My neighborhood

Garden Street.


Detail of a gaslit lamp in Beacon Hill.

If we're going to oversimplify, there are two ways of looking at my neighborhood, Beacon Hill:

A. It's really old, the apartments are tiny and expensive, and having a car is a huge hassle.

B. It has a rich history, the apartments are charming and you have to pay a premium to be in the middle of everything, and cars are unnecessary because of easy access to taxis and three subway lines.

Just so we can get the biases out of the way, I'll admit this neighborhood is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods I've seen, much less lived in. It's high-density and compact, but the elegant brick homes (some of which are more than 200 years old) and sidewalks, and tree-lined streets are magical.

When I think of Beacon Hill, I think of brick, window boxes full of flowers, architectural grace and distinction, small alleys and seemingly hidden passages.

A Wikipedia article can expand on the neighborhood's history. This Google Map will show you where the neighborhood is in relation with the rest of downtown Boston. The North End ("Little Italy") is to the northeast; