It is named after the town of Brighton in the English city of Brighton and Hove. For its first 160 years Brighton was part of Cambridge and was known as “Little Cambridge." Throughout much of its early history it was a rural town with a significant commercial center at its east end. Brighton separated from Cambridge in 1807 after a bridge dispute and was later annexed to Boston, in 1874.
It is now a large community jointly with the adjacent neighborhood of Allston.
Its population is predominantly white and Asian, with smaller numbers of Latinos and African Americans.
History
1852 Map of Boston area showing Brighton and Rail lines.
In 1630, land comprising present-day Allston-Brighton and Newton was assigned to Watertown.
In 1634, the Massachusetts Bay Colony transferred ownership of the south side of the Charles River, including present-day Allston-Brighton and Newton, from Watertown to Newetowne,later renamed Cambridge.
In 1646, Reverend John Eliot established a “Praying Indian” village on the present Newton-Brighton boundary, where resided local natives converted to Christianity. The first permanent English settlement came as settlers crossed the Charles River from Cambridge , establishing Little Cambridge, the area's name before 1807.
Before the American Revolutionary War, Little Cambridge became a small, prosperous farming community with fewer than 300 residents. Its inhabitants included wealthy Boston merchants such as Benjamin Faneuil (after whom a street in Brighton is named).
A key event in the history of Allston-Brighton was the establishment in 1775 of a cattle market to supply the Continental Army. (we live on the hills, where the cattle was taken to pasture to graze, i wish I could go back in time to see and feel it)
Jonathan Winship I and Jonathan Winship II established the market, and in the post-war period that followed, the Winships become the largest meat packers in Massachusetts.
The residents of Little Cambridge resolved to secede from Cambridge when the latter's government made decisions detrimental to the cattle industry and also failed to repair the Great Bridge linking Little Cambridge with Cambridge proper. Legislative approval for separation was obtained in 1807, and Little Cambridge renamed itself Brighton.
In October 1873, the Town of Brighton voted to annex itself to the City of Boston, and in January 1874 Brighton officially became a neighborhood of the City of Boston.
Brighton is accessible via the B line of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line as well as its local bus routes (57 - Kenmore Square to Watertown Yard, 64 - Oak Square to Central Square (Cambridge) via Cambridge Street, 65 - Kenmore Square to Brighton Center via Longwood Medical District, 70 - Waltham to Central Square (Cambridge) via Western Avenue and 86 - Cleveland Circle to Harvard Square via Market Street) and inner-express bus routes (501 - Brighton Center to Financial District and 503 - Brighton Center to Copley Square). The C branch of the Green line terminates in Brighton, and the D branch of the Green line runs nearby, though not through Brighton.
While *47% of the population of Brighton drives alone to work, 36% uses mass transit, compared with 71% and 2% respectively for the United States as a whole.
*in my opinion, the comparison ought to be large cities versus the US as a whole, Since 1985, I've come to see and feel the parking squeeze up here due in part to the overwhelming students cramming into one apartment, each with their own car.)
Geography
Brighton is a neighborhood of Boston that is connected to the rest of the city by the Allston neighborhood and is otherwise surrounded by Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, and Brookline. The Charles River separates Brighton from Cambridge and Watertown. According to the Census Bureau, Brighton, defined by zip code 02135, has a population of 43,887 and a land area of 2.78 square miles.
Brighton is, for the most part, administered jointly with the adjacent neighborhood of Allston (zip code 02134). The two are often referred to together as "Allston-Brighton" (and by some as "Brighton-Allston"), and (also according to Census Bureau data) have a combined population of 65,276 and a land area of 4.12 square miles.
Demographics
As of 2007, the estimated population of Brighton is 42,789, a 2.81% loss from the 2000 Census. The population density is 14,797 per mi2, slightly higher than the citywide average of 12,166 per mi2. The median age is 32.2. The largest measured age cohort is 25-34, which comprises 32.52% of the population. (Note: depending on methodology, college students might not be counted.) Fifty-nine percent of the population have never been married.[4]
The population was 78% white, 12% Asian American, 3.5% black or African American, and nearly 7% Hispanic of any race.[4]
Thirty-three percent of Brighton has graduated from a four-year college.[5]
The median home price is $495,000 compared with $217,200 for the country as a whole, and the cost of living is 30% higher than the national average.
Brighton has a comparatively older housing stock. The median home age was 58 years and 42% of homes were built before 1939.
(Our home was build in1929, this sound silly, but I'd love to know what the style and architecture of my home and others like it in Oak Sq. if anyone knows please enlighten me, I'd really appreciate it)
The largest religious group (45%) is Catholic, with Protestants and other Christians making up the second-largest, at 10% of the population.
The next largest religious identification is Judaism (4%), with Islam at 2%.
Education
Brighton is host to many public schools. One of these is Brighton High School. Mount St. Joseph Academy is a private high school located within the boundaries of the locality.
Brighton is host to the Everest Institute, Saint John's Seminary and portions of Boston College and Harvard University. Currently the latter two institutions have ambitious plans to expand their presence in Brighton. The area is also proximal to other colleges, including Boston University, and houses many of their students and faculty.
