Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

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Jamaica Plain, commonly known as "JP," is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. It was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and then part of the town of West Roxbury, Massachusetts when that was established in 1848. West Roxbury (including Jamaica Plain) was annexed to Boston in 1874. According to an official city estimate, it had a population of 38,196 in October, 2003.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Name 1.2 Founding 1.3 Revolution 1.4 Streetcar suburb 1.5 Industry 1.6 Annexation 1.7 Immigration 1.8 Urban Renewal 1.9 Present day 2 Neighborhoods 3 Notable Natives & Remarkable Residents 4 Transportation 4.1 Bicycle Paths 4.2 Subway 4.2.1 Green Line controversy 4.3 Commuter Rail 4.4 Buses 4.5 Cars and parking 5 External links 6 References 7 Further reading

[edit] History

[edit] Name

"Jamaica" may be an Anglicization of the name Kuchamakin, sachem (chief) of the Massachusett tribe.^[1] Jamaica Pond is a spring-fed kettle pond and at one time was a major source of water and ice, and today is at the center of the Emerald Necklace parks.

[edit] Founding

Jamaica Plain was settled by the Curtis family, circa 1640. A number of the still-extant streets date to this era, including Centre Street, Day Street, and Perkins Street.

[edit] Revolution

The Loring-Greenough House (c. 1760) was a country estate and farmstead of Commodore Joshua Loring of the British Army. After Loring fled to England in 1774, the Loring house served as a commissary, hospital and headquarters for Colonial troops during the American Revolution. After the Revolution, the house was the family home for four generations of the David Stoddard Greenough family from 1780 until its conversion by the Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club to a historic house museum in 1926. This house is the only 18th century building still standing in Jamaica Plain.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Streetcar suburb

Streetcars played a significant role in the neighborhood's growth by providing access to downtown along Centre Street and Columbus Avenue (then Pynchon Street) via Roxbury Crossing. Development of the neighborhood followed the streetcar tracks.

By the 1850s Jamaica Plain included massive summer "cottages" on the banks of Jamaica Pond belonging to Boston's oldest families.

In the 1880s, philanthropist and social reformer Robert Treat Paine (1810-1905) experimented with innovations in housing for "substantial workingmen." The Workingmen's Building Association built a 114-house development between Round Hill and Sunnyside streets and the Workingmen's Loan Association offered amortizing mortgages to buyers.^[2]

[edit] Industry

JP was the home of almost a dozen breweries which relied on the relatively pure water of Stony Brook. By 1896, the Thomas G. Plant Shoe Factory at Centre Street and Bickford Street proclaimed itself to be the largest women's shoe factory in the world.^[3]

[edit] Annexation

By the end of the 19th century, the annexation by Boston had provided municipal services to the neighborhood, and it began to experience a rapid growth in population. This was fostered by the creation of Forest Hills Cemetery, the Arnold Arboretum, Franklin Park and the Emerald Necklace -- a series of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted on the western and southern sides of Jamaica Plain.

[edit] Immigration

During the 20th century Jamaica Plain transformed from a streetcar suburb to a more urban neighborhood, with a large influx of German, Irish, Italian, Polish and French-Canadian Americans. Prohibition brought an end to the breweries and launched a significant public housing development effort on Heath Street and later at Bromley Park, eventually creating over 1,000 government-subsidized housing units.^[4]

[edit] Urban Renewal

In the 1950s, sections of Jamaica Plain along the Boston & Providence Railroad and the Stony Brook valley were deemed blighted by the city's urban planners. Significant portions of the neighborhood adjacent to the railroad were demolished in the 1960s, in preparation for bringing I-95 through the city.^[5] Many working class families were displaced.^{[citation needed]} Eventually public opposition shut the project down, and, after remaining desolate,crime ridden and abandoned for 20 years, the areas demolished for the interstate right-of-way were rebuilt as the Southwest Corridor linear park.^[5] The MBTA Orange Line reopened through this corridor in 1987, replacing an elevated train along Washington Street.

In the 1970s JP was better known for its arson and petty crime than for its parks.^{[citation needed]} A dramatic fire in 1976 destroyed the Plant Shoe Factory and its adjacent park, creating a crater of rubble that remained for nearly two decades.

In the 1980s low rents brought many students to the area, especially those who attended the Museum School, Mass Art, and Northeastern University, who often lived in collective households. During this time the neighborhood also developed a large lesbian and gay community. The presence of artists in the neighborhood led to the opening or revitalization of local galleries and bookstores, and arts centers like the converted Firehouse.

