,197 13
                               1970 641,071 16
                               1980 562,994 20
                               1990 574,283 20
                               2000 589,141 20

   As of the census^ GR2 of 2000, there were 589,141 people, 239,528
   households, and 115,212 families residing in the city. The population
   density was 12,166 people per square mile (4,697/km²). There were
   251,935 housing units at an average density of 5,203 per square mile
   (2,009/km²). According to the census, the racial makeup of the city was
   54.47% White, 25.33% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American,
   7.52% Asian American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 7.83% from other races,
   and 4.39% from two or more races. 14.44% of the population was Hispanic
   or Latino of any race. (These figures became less reliable because of
   the large Brazilian population, estimated by some studies to approach
   250,000 in Massachusetts. Census data may not have fully accounted for
   this significant segment of the community because Brazilians speak
   Portuguese and often do not consider themselves to belong to one
   specific racial category, such as white or black, or to the
   Hispanic/Latino ethnic category.

   People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in the
   city, making up 15.8% of the population. Italians also form a
   significant segment of the city's population, accounting for 8.3% of
   the population. People of West Indian ancestry are another sizeable
   group (6.4%); about half of them are of Haitian ancestry. Some
   neighborhoods, such as Dorchester, have received an influx of
   Vietnamese residents in the past few years.
   Per capita income in the greater Boston area, by U.S. Census block
   group
   Enlarge
   Per capita income in the greater Boston area, by U.S. Census block
   group

   There were 239,528 households out of which 22.7% had children under the
   age of 18 living with them, 27.4% were married couples living together,
   16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.9% were
   non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and
   9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
   average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.17.

   In the city the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of
   18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and
   10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years.
   For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age
   18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

   The median income for a household in the city was $39,629, and the
   median income for a family was $44,151. Males had a median income of
   $37,435 versus $32,421 for females. The per capita income for the city
   was $23,353. 19.5% of the population and 15.3% of families are below
   the poverty line. Out of the total population, 25.6% of those under the
   age of 18 and 18.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty
   line.

Law and government

   Massachusetts State House
   Enlarge
   Massachusetts State House

   Boston has a strong mayor system in which the mayor is vested with
   extensive executive powers. The mayor (currently Thomas Menino) is
   elected to a four-year term by plurality voting. The city council is
   elected every two years. There are nine district seats, each elected by
   the residents of that district through plurality voting, and four
   at-large seats. Each voter casts up to four votes for at-large
   councilors, no more than one vote per candidate. The candidates with
   the four highest vote totals are elected. The president of the city
   council, currently Michael F. Flaherty, is elected by the councilors
   from within themselves. The school committee is appointed by the mayor,
   as are city department heads.

   In addition to city government, numerous state authorities and
   commissions play a role in the life of Bostonians, including the
   Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the
   Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). As the capital of
   Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics. Boston is
   also the United States federal government centre for New England.
   Properties include the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building and the
   Thomas P. O'Neill Federal Building. The city also serves as the home of
   the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United
   States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, as well as the
   headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the First District
   of the Federal Reserve). The city is in the Eighth and Ninth
   Congressional districts.

   Boston's low crime rate in the last years of the 20th century and the
   beginning of the 21st has been credited to its police department's
   collaboration with neighbourhood groups and church parishes to prevent
   youths from joining gangs, as well as involvement from the US Attorney
   and District Attorney's office. This helped lead in part to what has
   been touted as the "Boston Miracle." Murders in the city dropped from
   152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just
   31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per
   100,000). The police department's figures are made available online and
   can be searched by neighbourhood.

   In more recent years, however, the annual murder count has fluctuated
   by as much as 50% compared to the year before, with 60 murders in 2002,
   followed by just 39 in 2003, 64 in 2004, and 75 in 2005. Though the
   figures are nowhere near the high-water mark set in 1990, the
   aberrations in the murder rate have been unsettling for many Bostonians
   and have prompted discussion over whether the Boston Police Department
   should reevaluate its approach to fighting crime.