See also the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston.
Notable residents
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, born in Brighton
William F. Galvin, Massachusetts Secretary of State
Joe Kennedy, son of the late Robert Kennedy
Patrick J. Kennedy, U.S. Congressman for Rhode Island's 1st district
John Krasinski, film actor, director, writer
Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River and many other Boston-set novels
Mr. Lif, political rapper
James Lynch, member of the Dropkick Murphys
Mike Milbury, former coach and player of the NHL's Boston Bruins
Steve DeOssie, former professional football player for the NFL's New York Giants and New England Patriots
Fred Salvucci, former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation
Charles Richard Stith, former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania
Source:Wikipedia
Boston, first incorporated as a town in 1630, and as a city in 1822, is one of America's oldest cities, with a rich economic and social history. What began as a homesteading community eventually evolved into a center for social and political change. Boston has since become the economic and cultural hub of New England.
As the region's hub, Boston is home to nearly 590,000 residents, many institutions of higher education, some of the world's finest inpatient hospitals, and numerous cultural and professional sports organizations. Boston-based jobs, primarily within the finance, health care, educational, and service areas, numbered nearly 660,000 in 2002. Millions of people visit Boston to take in its historic neighborhoods, attend cultural or sporting events, and conduct business.
Map • Boston Neighbourhoods
Boston has been the birthplace of many, many famous people. Learn more about them
Aerosmith
Alexander Graham Bell
Alvan Fisher (1792-1863)
Amy Lawrence Lowell (1874-1925)
Boston - the band
Boston Blackie - blues singer
Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)
Edgar Allan Poe
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935)
Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
James Michael Curley
Nathan Hale
Robert B Parker
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)
Sacco and Vanzetti
Tom Brady
Dust is a global issue :)
Song mentioning Boston
"As We Walk to Fenway Park in Boston Town" by Jonathan Richman
"Bank of Boston Beauty Queen" by The Dresden Dolls
"Beantown" by John Cena
"Bigger Things in Mind" by Westbound Train
"Bill Lee" (Boston Red Sox pitcher, 1969-1978) by Warren Zevon
"Blue Thunder" by Galaxie 500
"Billy Ruane" by Varsity Drag (Ben Deily)
"Boston" by Augustana
"Boston" by The Byrds
"Boston" by The Dresden Dolls
"Boston" by emmet swimming
"Boston" by Horror Show
"Boston" by Kenny Chesney
"Boston" by Paulson
"Boston" by The Party of Helicopters
"Boston" by Patty Griffin
"Boston" by Vampire Weekend
"Boston and St. John's" by Great Big Sea
"Boston Asphalt" by the Dropkick Murphys
"Boston Babies" by G.B.H.
"Boston Belongs To Me" by Death Before Dishonor
"Boston Bound" by The Kings of Nuthin'
"Boston Jail" by Porter Wagoner
"Boston Rag" by Steely Dan
"Boston Rose" by Liam Reilly
"Boston Subway" by The Pubcrawlers
"Boston United" by The Unseen
"Boston, USA" by The Ducky Boys
"Bostons" by Have Heart
"Bunker Hill" by Michael Penn
"Charlie on the M.T.A." by The Kingston Trio
"The Chosen Few" by the Dropkick Murphys
"Dirty Water" by The Standells
"Driving on 9" by The Breeders
"Etoh" by The Avalanches
"Fairmount Hill" by the Dropkick Murphys
"The Fenway" by Jonathan Richman
"For Boston" originally by T.J. Hurley (and, more recently, by the Dropkick Murphys)
"Girlfriend" by Jonathan Richman
"Government Center" by Jonathan Richman
"I Want My City Back" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"The Ice of Boston" by The Dismemberment Plan
"I'm Shipping up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys
"I'm Yours Boston" by Big D and the Kids Table
"In Defense of Dorchester" by the Street Dogs
"Ladies of Cambridge" by Vampire Weekend
"Logan to Government Center" by Brand New
"Mass Pike" by The Get Up Kids
"Massachusetts" by Bee Gees
"My Sister" by Juliana Hatfield
"Never Alone" by Dropkick Murphys
"Normal Town" by Better Than Ezra
"Pipe Bomb on Lansdowne Street" by the Dropkick Murphys
"Please Come to Boston" by Dave Loggins
"Riot on Broad Street" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"Roadrunner" by Jonathan Richman
"Rock and Roll Band" by Boston
"Savin Hill" by Street Dogs
"She's From Boston" by Kenny Chesney
"She's Got a Boyfriend Now" by Boys Like Girls
"Shot Heard 'Round the World" by Ween
"Skinhead on the MBTA" by the Dropkick Murphys
"Subway" by Mary Lou Lord
"Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor
"T DJ" by Freezepop
"Tessie" by Dropkick Murphys
"The End of Radio" by Shellac
"There's A Black Hole in the Shadow of the Pru" by American Nightmare
"They Came To Boston" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"Wicked Little Critta" by They Might Be Giants
source: wiki
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