Boston, MassachusettsBoston, MassachusettsBoston, MassachusettsBy the mid-20th century, immigrant neighborhoods like the New York Streets in the South End faced dramatic change. City officials labeled crowded, working-class areas as “blighted” and targeted them for urban renewal. Streets were demolished, homes torn down, and longtime residents displaced.
In the 1950s, the construction of the “Central Artery” of the Mass Pike (Interstate Highway I-90) cut a wider gash through the center of neighboring Chinatown and blocked access to the waterfront. Some residents returned home to find eviction notices on their doors and were offered paltry sums for their houses.
Image: New York Streets resident Mrs. Olson stands amidst the demolition rubble, 1955.
Photo by Charles Dixon / The Boston Globe.