   The city's Election Department has made mistakes for years, and in 2005
   agreed to oversight by the federal government after the Justice
   Department filed a lawsuit alleging coercion and other problems
   involving services for voters who do not speak English. Following the
   2006 election, the Election Department is also under investigation by
   the Secretary of State's office. It is reported that the department's
   policy has been to distribute to the polling places only enough ballots
   for half the registered voters, despite a state law requiring each
   polling place to have enough ballots for all voters. The Secretary of
   State has announced an intention to take control of the Elections
   Department.

   County government: Suffolk County
   Clerk of Courts: Michael Joseph Donovan
   County Treasurer:
   District Attorney: Daniel F. Conley
   Registrar of Deeds: Francis Roache
   Registrar of Probate: Richard Iannella
   Sheriff: Andrea J. Cabral
   State government
   Representative(s) in General Court: Anthony Petruccelli, Salvatore
   DiMasi, Brian Wallace, Marie St. Fleur, Shirley Owens-Hicks, Gloria
   Fox, Paul Demakis, Byron Rushing, Michael Rush, Elizabeth Malia, Linda
   Dorcena-Forry, Martin Walsh, Angelo Scaccia, Jeffrey Sanchez, Kevin
   Honan, Michael Moran
   Senator(s) in General Court: Jarrett Barrios, Eugene L. O'Flaherty,
   Marian Walsh, Steven A. Tolman, John Hart, Jr., Dianne Wilkerson,
   Robert Travaglini
   Governor's Councilor(s): Michael J. Callahan, Kelly A. Timilty, Marilyn
   M. Petitto Devaney
   Federal government
   Member(s) of the U.S. House of Representatives: Michael Capuano (D- 8th
   District),
   Stephen Lynch (D- 9th District)
   U.S. Senators: Edward Kennedy (D)
   John Kerry (D)

Economy

   Newbury Street is one of the busiest shopping streets in Boston.
   Enlarge
   Newbury Street is one of the busiest shopping streets in Boston.

   Boston's colleges and universities have a major impact on the city and
   region's economy. Not only are they major employers, but they also
   attract high-tech industries to the city and surrounding region,
   including computer hardware and software companies as well as
   biotechnology companies like Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Millipore, and
   Biogen Idec. Boston receives the highest amount of annual funding from
   the National Institutes of Health of all cities in the United States.

   Other important industries include financial services, especially
   mutual funds and insurance. Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped
   popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s, and has made Boston one of the
   top financial cities in the United States. The city is also the
   regional headquarters of major banks such as Bank of America and
   Sovereign Bank, and a centre for venture capital. Boston is also a
   printing and publishing centre. Textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin is
   headquartered within the city. The city is home to four major
   convention centers: the Hynes Convention Centre in the Back Bay, the
   Bayside Expo Center in Dorchester, and the World Trade Centre Boston
   and Boston Convention and Exhibition Centre on the South Boston
   waterfront. Because of its status as a state capital and the regional
   home of federal agencies, law and government is another major component
   of the city's economy.

   Major companies headquartered within the city include Gillette, owned
   by Procter & Gamble, and Teradyne, one of the world's leading
   manufacturers of semiconductor and other electronic test equipment. New
   Balance has its headquarters in the city. Other major companies are
   located outside the city, especially along Route 128. The Port of
   Boston is a major seaport along the United States' east coast, and is
   also one of the oldest continuously-operated industrial and fishing
   ports in the Western Hemisphere.

Education

Colleges and universities

   Boston's reputation as the Athens of America derives in large part from
   the teaching and research activities of more than 100 colleges and
   universities located in its metropolitan area. These include some of
   the most famous universities in the world.

   Boston University, located along the Charles River on Commonwealth
   Avenue, is the largest university in the city. Northeastern University,
   a large private university, maintains a campus in the Fenway district.
   Boston College, one of the oldest and largest Jesuit institutions in
   the country, is in Chestnut Hill.

