"zChris' Boston" a Boston Travel Page by zChris

Boston is a multidimensional city. There is the tourists' Boston- that of cobblestone lanes and colonial architecture. There is cultural Boston- the Boston of the Symphony, the Pops, the Museum of Fine Arts. There is the academic Boston- home to more college students per capita than any other North American city and home to its most revered colleges. And last but not least is Boston's little- seen down-to-earth side...the side of neighborhoods filled with three deckers, immigrants, and unrivaled loyalty to local sports teams. It is this rich diversity of feelings one gets in Boston that makes it home to anyone. In 15 minutes you can walk from the warren of narrow streets and Italian shops that is the North End to the bustling chaos that is the Haymarket to the tourist mecca that is Quincy Market and the capitalist's realm of the Financial District beyond.

The city is home to a legacy of cultures, from the Brahmins; elite descendents of the city's first settlers, to the Irish that have dominated Boston since their arrival in the 19th century to the African Americans who have been a vital part of the urban fabric since they began to arrive in the early 19th century, escaping slavery in the south. The city's vast variety of races and people of all shapes, sizes, and colours has given it as much praise as it has had pain. From riots against Irish catholics in the 19th century to the busing controversy in the 1970s, Boston is constantly bogged down in racial controversy. Indeed, segregation has led to bitter attitudes- blacks in Roxbury do not cross paths with whites from South Boston. Increasingly, however, tolerance has become the rule rather than the exception as Bostonians take pride in their city's diverse past.

This is a place of history. Boston is the oldest major city in the nation, founded in 1630. Boston quickly became the largest city in New England and the focal point of the American Revolution- home to the Tea Party and the Massacre, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is this legacy the tourists come to see- the colonial structures of the Freedom Trail and the testimony to the events that occured here. But what of Boston after the Revolution, the next 200 years? In that time, Boston has expanded its landmass exponentially and has become the essence of a true city. It only languished for a couple decades in the 20th century before picking up speed again and becoming the definition of a dynamic metropolis.

Many will tell you this is a city of neighbourhoods. Indeed, fierce neighbourhood pride is readily apparent here, and one can see the differences in each area; the straight boulevards of the Back Bay, the cobblestones of Beacon Hill, the old-world North End, the Irish spirit of Southie. Gentrification threatens the social diversity of Boston's neighbourhoods, but comes as a blessing for others. Whatever the future, the divisions of Boston's quarters are set in stone.

Many say Boston's days as a major city have passed, that it is now languishing as a tired provincial capital. But one only needs to look as far as Boston's major universities and hospitals to see that Boston's reputation carries far overseas. There is a reason people come to college here and decide they never want to leave. Boston is a unique place, unmatched by any other. It is a diverse place and a continually civilised one. It is the mecca of the mind.