North End

For decades the North End was known for the part it played in the Revolutionary War. The Old North Church (where Paul Revere hung his lanterns) is here, as are Paul Revere’s house and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground — a very old cemetery. The North End’s narrow winding streets represent the oldest sections of Boston and its historic city center.

Waves of immigration have changed the North End, giving it a distinctly European flavor. Until Boston’s disastrous attempts at urban renewal in the ’50s razed much of the North End to put a highway through town, the neighborhood was also the home of a large and thriving Italian community. While it’s still Boston’s “Little Italy,” it’s a shadow of what it once was.

That said, the North End has been called the most European neighborhood of one of America’s most European cities. Many Italian immigrants still make the North End their home and bring the culture of their homeland with them.

The many wharfs of the waterfront, including the Coast Guard pier, are arrayed around the North End like pins radiating from a pincushion.

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