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It’s in the books: Boston’s new women voters in 1920

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In 1920, over 50,000 newly enfranchised women registered to vote in Boston.

Dancers at a North End Festival, August 23, 1973, Mayor Kevin White records, Boston City Archives

An ode to community: The religious feasts of Boston’s North End

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From watching a game at Fenway Park to sailing on the Charles River, summers in Boston are defined...

Community culture and resilience in Chinese immigrant populations in and around Boston's Chinatown

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Following the flow of residents from Boston’s Chinatown to the South End in the mid-20th century...

Corner of Unity and Charter Streets, 1893, Boston Public Library

Holding fast: Keeping traditions alive in Boston

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Boston’s neighborhoods are made up of diverse populations each with their own specific histories...

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Notes from the Archives: #onthisday in 1918, the Spanish Flu arrived in Boston

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On this day, in 1918, two sailors housed at Boston’s Commonwealth Pier reported to the sickbay with...

Deep roots: Celebrating cultural traditions in Boston

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Culture is woven throughout the fabric of Boston’s diverse neighborhoods. Across the City, family...

Traversing Boston: Touring the City from above and below

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Bostonians have been using public transit systems since the late 19th century. Street-level systems...

Traversing Boston: Traveling the City before cars

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Since the late 19th century, Boston’s transportation system has been on the move, always changing to...

Professional Black Women's Business Club, circa 1960-1969, University of Massachusetts Boston, Joseph P. Healey Library

Creating community: Boston’s neighborhood clubs and organizations

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In the first part of our two-part series on the role of community in Boston’s neighborhoods, we...

Close-up of men playing cards on Paul Revere Mall, North End, Boston, ca. August 1972

Creating community: Forming ties in Boston’s neighborhoods

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In the first of a two-part series about the role of community in Boston’s neighborhoods, we look at...

Summer in town: Timeless recreation in Boston

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As the temperatures rise in Boston, the arrival of summer is all but confirmed. Recreation, much...

Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson

The love of a teacher: Wilhelmina Crosson and Boston’s first remedial studies program

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Boston has long been known for its commitments to education. Teacher Wilhelmina Crosson exemplified...

Jessie Gideon Garnett

She knows the drill: Boston’s first female African American dentist

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When Jessie Gideon Garnett first showed up at Tufts University’s School of Dental Medicine, she was...

Digging into the digitizing of Boston's Hero Squares

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Have you ever walked by a Hero Square and wondered who it was named for? The City Archives is...

Notes from the Archives: The Great Fire of 1872

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On November 9, 1872, the Great Fire of Boston destroyed more than 1,000 businesses in Boston’s...

Note from the Archives: Boston's two birthdays

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Is Boston's birthday on September 7 or 17? The answer is more complicated than you realize!

Voices of Boston: In the wake of WWII, Morna Crawford moves to Fenway

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Morna Crawford came to Boston after World War II to take a job at the Museum of Fine Arts. She...

Voices of Boston: Arts and culture in Boston's Black community

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James Henderson, a black poet, playwright, and actor from Virginia, came to Boston in 1917. Boston...

Voices of Boston: The Jamaica Plain angel food cake robbery

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Elizabeth Amberman recalls the Great Depression in Jamaica Plain and a robbery over Betty Crocker’s...

Dorchester Avenue at Fields Corner looking south, raffic and Parking Department photographs (5110.002)

Voices of Boston: Rapid transit, 'Social Fights,' and a hippopotamus in Dorchester

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Franklin Park Zoo gets a hippo and Boston builds a rapid transit system. Three men reflect on...

Not forgotten: Keeping the legacy of the West End alive

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In September 2019, a group of undergraduate students at Simmons University began work on a project...

Voices of Boston: Louise and Miss Ives discuss education and innovation in Roslindale

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A Roslindale woman recalls her immigrant father’s claim that he had never truly experienced the cold...

July 4 Balloon Ascension ticket, 1861, City Council Committee on Celebrations, Collection 0140.013, Boston City Archives, Boston

Notes from the Archives: Celebrating Independence Day during the Civil War

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On July 4, 1861, Bostonians celebrated Independence Day as they grappled with the reality of civil...

Exploring Boston's neighborhood histories: An intro to an Archives blog series

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In the 1970s, Boston residents provided oral history interviews as part of the Boston 200...

Emancipation Day, 1888--East Main Street near 21st Southside, Richmond, VA, Valentine Richmond History Center

Notes from the Archives: Celebrating Juneteenth

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On this day in 1865, Union General Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 to the inhabitants of...

Grand Army of the Republic directory, 1892, City Council Committee records, (Collection 0140.001)

Notes from the Archives: Memorial Day in Boston

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On May 30, 1868, Americans observed the country’s first Memorial Day.

Notes from the Archives: The Dragon on Washington Street

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While cataloging Public Works Department photographs at the City Archives, intern Alyssa True...

Heffernan Street, August 9, 1965, Boston Redevelopment Authority photographs, Collection 4010.001

After the West End: The fight for Barry's Corner

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Residents were arrested, tomatoes were thrown, furniture was tossed into the street. In a David-and...

320 children with Forsyth Certificates, each certificate representing 124 children totaling 39,680 with “All Dental Work Completed," 1922, Boston City Archives

Early steps towards universal children’s healthcare

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At the beginning of the twentieth century, interest in public health and child welfare grew.

Cambridge Street looking towards Blossom Street, West End, Boston Redevelopment Authority photographs, Collection 4010.001

The West End: Slum or bustling urban neighborhood?

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What characteristics do you think of when you hear the word "slum"? Deteriorated infrastructure...

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