COVID-19 information
/
For the latest updates, please visit our coronavirus (COVID-19) website:
Filter

Digging into the digitizing of Boston's Hero Squares

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

Holding fast: Keeping traditions alive in Boston

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

archives_and_records_logo

Image for tumblr pe4j9hcc9s1rrufk0o1 500

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

Deep roots: Celebrating cultural traditions in Boston

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

archives_and_records_logo

Traversing Boston: Touring the City from above and below

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

archives_and_records_logo

Traversing Boston: Traveling the City before cars

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

Creating community: Forming ties in Boston’s neighborhoods

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

archives_and_records_logo

Summer in town: Timeless recreation in Boston

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

archives_and_records_logo

Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

Jessie Gideon Garnett

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

Notes from the Archives: The Great Fire of 1872

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

archives_and_records_logo

Note from the Archives: Boston's two birthdays

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

Voices of Boston: The Jamaica Plain angel food cake robbery

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

Not forgotten: Keeping the legacy of the West End alive

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

Notes from the Archives: Celebrating Juneteenth

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

Notes from the Archives: Memorial Day in Boston

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

archives_and_records_logo

Notes from the Archives: The Dragon on Washington Street

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

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

archives_and_records_logo

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

The West End: Slum or bustling urban neighborhood?

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

archives_and_records_logo
Back to top