   Harvard University, the nation's oldest institution of higher learning,
   is located across the Charles River in Cambridge. The business and
   medical schools are in Boston, and there are plans for major expansion
   into Boston's Allston neighbourhood. This will put a majority of the
   students, faculty and physical plant in Boston. The Massachusetts
   Institute of Technology (MIT), which originated in Boston and was long
   known as Boston Tech, moved across the river to Cambridge in 1917.

   Tufts University administers its medical and dental school adjacent to
   the Tufts- New England Medical Centre (Tufts-NEMC), a 451-bed academic
   medical institution that is home to both a full-service hospital for
   adults and the Floating Hospital for Children. Its undergraduate campus
   is in Medford, adjacent to Cambridge. Additionally, Wentworth Institute
   of Technology, a founding member of the Colleges of the Fenway, is
   located in the Fenway area. Suffolk University, a small private
   university known for its law school, maintains a campus on Beacon Hill.
   Emerson College located by Boston Common is a small private college
   with a strong reputation in the fields of performing arts, journalism,
   writing, and film. Babson College in the suburb of Wellesley is a
   private college with a strong focus on entrepreneurship. The city is
   also home to a number of conservatories and art schools, including the
   Massachusetts College of Art, New England Conservatory of Music (the
   oldest independent conservatory in the United States), Boston
   Conservatory, The School at the Museum of Fine Art and Berklee College
   of Music. Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College
   are the city's two community colleges. Boston has one major public
   university, the University of Massachusetts Boston, located on Columbia
   Point in Dorchester.

Primary and secondary schools

   Boston Public Schools, the oldest public school system in the U.S.,
   enrolls 58,600 students from kindergarten to grade 12. The system
   operates 145 schools, which includes Boston Latin School (the oldest
   public school, established in 1635), English High (the oldest public
   high school, established 1821), and Mather (the oldest public
   elementary school, established in 1639). The city also has private,
   parochial, and charter schools. 3000 students of racial minorities
   attend participating suburban schools through the Metropolitan
   Educational Opportunity Council, or METCO. In 2002, Forbes Magazine
   ranked the Boston Public Schools as the best large city school system
   in the country, with a graduation rate of 82%.

Culture

   Equestrian statue of George Washington in Boston Public Garden.
   Enlarge
   Equestrian statue of George Washington in Boston Public Garden.

   Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a
   dialect of the Eastern New England accent known as Boston English, and
   a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood and dairy products.
   Irish Americans are a major influence on Boston's politics and
   religious institutions. Boston has its own collection of neologisms
   known as Boston slang.

   Many consider Boston a highly cultured city, perhaps as a result of its
   intellectual reputation; much of Boston's culture originates at its
   universities. The city also has a number of ornate theatres, including
   the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston Opera House, The Wang Centre for
   the Performing Arts, Schubert Theatre, and the Orpheum Theatre.
   Renowned performing arts groups include the Boston Ballet, Boston
   Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Lyric Opera Company, and the
   Handel and Haydn Society (the oldest choral company in the United
   States). There are a number of major annual events such as First Night,
   which occurs during New Year's Eve, and several events during the
   Fourth of July. These events include the weeklong Harborfest
   festivities and a Boston Pops concert accompanied by fireworks on the
   banks of the Charles River.

   In contrast to what might be considered the more "refined" aspects of
   Boston's culture, the city is also one of the birthplaces of the
   hardcore punk genre of music. Boston musicians have contributed greatly
   to the hardcore scene over the years (see also Boston hardcore). Boston
   also had one of the leading local ska scenes in the ska revival of the
   mid-1990s with bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Allstonians,
   and Skavoovie and the Epitones. The 80s hardcore record This Is Boston,
   Not L.A. highlights some of the bands that built the 'scene'. A few
   clubs in the city The Channel, Bunnrattys in Allston and The Rat were
   well renowned for showcasing local and out of city punk bands. As a
   result of the Rat, a cheap pizza place and a few used record stores in
   Kenmore square, Kenmore became a hangout for skate punks. During the
   summer after Red Sox games it was not uncommon to see fights break out
   amongst the punks and the more conservative suburban Red Sox fans.

