The City of Boston’s North End is bordered by Boston Harbor to the east, Faneuil Hall, the financial district, and the harbor district to the south, Government Center, North Station and Beacon Hill to the west and the mouth of the Charles River, with Charlestown, beyond to the North. This area is characterized by many multi–story brick house and mansard-style buildings that house various combinations of residential apartments and condominiums catering to middle and upper income level patrons. Also in the area are several office and commercial buildings that are occupied by a variety of specialty retailers, restaurants, business and professional tenants. The North End is one of Boston's oldest neighborhoods. The neighborhood served as home to waves of immigrants in the course of its history, and was predominantly Italian for most of the 20th century. It's now slightly less than half Italian American; with many of the residents being young professionals or couples who walk to work in the Financial District. The North End features a wealth of Italian restaurants, cafes, and shops, and is a well known destination for some of the finest restaurants in Boston. One such pizzeria, Pizzeria Regina, has been notorious throughout Boston for it’s Italian, brick-oven style pizza, since 1926. The Italian inhabitants of the neighborhood have retained many of their homeland’s customs, such as Sunday summer festivals to honor the patron saints of the towns from which they or their ancestors came. On more than a dozen weekends a year, various groups honor the saints with Masses, processions, food, and music in the North End’s most notorious area, Hanover Street. Until recently, the North End neighborhood was artificially cut off from the rest of Boston proper by the elevated central artery serving Interstate-93. Due to the Big Dig and the depression of the central artery, the North End is now becoming more visible and accessible, and several parks are planned for the vacated space. The North End neighborhood is very supportive of condominium development, as the area is becoming increasingly popular with its improved accessibility and its growing constituency of young professionals. The North End condominium market has experienced a very high volume of sales and appreciation levels over the last five years. The area has averaged 107 condominium sales per year over this time period. In addition, the introduction of several new luxury condominium developments has been well received in the marketplace. |