The 1990s brought significant redevelopment to JP. Residents began to take back the parks, and Jamaica Pond became a rallying point with the Jamaica Pond Project's restoration efforts. Nonprofit housing groups bought up rundown houses and vacant lots to create low-income rental units.^[6][7] However, the flight of the working class and middle class, especially families, continues, due primarily to high housing costs (not poor enough to qualify for subsidies, not wealthy enough to afford the market rents) along with poorly performing, dangerous public schools, high property taxes and high crime.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1990s, the Plant Shoe Factory site was redeveloped as JP Plaza, a strip mall, and later a supermarket and a new facility for the Martha Eliot Health Center completed the site's redevelopment. Boston Main Streets districts sprouted in three corners of the neighborhood (Hyde/Jackson Square, Egleston Square, and Centre/South), bringing city funds and tools of neighborhood revitalization to local business owners.

[edit] Present day

By the turn of the century, the neighborhood was experiencing rapid gentrification during a citywide real estate boom, and had attracted a large community of mostly college educated, professional White American suburban-raised singles or young childless couples, political activists and artists, while also experiencing a continuing loss in low and middle-income housing, and families with children.^{[citation needed]}

JP has always been diverse: a melting pot of races, ethnicities, and family types; but has become less so than in the past, due to the previously mentioned gentrification, and working class/middle class family urban flight, caused primarily by dangerous, poorly performing public schools, high housing costs, high rents, high property taxes and high crime.^{[citation needed]} The neighborhood is still home to poor, working class and a small number of middle class African Americans, members of several Latin American populations, and members of several Asian populations, as well as people of European descent however, and has a significant professional college-educated middle-class and upper-middle-class mostly white lesbian presence.^{[citation needed]}

Hyde, Jackson, and Egleston Squares have significant Spanish-speaking populations from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. JP is a popular area among Boston lesbians, including older couples, and increasingly attracts young gay men and women who can afford the high rents.^{[citation needed]} This blend of multiple cultures is reflected in local businesses, such as the many often esoteric and expensive business establishments which line Centre Street.

Although some see Jamaica Plain as relatively isolated from the rest of the City of Boston, the Green Line "E" Branch at Heath Street, the Orange Line, and the #39 bus (one of only two bus lines whose fare is covered by the purchase of a monthly subway pass) provide easy access to Back Bay, the South End, and Downtown; as well as Amtrak trains and most southbound commuter rail lines. A funky, populist feel have helped popularize the area with mostly middle class suburban raised post-Generation X college students, artists, and young professionals. The crime rate continues however to be high, due primarily to the high number of urban poor, the general absence of stabilizing working and middle class families, and the presence of the previously mentioned taxpayer subsidized public housing projects with the crime problems that often arise in such developments.^{[citation needed]}

A hot real estate market has driven conversion of older buildings into condominiums, particularly in historic areas such as the formerly working class Hyde Square and the wealthier middle class areas of Pondside and Sumner Hill. This has sped up gentrification, to the dismay of low and middle income renters, but long-time residents who own their homes benefit from their increased value. A large number of formerly vacant sites are now being converted to residential use, among them the ABC Brewery, the Gormley Funeral Home, the Eblana Brewery, the Oliver Ditson Company, 319 Centre Street, Jackson Square, JP Cohousing, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of the Way, and 80 Bickford Street.

JP is also home to The Footlight Club, which is the United States oldest, continuously running community theatre since 1877. The Footlight Club resides in Eliot Hall, on Eliot Street, just off of Centre Street.

[edit] Neighborhoods

Jamaica Plain is made up of a number of distinct residential subdistricts.

• Brookside (Brookside Neighborhood Association) - roughly bounded by Boylston Street, Green Street, Washington Street, and the Southwest Corridor Park
• Egleston Square (Egleston Square Neighborhood Association) - intersection of Columbus Avenue and Washington Street at the border between Jamaica Plain and Roxbury
• Forest Hills - roughly bounded by the Arborway, Hyde Park Avenue, and Forest Hills Cemetery
• Hyde Square - intersection of Centre Street, Day Street, and Perkins Street
• Jackson Square - intersection of Columbus Avenue and Centre Street
• Jamaica Hills (Jamaica Hills Association) - northwest of the Arnold Arboretum, including Moss Hill and Green Hill
• Parkside - roughly bounded by Washington Street, Egleston Square, and Franklin Park
• Pondside (Jamaica Pond Association) - roughly bounded by Centre Street, South Huntington Avenue, and the Jamaicaway
• Sumner Hill (Sumner Hill Association) - roughly bounded by Seaverns Avenue, Everett Street, Carolina Avenue, and Newbern Street
• Sunnyside (Sunnyside Neighborhood Association) - roughly bounded by Centre Street, Day Street, Round Hill Street, and Gay Head Street
• Woodbourne (Woodbourne Heritage Association) - southwest of Forest Hills Cemetery, roughly bounded by Walk Hill Street, Goodway Street, and Wachusett Street