Nicknames

   Boston has many nicknames owing to historical context.
     * The City on a Hill came from original Massachusetts Bay Colony's
       governor John Winthrop's goal to create the biblical "City on a
       Hill." It also refers to the original three hills of Boston.
     * Beantown refers to early Bostonian tradition of making baked beans
       with imported molasses.
     * The Hub is a shortened form of a phrase recorded by writer Oliver
       Wendell Holmes, The Hub of the Solar System.
     * The Athens of America is a title given by William Tudor, co-founder
       of the North American Review for Boston's great cultural and
       intellectual influence.
     * The Puritan City nickname references the religion of the city's
       founders.
     * The Cradle of Liberty derives from Boston's role in instigating the
       American Revolution.
     * City of Notions in the nineteenth century.
     * America's Walking City, because Boston's compact and high density
       nature has made walking an effective and popular mode of transit in
       the city.

Sites of interest

   Boston Common.
   Enlarge
   Boston Common.

   Because of the city's prominent role in the American Revolution,
   several historic sites relating to that period are preserved as part of
   the Boston National Historical Park. Many are found along the Freedom
   Trail, which is marked by a red line or bricks embedded in the ground.
   Along the Freedom Trail is Boston Common, or "The Common" as it is
   locally referred to, is the oldest public park in the United States .
   Along with the adjacent Boston Public Garden, it is part of the Emerald
   Necklace, a string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to
   encircle the city. In the winter, the Frog Pond at Boston Common
   doubles as an ice-skating rink. Another major park is the Esplanade
   located along the banks of the Charles River. A major recreation site
   for many Bostonians, it is also the site of the Hatch Shell. Other
   parks are scattered throughout the city, with the major parks and
   beaches located near Castle Island, in Charlestown and along the
   Dorchester, South Boston, and East Boston shorelines. The largest parks
   in the city are Franklin Park and the adjacent Arnold Arboretum (both
   part of the Emerald Necklace), and Stony Brook State Reservation.
   The John Hancock Tower.
   Enlarge
   The John Hancock Tower.

   The Back Bay district includes many prominent landmarks such as the
   Christian Science Centre, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, and
   Newbury Street. Back Bay is also the home of New England's tallest two
   buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Centre. Near the
   John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent
   weather forecast beacon. Other notable districts/neighborhoods include
   Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, North End, and
   South Boston.
   Cheers on Beacon Hill
   Enlarge
   Cheers on Beacon Hill

   Boston is home to several museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts,
   the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Museum of Science. The
   University of Massachusetts campus at Columbia Point houses the John F.
   Kennedy Library. The New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo, Boston
   Athenaeum (one of the oldest independent libraries in the United
   States), and the Boston Children's Museum are located within the city.

   Along with the Freedom Trail, there are two other self-guided walking
   tours: Harbour Walk, which is designed to follow the entire shore of
   Boston Harbour, and the Black Heritage Trail. A popular guided tour is
   the Boston Duck Tour, which uses World War II-era duck boats. The outer
   suburbs of Boston, which tend to be forested, have vibrantly colored
   foliage every autumn that attracts many tourists.

   Boston is home to the Bull & Finch Pub, whose building is known from
   the television show Cheers. Exterior shots of the building were used in
   the show.

