Beacon Hill Dossier

Beacon Hill

Total Population: (as of 2010) 9,023

Demographics:

o   Median Age: 31

o   Race: 89.9% White, 5.4% Asian, 2.1% African American

o   Relationships: 60.5% in nonfamily households, 39.4% in family households

o   Households: 92.6% NO children UNDER 18 years

§  25.6% Family Households: 88.1% husband-wife family, 24.6% with children under 18 years

§  74.4% Nonfamily Households: 70.9% Householder living alone

o   Housing Occupancy: 6,013 housing units, 5,450 occupied, 33.7% owner-occupied, 66.3% renter-occupied

https://data.cityofboston.gov/dataset/Beacon-Hill-neighborhood-2010-Census/x3gv-zsfq

Average Household Salary: (as of 2013) $80,684

Median Rent Cost: (as of 2013) $1,689 per month

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Beacon-Hill-Boston-MA.html

Education: 89.5% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/neighborhoods/beacon-hill/at-a-glance

Schools: According to an article from boston.com in 2012 Boston Public Schools data compiled by the neighborhood group, of the 399 school-age children living on Beacon Hill in 2008-2009 school year, 74, or 19 percent, went to public schools while 325, or 81 percent, went to private schools.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/beacon_hill/2012/03/eliot_school_expansion_petitio.html

·      Following up: According to the article the neighborhood has made unsuccessful attempts to purchase a building to turn it into a neighborhood school in the past.

Designated as neighborhood: The Historic Beacon Hill District was designated in 1955 by an Act of the Massachusetts State Legislature (Chapter 616 of the Acts of 1955, as amended).

http://www.cityofboston.gov/landmarks/historic/beaconhill.asp

Location: About one square mile in size, bound by Beacon Street, Bowdoin Street, Cambridge Street and Storrow Drive.

General facts:

·      It is one of Boston's oldest communities

·      Got its name from a beacon that once stood atop its hill to warn locals about foreign invasion

·      Sits directly north of the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden

·      Its architecture and lay- out is reflective of old colonial Boston, consisting of brick row houses with beautiful doors, decorative iron work, brick sidewalks, narrow streets, and gas lamps.

·      Beacon Hill is also home to the Massachusetts State House and America's first African Meeting House.

·      Many notable Americans have lived here including Louisa May Alcott, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Daniel Webster, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and Senator John Kerry.

http://www.cityofboston.gov/neighborhoods/beaconhill.asp

http://www.bhcivic.org/living-here.html

People:

·      Neighborhood Liaison: Jacob Wessel http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/liaisons.asp

·      Preservation planner for the Historic Beacon Hill District: Lissa Schwab, lisbeth.schwab@boston.gov 617-635-3850 http://www.cityofboston.gov/landmarks/historic/beaconhill.asp

·      City Councilors: Josh Zakim (District 8), Josh.Zakim@boston.gov 617-635-4225

·      City Council President Bill Linehan (District 2), Bill.Linehan@boston.gov. 617-635-3203

 http://www.bhcivic.org/your-elected-officials.html

Local Organizations:

·      Beacon Hill Civic Association

o   www.bhcivic.org 617 227 1922

·      Boston Preservation Alliance

o   www.bostonpreservation.org 617 367 2458  

·      Conservation Committee of the Beacon Hill Garden Club

o   http://www.beaconhillgardenclub.org

·      Beacon Hill Womens Forum

o   https://beaconhillwomensforum.org

Businesses Based in Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill Staffing Group: Just made headlines on PRNewswire for closing 2015 about $348 million in annual revenue. Company named to Boston Globes Top places to work in State of Massachusetts (# 22)
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beacon-hill-staffing-group-2015-revenue-approaches-350m-300209049.html

Things to do:

·      Charles street, spanning five city blocks, is the main shopping district, full of cafes, restaurants, and salons

·      Visit the museum of Afro-American History at the African Meeting House

·      Visit the Boston Center for Jewish Heritage at the Vilna Shul

·      Walk along the Boston Common, the oldest public park in America, one entrance to the park is directly across from Charles St.

http://www.beaconhillonline.com/attractions.htm

https://www.historicbeaconhill.com/index.php/about-beacon-hill

https://www.historicbeaconhill.com/index.php/museums-historic

News Sites:

http://beaconhilltimes.com

Most recent stories covering Boston general news, new constructions in the area, Beacon Hill gala

·      Following up: Story about Beacon Hill shop owner known for her unique, non traditional perspective http://beaconhilltimes.com/2016/01/20/lana-barakat-and-her-december-thieves/

Upcoming Events

44th Annual Beacon Hill Gala, hosted by the Beacon Hill Civic Association, will be held on February 6th at the Four Seasons Hotel

·      Following up: With group members, what exactly is the gala for?