[edit] Notable Natives & Remarkable Residents

• Emily Greene Balch, co-winner of the 1946 Nobel Peace Prize (130 Prince Street)
• James Michael Curley, four-term mayor of Boston, later governor of Massachusetts (350 Jamaicaway)
• James Dole, founder of Hawaiian Pineapple Company which became Dole Food Company (14 Roanoke Avenue)
• John Hancock owned a summer house that stood on the banks of Jamaica Pond
• Hellen Keller attended the Perkins Kindergarten for the Blind when it was located on Perkins Street in Hyde Square
• Sylvia Plath, poet (birthplace at 24 Prince Street)
• Ellen Swallow Richards, first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (and other notable accomplishments) (32 Eliot Street)
• Joey McIntyre, former member of boy band New Kids on the Block, grew up in JP and performed in community theater at The Footlight Club

[edit] Transportation

JP is served by the MBTA's bus and rail services. Major roads are Centre Street, the Jamaicaway (formerly US 1), the Arborway (MA 203), Washington Street, and Columbus Avenue (MA 28).

[edit] Bicycle Paths

Two major bicycle paths serve JP. Along the Southwest Corridor Park is the Pierre Lallement Bicycle Path, which runs from Forest Hills to Back Bay. To the west are the Emerald Necklace bicycle paths, which run through the parks along the Jamaicaway and Riverway. Jamaica Plain is home to the only bike lane in a Boston street, along one block of Perkins Street at Jamaica Pond.

[edit] Subway

The Green Line "E" Train terminates at Heath Street in Mission Hill. This line used to continue along South Huntington Avenue, Centre Street, and South Street to its terminus at the Arborway Yard across from Forest Hills Station. Service beyond Heath Street was suspended by the MBTA in 1985.

The Orange Line runs through the middle of JP with stops at Jackson Square, Stony Brook, Green Street, and Forest Hills. The Orange Line carries as many passengers as the #39 bus, on which ridership is steadily declining.^{[citation needed]}

Forest Hills Station is a major transportation hub and is walking distance to the Arnold Arboretum and Forest Hills Cemetery.

[edit] Green Line controversy

Proposed restoration of the "E" Train extension to Forest Hills (part of the promised environmental mitigation measures relating to the Big Dig) has caused considerable tension in the area. Some residents and commuters are eager to embrace what is seen as a reconnection with the rest of the city, while many others cite the #39 Bus along the old route and the Orange Line just a few blocks away as easy travel solutions. Opposition is mainly based on this availability of transport, and fears that restoration of the trolley service would eliminate on-street parking and create traffic snares in an area already plagued by a shortage of the former and abundance of the latter. Advocates on both sides of the issue, including the Arborway Committee and Better Transit Without Trolleys, present compelling arguments for improved service while the MBTA has not yet committed to a permanent transit solution.

[edit] Commuter Rail

The Needham Line of the Commuter Rail stops at Forest Hills Station, and many other lines are easily accessible by riding the Orange Line subway train to Ruggles and Back Bay.

[edit] Buses

The #39 Bus (Back Bay to Forest Hills) is a replacement service for the "temporarily" suspended Green Line streetcar from Heath Street to Forest Hills. It, along with the #1 bus, is one of only two MBTA bus routes on which the subway-only monthly pass may be used for fare payment. All other bus routes require a separate bus pass or a combination subway & bus pass.

The #41 bus carries passengers from JP Center to Dudley Square.

The #48 bus runs a loop around the neighborhood, tying together the Washington and Centre Street corridors.

Green Line - Heath Street

• 14 Roslindale Sq.-Heath St. Sta.
• 39 Forest Hills Sta.-Back Bay Sta.

Orange Line - Jackson Square

• 22 Ashmont Sta.-Ruggles Sta. via Talbot Ave.
• 29 Mattapan Sta.-Jackson Sq. Sta. via Seaver St.
• 41 Centre & Eliot Streets-JFK/UMASS Sta.
• 44 Jackson Sq. Sta.-Ruggles Sta. via Seaver St.
• 48 Jamaica Plain Loop Monument-Jackson Sq. Sta.
• 66 Harvard Sq.-Dudley Sta. via Harvard St.