Sports

   A Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park
   Enlarge
   A Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park
   Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
   Boston Red Sox MLB Baseball Fenway Park 1901 6 World Series
   New England Patriots NFL Football Gillette Stadium 1960 3 Super Bowls
   Boston Celtics NBA Basketball TD Banknorth Garden 1946 16 NBA Titles
   Boston Bruins NHL Hockey TD Banknorth Garden 1924 5 Stanley Cups
   New England Revolution MLS Soccer Gillette Stadium 1995 0
   Boston Cannons MLL Lacrosse Nickerson Field 2001 0

   Boston can lay claim to being the city to have sponsored a professional
   sports league franchise the longest. In 1871, the Boston Red Stockings,
   formed out of the nucleus of the former Cincinnati Red Stockings, the
   first openly professional baseball team, began play in the National
   Association. Since then, there has never been a year without a
   professional franchise playing in the city. The Red Stockings joined
   the National League upon its founding in 1876, and would eventually
   become the Boston Braves. The Braves played in Boston until 1952, when
   they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to become the Milwaukee Braves,
   which, in turn, moved to their current home in Atlanta, Georgia in
   1966. Despite four National Association championships, ten National
   League Pennants, and a World Series title (1915), the team was
   considered the "second" Boston team for most of its last five decades
   in the city, due to a team from an upstart league that began play in
   1901.

   The Boston Red Sox are a founding member of the American League of
   Major League Baseball, and one of the four American League teams (the
   White Sox, Indians, and Tigers are the others) to still play in their
   original city. The "Sox," as they are colloquially called, play their
   home games at Fenway Park, located near Kenmore Square, in the Fenway
   section of Boston. Built in 1912, it is the oldest sports arena or
   stadium in active use in the United States among the four major
   professional sports. Boston was also the site of the first game of the
   first baseball World Series, in 1903. The series was played between the
   Red Sox (then known as the "Pilgrims") and the Pittsburgh Pirates,
   while the team still played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds (the site
   is now a part of Northeastern University). The Red Sox won that series
   and five more since then (1912, 1915, 1916, 1918 and 2004). Recently
   the 2004 team is said to have broken the 86-year long " Curse of the
   Bambino." There have been many legendary players on the team; members
   of the Baseball Hall of Fame include Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams,
   Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Wade Boggs, manager Joe Cronin and
   owner Tom Yawkey.

   The TD Banknorth Garden (formerly called the Fleet Centre) is above
   North Station and is the home of two major league teams: the Boston
   Bruins ice hockey team of the National Hockey League and the Boston
   Celtics basketball team of the National Basketball Association. The
   Bruins, founded in 1924, were the first American member of the National
   Hockey League and a Original Six franchise, and have won five Stanley
   Cups, the last being in 1972. Such hall of fame players as Milt
   Schmidt, Eddie Shore, Raymond Bourque and the legendary Bobby Orr have
   played for the Bruins, and the team has been led by hall of famers such
   as team founder Charles Adams (namesake of hockey's old Adams
   Division), Art Ross (donor and namesake of the NHL's trophy for annual
   scoring champion), Walter A. Brown and Harry Sinden. The Boston Celtics
   were a founding member of the Basketball Association of America, one of
   the two leagues that merged to form the NBA. The Celtics have the
   distinction of having more World Championships than any other NBA team
   with 16 championships from 1957 to 1986. The list of Celtics who are
   members of the Basketball Hall of Fame include Bill Russell, Bob Cousy,
   John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, original owner Walter Brown
   (also president of the Bruins and owner of the Boston Garden), and
   longtime coach and team president Red Auerbach who worked for the team
   until his death in 2006 at age 89. Longtime announcer Johnny Most was
   also honored by the BHOF as a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award.

   Although the team has played twenty-five miles south in Foxboro since
   1971, the New England Patriots are still generally considered to be
   Boston's football team. The team was founded in 1960 as the Boston
   Patriots, charter members of the American Football League. In 1970, the
   team joined the National Football League and moved to Foxboro Stadium
   one year later. While in Boston, the team played at Nickerson Field (at
   the time still known and configured as Braves Field), Fenway Park,
   Harvard Stadium, and BC's Alumni Stadium (technically, just outside of
   the city limits). The team has won three Super Bowl titles (2001, 2003,
   2004) since the 2001 season, and currently is second in popularity only
   to the Red Sox. They share Gillette Stadium with the New England
   Revolution of Major League Soccer.