Major issues in the last few months:

Developer Pitched 75 condo construction on Beacon Hill (Dec 31^st), largest redevelopment project seen in Beacon Hill in years.

·      https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/12/31/developer-pitching-condos-beacon-hill/1MkloeR5AjD9KlCEXfMw6J/story.html

·      http://beaconhilltimes.com/2016/01/22/from-classrooms-to-residences/

Unable to find an article so far past late 2013, but would like to follow up the news of Charle Baker’s new budget announced in his State of the State address.

·      http://beaconhilltimes.com/2013/12/17/making-beacon-hill-inviting-to-young-families/

According to Police Briefs from area, the biggest issue is larceny and vehicle vandalism (all in the last two months) http://beaconhilltimes.com/category/police-briefs/

·      Following up: from news pieces so far most residents pro the new construction, however nothing has begun yet and I am curious once construct begins will it greatly affect the calm, quiet atmosphere of the area?

Other helpful links:

http://www.beaconhillonline.com/index.htm

Google Groups:

Beacon Hill Runners

A Sunday Morning Observation

The smell of steaming hot espresso, freshly baked gingerbread morning bun sits effortlessly among the calm feel of a late Sunday morning at Beacon Hill’s Tatte Bakery. Sitting at a old wooden communal table facing out the café window I sit among a variety of patrons. Some seem to be regulars, young looking mothers with their strollers weaving their way around the café, one hand on their latte, the other on the handle, a younger looking couple I suspect newlyweds in their mid-thirties, dressed in their cream colored sweaters leaning towards one another across the table to speak. 

My favorite patrons remind me of myself, three college aged kids who I can confirm only motivated themselves to venture out on a Sunday morning for an Instagram worthy brunch and a "café vibe" to get their work done, as recognized by their backpacks and concerned faces for an empty table. I look out the window and stare at the up the street I have always wanted to call home, the cobblestone streets, exposed brick brownstones, and decorative colored doors giving each home its own personality. The hills of each tree or nut named residential street seem to branch up from the street I now sit on, Charles Street, the central point for residents and patrons of Beacon Hill. I decide to give my seat to the eager students and take a stroll down Charles as I have done many times the past three years. 

As I walk along the frozen cobblestone, hoping not to slip, I walk past an older looking woman in a fur coat, nicely done hair, decked out in gold jewelry and her husband dressed just as well guiding her by arm, we exchange a smile. I continue and smile at the furry friend, a golden retriever, headed by why with his owner, a young woman about thirty, following behind. 

I walk passed the absurdly long line for the Boston's best breakfast at The Paramount; the inside decorated like an old diner, with Bin 26 a swanky wine enthusiast restaurant a few doors down. I continue to look at each modern day boutique encased in the classic red brick and it is around then I have solidified a thought: Beacon Hill is, in my opinion, the only place in Boston in which  old and new live in lucrative harmony.  

The juxtaposition of historic yet, modern, grandparent yet, young parent, and freezing temperatures yet, warm friendly faces of neighbors and visitors that interact along the sidewalks. For about five blocks I continue past the various family owned restaurants you can tell have been passed on through generations, the cafes with millennial snapping photos of their cappuccinos, salons with young professionals getting a Sunday pedicure, and modern boutiques full of upscale clothing and home decor. 

Yes. I contemplated (multiple times) walking in and asking how long each one has been there, just as I had when it came to asking the people I passed along the street how long their home has been in their family. According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, most homes are old construction rooted in family tradition and passed down. Yet each time I tried I couldn't bare to interrupt anyone's Sunday. I couldn't let myself spoil what looked like the most peaceful day for each person, so instead I simply watched, and tried to to take in what its like to be a resident of Beacon Hill.

I continue all the way down. Standing at the end of Charles Street I sensed that simple feeling of the Beacon Hill morning fading as the sound of more cars increased. Instead the urban city feeling outside of Beacon Hill returned and I reached the neighborhood counterpart to my beat, the newly gentrified mystery that is the West End of Boston.