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Allston is a section of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, located in the western part of the city. It is, for the most part, administered collectively with the adjacent neighborhood of Brighton, leading the two often to be referred to together, as "Allston-Brighton." The population of Allston is approximately 50% students, mostly from Boston University, Boston College, and Harvard University. Many of the students hang out in the street, and thus set the tone of the neighborhood. In the summer, when many of the students leave, the other half of the population becomes more obvious: immigrants from many countries, and bohemians of all ages.
Housing stock varies but largely consists of brick apartment buildings, especially on Commonwealth Avenue and the streets directly off of it; while areas further down Brighton Avenue are largely dotted with wooden triple-deckers. Some of the housing stock is in poor condition. The largely student and immigrant population may account for the low standards for maintenance -- since the landlords are under little pressure to maintain their properties well -- and slumlords are still commonplace. Allston is generally viewed as a seedy (but fairly safe) lower-middle class neighborhood with a young population and a large number of bars and cheap eateries.
Demographics
Allston, while primarily a neighborhood shared by students and bohemians of all ages, is also home to Boston natives, Asian, Russian, and numerous other immigrants. In the 1990s, census figures indicated that 52.6% of its population was aged 20-34 (as compared to 33% for the city of Boston as a whole), an indication of the strong student and "twentysomething" presence. That presence has created tension between some long-time residents and the student population, which constantly cycles in and out as students matriculate and graduate from Boston's many colleges and universities.
Geography
The ZIP code 02134 roughly expresses Allston's extents, which was made famous nationwide by a recurring musical piece on the PBS children's series ZOOM -- whose originating station, WGBH, is located in the neighborhood.
Allston is bordered by the Charles River and the city of Cambridge to the north, Brookline to the south, and is split by the Massachusetts Turnpike in the middle. The area north of the turnpike near the river is often referred to as "Lower Allston" or "North Allston."
History
All of today's Allston was part of Brighton when that town seceded from Cambridge in 1807. In 1868, a new railroad depot and post office in Brighton's eastern portion were given the name "Allston" after Washington Allston, the noted painter who lived and worked in the area. The entire Town of Brighton was annexed by the City of Boston in 1874. Allston has never existed as a separate political entity in its own right.
Allston grew up largely around the large railroad and livestock operations in its midst. The Boston and Albany Railroad (now CSX) operated a major yard there. Stockyards and a large abbatoir operated nearby in the northern part of Brighton. Much of the railroad yard remains in use today as the CSX Beacon Park Yard, but all livestock activity ended by the mid-twentieth century.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Extension, built largely on part of the Boston and Albany right-of-way, opened through Allston in 1964 and 1965. *
Colleges and universities
Allston lies almost equidistant from three major universities. A substantial part of the campus of Harvard University is in southern Allston, including Harvard Business School and Harvard Stadium. Harvard also owns large portions of other land in lower Allston, much of which it hopes to develop as an academic campus. Boston University lies along Commonwealth Avenue to the east. Boston College, which straddles the Newton-Brighton line between Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street, is at the end of the "B Branch" of the Boston MBTA subway Green Line, which follows Commonwealth Avenue.
During the 1990s, Harvard quietly bought large parcels of land in eastern Allston and is currently planning a major expansion into the neighborhood.
Miscellaneous
- Allston is said to have been the only town in the United States named for an artist. (Of course, it's now a neighborhood of Boston, no longer a separate town.) It can even be said to have been named for a specific painting: "Fields West of Boston," by Washington Allston. Only a few other locales in the U.S. are named for artists, such as Copley Square in downtown Boston.
- The Boston Patriots (now the New England Patriots) of the National Football League played one season in Allston, 1970, at Harvard Stadium. The Boston Braves played at Braves Field (now Boston University's Nickerson Field) at Allston's eastern edge from 1915 to 1952.
- A strip running from Brighton Avenue in Allston out Commonwealth Avenue toward Kenmore Square was Boston's original "Automile," lined with automobile dealerships. Packard's Sales Stable and Riding School gave Packard's Corner its name, but it was perpetuated by the presence of an opulent Packard dealership. Few dealers remain, but many of their large-windowed storefronts can be easily spotted to this day.
- The prevalence of musicians and music venues has given rise to the popular nickname "Allston Rock City." The busiest section of the neighborhood is the stretch of Harvard Avenue between Commonwealth Avenue and Cambridge Street, which houses many shops, bars and restaurants. Recent business promotion initiatives have dubbed this area "Allston Village." The center of the neighborhood, sometimes referred to as the "Beer Mile," is a popular pickup spot for single co-eds, amid drunken debauchery and promiscuous behavior typical of college-area neighborhoods. In addition to nightly dancing and live music at area bars, house parties abound on surrounding streets, particularly during the school year. This has long been a sore point among other Allston residents. *
- In 2003, the community, along with neighboring Brighton, saw an outbreak of bedbugs in hundreds of apartments. This was due to the practice of people buying used mattresses or accepting ones left behind by former tenants, commonplace among Allston's bohemian artist and musician element. A $200 subsidy was offered to tenants with infested mattresses *, and bedbug extermination workshops were held by the Boston Inspectional Services Housing Division.
- In 2005, the New England Foundation for the Arts selected a site in Allston for its Art & Community Landscapes programThe artist team of Legge Lewis Legge[http://www.leggelewislegge.com/ was chosen to design this site which is known as the Lincoln Street Green Strip
- Allston is current home of world championship bodybuilder Thomas Johnson, orginally of Wilton, CT.
Transportation
The "B Branch" of the Boston MBTA subway Green Line runs directly to the neighborhood along Commonwealth and ends at Boston College, while several bus lines run to and through. The "C Branch" of the Green Line ends at Cleveland Circle after passing through Brookline.
In May 2006, Harvard officials said that they would like to establish a commuter rail stop in Allston on the Framingham/Worcester line.Harvard Crimson, "University Plans Allston T Stop," May 10, 2006.
References
Marchione, William P. The Bull in the Garden: A History of Allston-Brighton. Boston Public Library, pub., 1986. ISBN 0890730784.
External links
"Allston, Boston, Massachusetts"