South End

Calling the South End a trendy neighborhood is both understating the point and failing to give the area (and its inhabitants) credit for its astonishing turnaround. At late as the early ’90s, Boston’s South End was an urban nightmare not much better than Roxbury. Crack whores and street thugs controlled the streets, and the long boulevards of grand old 19th-century buildings were steadily falling into seamy disrepair. Broken windows, burned-out cars and neglected children were commonplace on every block of Tremont Street.

And then the urban pioneers moved in. Consisting mostly of gay men with disposable income, no kids to worry about and an appreciation for beautiful architecture, these shock troops of the gentrification army bought neglected, unwanted and run-down old buildings for very little money and began fixing them up. Buying and renovating old South End buildings became The Thing To Do among the affluent members of Boston’s gay community, and the results were remarkable. Buildings on the verge of demolition became elegant, rehabilitated trophy homes. In the space of five years, the streets were safe. In the space of 10 years, property values had increased tenfold. Now, where once the length of Tremont Street was an urban eyesore lined with grimy, shuttered storefronts, now is one of Boston’s hippest and trendiest neighborhoods, sporting restaurants that keep the area bustling seven nights a week.

Any member of the Awakened who fancies himself “hip” is likely to visit the South End on occasion.

Twilight: Lingering On

Some buildings here are haunted due to deaths that took place when the neighborhood was in eclipse. Mages may find this out in dramatic style if they use the Death 1 “Speak with the Dead” spell.

Shadow Realm: Decrepitude

While the material-realm neighborhood is doing quite well, the Shadow Realm of the South End has yet to catch up. The buildings are older, and some still carry the negative resonance of despair, anger and envy instilled here by the intense emotions of the now long-gone junkies and bums who used to live on the material side of the Gauntlet. Spirits attracted to such resonance lurk in these places, eager to harass anyone who crosses their turf.

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