Boston's North End: The Immigrant Experience

Description

Even during Paul Revere’s lifetime, the North End neighborhood was one of Boston’s most diverse centers of immigrant community, including many Caribbean, Irish, and French neighbors who Revere would have known while he lived his now famous house. Over the course of the 1800s, the North End also became home to thousands of Portuguese, Eastern European, and Italian immigrants, briefly becoming one of the most densely populated communities on earth. On this program, students will learn why immigrants chose to come to Boston throughout history, the challenges they faced, and the support networks they found here. Students will tour the Paul Revere House and discuss the building’s connection to immigrant history including Revere’s father’s own experience as an immigrant and the lives of enslaved West African workers who lived in the house before Revere’s time. The program then continues with a walking tour through the North End’s twisting streets and alleyways to encounter other hidden historic sites. Students will learn the history of the neighborhood through the stories of immigrant children and teenagers who grew up in the nearby tenements, discovering how they lived, studied, played, and supported their families by working as barbers, sailors, “newsies,” waiters, and tour guides.