Bay Village (Boston)

Bay Village
Street view in Bay Village
Borough of Boston
Basic data
State :	United States
State :	Massachusetts
County :	Suffolk
Coordinates :	42 ° 21 ′  N , 71 ° 4 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 21 ′  N , 71 ° 4 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants : -  Metropolitan Area :	1,312 (as of 2010) 4,578,865 (as of 2011)
Height :	5 m
Postal code :	02116
Area code :	+1 617, 857
GNIS ID :	1970982
Website :	www.bayvillage.net

Bay Village is the second-smallest and probably the least known area ( Neighborhood ) in the center of Boston in the state of Massachusetts of the United States . In 2010, 1,312 people lived there in 837 households.

The district has traditionally been the home of the middle and lower middle classes, but has recently become relatively expensive. The Bay Village Neighborhood Association (BVNA) is very involved in the district and takes care of matters such as road traffic, garbage disposal and the removal of graffiti and dog waste . In addition, she organizes special clean-up days in spring and autumn, runs a book club and hosts the Bay Village Annual Neighborhood Block Party every year .

geography

Expansion of the urban area

In the south, the district is bounded by the Massachusetts Turnpike , on which the Boston and Albany Railroad laid in the 1830s also runs. On the surface, Marginal Road and Cortes Street run parallel to the Turnpike. In the southwest, on the other side of the Turnpike, is the South End district , in the southeast the southern end of Chinatown . To the west of Berkeley Street and north of Columbus Street is Back Bay . Park Square is to the north of Stuart Street and the Washington Street Theater District to the east of Charles Street . These boundaries were set by the Bay Village Neighborhood Association .

history

A house built in 1830 in Bay Village

The western part of Bay Village was originally part of the bay that was located west of the Boston Neck and which was filled up to form the Back Bay district in the 19th century . In the 1820s, before the land reclamation for Back Bay and South End, the area then known as South Bay was backfilled by Ephraim Marsh together with Francis Cabot Lowell . During its history, Bay Village was known at various times as the Church Street District , South Cove, and Kerry Village .

Architecturally, many of the houses in Bay Village look like smaller versions of the spacious houses in Beacon Hill . This is because the artisans who built the homes in Beacon Hill built their own homes in Bay Village and styled them in the same style. Fayette Street, named after the Marquis de Lafayette , still has many Federal-style houses . Larger five-story Greek Revival- style buildings stand on Melrose Street . After the area west of Arlington Street was replenished, urban developers built luxurious Victorian-style "hotels" along Cortes and Isabella streets .

In the second half of the 19th century, some streets in the district were raised by 4 to 6 m in order to be able to connect them with the adjacent South End and Back Bay areas, which were newly created by further landfills . These features can still be seen today from the location of the basement windows of some houses on Fayette Street . Some gardens, on the other hand, were never adjusted to the new level and are still at their original height today.

Bay Village was the site of a devastating fire that broke out in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in November 1942, killing 492 people. This led to the introduction and enforcement of restrictive fire protection measures across the United States to prevent further accidents of this magnitude. To mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster, the Bay Village Neighborhood Association placed a plaque in the sidewalk near the former club, the building of which is now the Radisson Hotel .

Culture and sights

Parks

There are some small green spaces in Bay Village like Eliot Norton Park . The Boston Public Garden and Boston Common are just two blocks from the north end of the borough.

Economy and Infrastructure

The narrow network of one-way streets and the unusual arrangement of the streets mean that it is relatively quiet within Bay Village and that there are also many pedestrians due to the low volume of traffic. Many of the sidewalks are paved with bricks and are lit by gas lamps at night . The external appearance of the houses is particularly protected by designation as a Historic District by the Bay Village Architectural Commission .

traffic

There are several MBTA stops ( Arlington , Back Bay , Boylston and Tufts Medical Center ) in the immediate vicinity of the borough's boundaries , and some bus routes also run through Bay Village . Amtrak , commuter trains and intercity buses stop at Back Bay and Boston South Station .

Parking spaces on the streets are very scarce and most of them are reserved for holders of resident parking permits. Drivers are therefore largely dependent on paid parking garages and parking spaces. Access roads to I-90 and I-93 are just a minute's drive away.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Boston 2010 Census Population. ( PDF ) Neighborhood Comparison. Boston Redevelopment Authority, archived from the original on March 21, 2012 ; accessed on August 13, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Calendar of Events . Bay Village Neighborhood Association. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 26, 2011. 
3. ^ About the Neighborhood. (No longer available online.) Bay Village Neighborhood Association, archived from the original on July 23, 2011 ; accessed on March 7, 2012 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ ^{a b} Bay Village Historic District (PDF; 236 kB) In: CityofBoston.gov . Retrieved July 26, 2011.
5. ↑ Carolyn Hughes: Beacon Hill & Bay Village (PDF; 1.8 MB) In: Exploring Boston's Neighborhoods . Boston Landmarks Commission. 1998. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 25, 2011. 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Bay Village History . In: Bay Village Neighborhood Association . Bay Village Neighborhood Association. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 3, 2011. 
7. ^ Bay Village . City of Boston. Retrieved July 3, 2011.

Web links

• Bay Village Neighborhood Association (BVNA) website