Dorchester

Dorchester was founded by the Puritans just a few months prior to the founding of Boston in 1630. It was primarily a rural town when it was annexed to Boston in 1870. Inevitably, streetcars tied the neighborhood to Boston proper and the population grew.

Dorchester is Boston’s largest neighborhood geographically stretching from the South End and South Boston to the North, Dorchester Bay to the east, Roxbury to the west, and the Neponset River to the south. Given its size, Dorchester is home to many different sub-neighborhoods, ethnic groups, and housing styles from the large painted lady Victorians that dot Curruth, Jones, and Savin Hills to three-deckers of Adams and Fields Corner, to modest wood-frame single families and apartments in Uphams Corner and Lower Mills. Most recently, modern mis-size condominiums have been sprouting-up around T stations, such as in Ashmont Square, as Boston embraces more transit-oriented development.

Excellent rapid transit connections via the red line subway and commuter rail provide Dorchester with direct access to Cambridge, the South Shore and beyond making it an increasingly popular option for commuters. The University of Massachusetts-Boston calls Dorchester home as does the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Malibu Beach affords great sun and fun recreational opportunities in the summer as does Pope John Paul II Park along the Neponset River.