   Another major league team is the Boston Cannons lacrosse team of Major
   League Lacrosse. The team plays at Boston University's Nickerson Field
   (the former Braves Field) There have been other professional sports
   teams to play in the city, such as the Boston Breakers indoor lacrosse
   team, the Boston Beacons and Boston Minutemen of the NASL, and the
   Boston Breakers WUSA franchise.

   Rugby in Boston has a strong following; the city is home to numerous
   amateur, college and semi-professional sides. The city has two teams in
   the premier division of USA rugby union, the Rugby Super League - the
   Boston Irish Wolfhounds and Boston RFC. The city features one rugby
   league team in the American National Rugby League, the Boston Braves.

   Boston's many colleges and universities are active in college
   athletics. Hockey is very popular in Massachusetts. There are four NCAA
   Division I members in the city: Boston College (member of the Atlantic
   Coast Conference), Boston University ( America East Conference),
   Northeastern University ( Colonial Athletic Association), and Harvard
   University ( Ivy League). All except Harvard, which belongs to the ECAC
   Hockey League, belong to the Hockey East conference in hockey. The
   hockey teams of these four universities meet every year in an immensely
   popular four-team tournament known as the " Beanpot Tournament," played
   at the TDBanknorth Garden (and the Boston Garden before that) over two
   Monday nights in February. Interestingly, the oldest continuously used
   indoor and outdoor sports stadiums in the world are used by Boston
   schools: Harvard Stadium (built in 1903) and Boston Arena (now known as
   Matthews Arena, built in 1910), which is used by Northeastern
   University.

   One of the most famous sporting events in the city is the Boston
   Marathon, the 26 mile (42 km) run from Hopkinton to Copley Square in
   the Back Bay. The Marathon, the world's oldest, is popular and heavily
   attended. It is run on Patriot's Day in April and always coincides with
   a Red Sox home baseball game that starts at 11:00 AM (the only MLB game
   to start before noon local time all year). Another major event held in
   the city is the Head of the Charles Regatta rowing competition on the
   Charles River.

   Boston's first all-female flat-track roller derby league, Boston Derby
   Dames, formed in May 2005. The league is among the original members of
   the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.

   NOTE: The first five Boston natives to play Major League Baseball were
   John Morrill (1876), George Fair (1876), Jim Ward (1876), John Bergh
   (1876), and Chub Sullivan (1877).

Infrastructure

Health and medicine

   The Longwood Medical Area is a region of Boston with a concentration of
   medical and research facilities, including Beth Israel Deaconess
   Medical Centre, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital,
   Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School. Beth Israel
   Deaconess Medical Centre and Brigham and Women's Hospital were both
   formed by mergers: the former between Beth Israel Hospital and New
   England Deaconess Hospital, and the latter by Peter Bent Brigham
   Hospital and the Boston Hospital for Women. Massachusetts General
   Hospital (MGH) is located near the Beacon Hill neighbourhood, with the
   Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Spaulding Rehabilitation
   Hospital nearby. Boston also has VA medical centers in the Jamaica
   Plain and West Roxbury neighborhoods.

   Many of Boston's major medical facilities are associated with
   universities. The facilities in the Longwood Medical Area and MGH are
   world-renowned research medical centers affiliated with Harvard Medical
   School. New England Medical Center, located in the southern portions of
   the Chinatown neighbourhood, is affiliated with Tufts University.
   Boston Medical Center, located in the South End neighbourhood, is the
   primary teaching facility for the Boston University School of Medicine
   as well as the largest trauma centre in the Boston area; it was formed
   by the merger of Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital.

Transportation

   Longfellow Bridge across the Charles River, with two MBTA Red Line
   trains. The Beacon Hill neighborhood is in the background.
   Enlarge
   Longfellow Bridge across the Charles River, with two MBTA Red Line
   trains. The Beacon Hill neighbourhood is in the background.