Orange Line - Stony Brook

• 48 Jamaica Plain Loop Monument-Jackson Sq. Sta.

Orange Line - Green Street

• 48 Jamaica Plain Loop Monument-Jackson Sq. Sta.

Orange Line - Forest Hills

• 16 Forest Hills Sta.-Andrew Station or JFK/UMASS Sta.
• 21 Ashmont Sta.-Forest Hills Sta.
• 31 Mattapan Sta.-Forest Hills Sta. via Morton St.
• 32 Wolcott Sq. or Cleary Square-Forest Hills Sta.
• 34/34E Walpole Center or Dedham Line-Forest Hills Sta. via Washington St.
• 35 Dedham Mall/Stimson St.-Forest Hills Sta.
• 36 Charles River Loop or V.A. Hospital-Forest Hills Sta. via Belgrade Ave.
• 37 Baker and Vermont Sts.-Forest Hills Sta.
• 38 Wren St.-Forest Hills Sta.
• 39 Forest Hills Sta.-Back Bay Sta.
• 40 Georgetowne-Forest Hills Sta.
• 42 Forest Hills Sta.-Ruggles Sta. via Washington St.
• 50 Cleary Sq.-Forest Hills Sta.
• 51 Reservoir (Cleveland Circle)-Forest Hills Sta.

[edit] Cars and parking

Shared car service Zipcar once had a number of cars stationed throughout the neighborhood. In January 2006, the number of shared cars was sharply reduced to five (four at a former Citgo station on Centre Street and one at Forest Hills). Municipal parking lots are located off Centre Street at Burroughs Street in JP Center, across from the Mary Curley School on Centre Street at Spring Park Ave., and across from Blessed Sacrament Church in Hyde Square. There are no parking meters in JP; on-street parking is free. Many streets near the MBTA Orange Line stations are posted "resident permit only" during working hours (8 AM to 6 PM). This is intended to discourage commuters from using residential streets as parking lots during the day.

[edit] External links

In alphabetical order:

• Arborway Committee -- Arborway Committee, Advocates for light rail
• Franklin Park Coalition -- Franklin Park Coalition
• Historic Hyde Square -- Historic Hyde Square
  • Gas Lamps of Jamaica Plain -- photos of gas street lights
• JamaicaPlain.com -- neighborhood information and links
• Jamaica Plain Gazette -- Free neighborhood newspaper
• Jamaica Plain Historical Society -- Jamaica Plain Historical Society
  • Sumner Hill -- Sumner Hill Historic District
  • Woodbourne -- Woodbourne Historic District
• Southwest Corridor Park
• The Jamaica Pond Project -- A Photographic Essay
• Neighbors for Neighbors -- A volunteer community group

[edit] References

1. ^ Native Americans in Jamaica Plain, by Walter H. Marx (December 29, 1988), Jamaica Plain Historical Society web site, accessed on July 30, 2006.
2. ^ Streetcar Suburbs : The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900, Second Edition, by Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Harvard University Press (2004), ISBN 0-674-84211-1.
3. ^ Tom Plant: The Making of a Franco-American Entrepreneur, 1859-1941 (Studies in Entrepreneurship), by Barry Hatfield Rodrigue, Garland Publishing (1994), ISBN 0-8153-0988-0.
4. ^ From the Puritans ot the Projects: Public housing and public neighbors, by Lawrence J. Vale, Harvard University Press (2000), ISBN 0-674-00286-5
5. ^ ^{a b} Rites of Way: The Politics of Transportation in Boston and the U.S. City (Hardcover), by Alan Lupo, Little Brown & Company (January 1971), ISBN 0-316-53670-9.
6. ^ Urban Edge History, accessed on July 30, 2006.
7. ^ See the difference we've made, JPNDC, accessed on July 30, 2006.

[edit] Further reading

• Local Attachments : The Making of an American Urban Neighborhood, 1850 to 1920 (Creating the North American Landscape), by Alexander von Hoffman, The John Hopkins University Press (1996), ISBN 0-8018-5393-1.
• A Home in the Heart of a City: A Woman's Search for Community (Hardcover), by Kathleen Hirsch, North Point Pr (1998), ISBN 0-374-28079-7.

Neighborhoods in Boston, Massachusetts
Allston/Brighton · Back Bay · Beacon Hill · Charlestown · Chinatown · Dorchester · Downtown Crossing · East Boston · Fenway-Kenmore · Government Center · Hyde Park · Jamaica Plain · Longwood · Mattapan · Mission Hill · North End · Roslindale · Roxbury · South Boston · South End · West Roxbury