Intervale Street-Blue Hill Avenue Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Intervale Street-Blue Hill Avenue Historic District
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Blue Hill Ave. and Intervale St., Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival; Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 100005783 |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 2020 |
The Intervale Street-Blue Hill Avenue Historic District is a special area in Boston, Massachusetts. It's in the Dorchester neighborhood. This district is full of old homes and buildings. They show how people lived and built things a long time ago. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. This means it's an important place to protect.
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Exploring the Intervale Street-Blue Hill Avenue Historic District
This historic district is like a time capsule. It shows how a neighborhood grew and changed. The buildings here tell stories of the people who lived in them.
What the District Looks Like
Intervale Street is in a part of Dorchester called Grove Hall. It's mostly a street with homes. The historic district is a specific part of this street, close to Blue Hill Avenue. At the corner, there's a big brick building. It has shops on the first floor and homes above. This building uses a style called Classical Revival. This means it looks like ancient Greek or Roman buildings.
Many other buildings are brick apartment houses. They are built in a style called Colonial Revival. This style looks back to early American homes. Some homes are made of wood. They also have Colonial Revival designs.
Famous Residents and Buildings
One interesting building is 37 Intervale Street. A famous person named Louis Farrakhan lived there in the late 1950s. Next door, at 35 Intervale Street, was the Masjid Al-Quran mosque. This mosque was part of the Nation of Islam. In 1957, Farrakhan took over leading the mosque. He took over from its first leader, Malcolm X.
A Rich History of the Neighborhood
The Intervale Street area first had homes built in the 1800s. These were mostly wooden houses. Around 1910, many Jewish families started moving here. They came from Boston's North End and the nearby city of Chelsea.
Why People Moved Here
There were a few reasons for this big move. First, new electric streetcar lines made it easier to travel. This connected the area to other parts of Boston. Second, a very big fire happened in Chelsea in 1908. This fire left over 15,000 Jewish people without homes.
The Intervale Street area was also close to a synagogue built in 1915. This synagogue was in Roxbury, a nearby neighborhood. It became a very important place for Jewish life in Boston for many years.
Changes Over Time
In the 1960s and 1970s, the neighborhood faced some challenges. Many people moved away. The area needed new life. Local African-American communities worked hard to improve the neighborhood. They started projects to make it better.
This historic district helps us remember the past. It shows how different groups of people have shaped Boston.
