Original Southie Parade Went from Marine Park in South Boston To Faneuil Hall in Downtown Boston

-

Parade route published in Boston Globe, March 17, 1901

South Boston's famous St. Patrick's Day/Evacuation Day parade starts in South Boston and ends in South Boston, and has done so for generations.  See the route of the 2012 parade here.

But the very first parade on Monday, March 18, 1901 has a very different route, according to newspaper reports. It started in South Boston but ended up at Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston!

According to a map printed in the Boston Globe on March 17, 1901, the Southie parade started at Marine Park on Pleasure Bay, where various military bands and regiments convened.  It proceeded up East Broadway, turned onto G Street and marched around the Dorchester Heights Monument, then back out to E. Broadway. It headed onto West Broadway to the end of the road, before crossing the Broadway Bridge out of South Boston and into Boston.

There the procession turned right onto Washington Street, headed to Park Square, then down Charles Street, between the Public Garden and Boston Common.  Next it turned up Beacon Hill, passing the State House, down past the Parker House onto School Street. At the bottom of School - where the Boston Irish Famine Memorial is now - it turned left onto Washington Street, before heading to Dock Square, where Boston City Hall is today,  next to Faneuil Hall.

The parade was approximately 4.8 miles, and started at 2:00 p.m.

After the parade, the South Boston Citizens Association held its banquet at Gray's Hall in South Boston, where patriotic speeches were made well into the night.

For more about South Boston, visit the South Boston Historical Society. 

For Boston Irish history and heritage visit Boston's Irish Heritage Trail.

(Research for this story conducted by Boston Irish Tourism Association.)


 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Declan Crowley is new Cultural Programming Manager at the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston

-
Image
The Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston (ICC) has announced the appointment of Declan Crowley as its new Cultural Programming Manager. Declan's primary role will be to curate a diverse lineup of Irish, Irish-American, and Celtic artists to perform at the Centre throughout the year, from musicians, singers and dancers to writers, filmmakers, historians and artists, while catering to a wide audience of people who cherish Irish culture. Crowley brings a wealth of experience and artistic vision to his new role.  Originally from Burnt Hills, NY, he is an eight-time Regional, two- time National, and All-Ireland Champion Irish dancer, as well as a two-time silver and bronze medal holder at the World Championships and a NFAA youngArts™️ Silver Medalist in World Dance, Crowley began touring internationally with Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” in 2009, where he played the principal role of ‘Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord’ until 2013. While completing his B.A. in English at the College ...
Read more

General Edward L. Logan, Namesake of Boston's Logan International Airport

-
Image
General Edward L. Logan (1875-1939), namesake of Boston’s Logan International Airport , died on July 6 1939 from a sudden 'heart ailment.'  His brother, Reverend Leo J. Logan, presided over the funeral mass at the Gate of Heaven Church in South Boston, with tributes by leading politicians like Senator David I. Walsh , former Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor James M. Curley and former Mayor John F. Fitzgerald .  Logan is buried at the Calvary Cemetery in West Roxbury.  A first generation Irish-American, military leader, civic leader and municipal judge with family roots in Galway and South Boston,  Edward was the oldest of nine children of Lawrence and Catherine (O’Connor), according to Michael Cummings of Milton, an expert on the Logan Family. Edward’s father Lawrence immigrated to Boston from Ballygar, County Galway, in 1858, and became a successful businessman at a young age when he became president of the Boston Brewing Company in South Boston.  The ...
Read more

Boston's Irish International Immigrant Center now called Rian Immigrant Center

-
Image
The Irish International Immigrant Center, one of Boston’s leading immigrant advocacy groups for over three decades, has changed its name to  Rian Immigrant Center . Rian (Ree-Ann), the Irish word for path, honors the groups Irish roots while reflecting its inclusive mission of empowering immigrant and refugee families on the path to opportunity, safety and a better future for all. The Center’s new logo is inspired by the Giant's Causeway on the north coast of Ireland, natural hexagonal stones formed 60 million years ago by cooling lava. The symbol represents how the Rian Immigrant Center provides the support to chart a pathway forward. “Our work has never been in higher demand,” said  Ronnie Millar,  executive director of the Rian Immigrant Center. “In recent years that path has grown more difficult. Legal obstacles, bureaucratic thickets, even physical barriers obstruct the path to legal status and citizenship. Together with our public and private par...
Read more