Airports

   Logan International Airport, located in the East Boston neighbourhood,
   handles most of the scheduled passenger service for Boston. Surrounding
   the city are three major general aviation relievers: Beverly Municipal
   Airport to the north, Bedford/ Hanscom Field to the west, and Norwood
   Memorial Airport to the south. Further from the city, T. F. Green
   Airport serving Providence, Rhode Island, and Manchester-Boston Airport
   in Manchester, New Hampshire, also provide scheduled passenger service.
   There are also many smaller airports within a 30-mile radius of the
   city.

   Since September 11, 2001, Boston has implemented exceptionally strict
   security at some of its airports, especially Logan and Hanscom field.
   Because of this and Boston's location as the closest U.S. port to
   Europe, it is one of the main destinations for airliners that
   experience security breaches or disturbances while enroute to the U.S.,
   though in many cases, planes are diverted to Halifax or other Canadian
   airports instead.

Streets

   Downtown Boston's streets do not seem to follow a logical pattern, as
   they were not planned when built centuries ago; they were created as
   needed, and as wharves and landfill expanded the area of the small
   Boston peninsula. Except for the reclaimed Back Bay, East Boston and
   part of South Boston, the city has no street grid. Along with several
   rotaries, roads change names and lose and add lanes seemingly at
   random. In its March 2006 issue, Bicycling magazine named Boston as one
   of the worst cities in the U.S. for cycling. Boston has been described
   as a "City of Squares", referring to the tradition of naming the
   intersections of major thoroughfares after prominent city residents.

Highways

   Boston is the eastern terminus of I-90, also known as the Mass Pike.
   I-95, which surrounds the city, is locally referred to as Route 128,
   its historical state route numbering. U.S. Route 1 (also known locally
   as 'Route 1') and I-93 runs north to south through the city. The
   elevated Central Artery, which ran through downtown Boston and was
   constantly prone to heavy traffic, was replaced with an underground
   tunnel through the Big Dig.

Public transit

   An MBTA sign at the Chinatown stop on the Orange Line. The MBTA rapid
   transit system serves urban Boston and surrounding suburban areas.
   Enlarge
   An MBTA sign at the Chinatown stop on the Orange Line. The MBTA rapid
   transit system serves urban Boston and surrounding suburban areas.

   The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operated the
   nation's first underground rapid transit system, which has since been
   expanded, reaching as far north as Malden, as far south as Braintree,
   and as far west as Newton. Collectively known as the "T", the MBTA also
   operates a network of bus lines and water shuttles, and a commuter rail
   network extending north to the Merrimack River valley, west to
   Worcester, and south to Providence, Rhode Island.

Rail

   Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and Chicago lines originate at South
   Station and stop at Back Bay. Fast Northeast Corridor trains, which
   service New York City, Washington, D.C., and points in between, also
   stop at Route 128 Station in the southwestern suburbs of Boston.
   Meanwhile, Amtrak's Downeaster service to Maine originates at North
   Station.

Utilities

   Water supply and sewage-disposal services are provided by the Boston
   Water and Sewer Commission. The Commission in turn purchases wholesale
   water and sewage disposal from the Massachusetts Water Resources
   Authority (MWRA). Established as a public authority in 1984, the MWRA
   pipes water from reservoirs in Western and Central Massachusetts,
   notably the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, for several communities
   within Greater Boston. The agency operates several facilities for
   sewage treatment, notably an effluent tunnel in Boston Harbour and the
   Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant near the mouth of Boston
   Harbour.

   NSTAR is the exclusive distributor of electric power to the city,
   though due to deregulation, customers now have a choice of electric
   generation companies. Natural gas is distributed by KeySpan Corporation
   (the successor company to Boston Gas); only commercial and industrial
   customers may choose an alternate natural gas supplier. Verizon,
   successor to New England Telephone, NYNEX, and Bell Atlantic, is the
   primary wired telephone service provider for the area. Phone service is
   also available from various national wireless companies. Cable
   television is available from Comcast and RCN, with Broadband Internet
   access provided by the same companies in certain areas. A variety of
   DSL providers and resellers are able to provide broadband Internet over
   Verizon-owned phone lines.

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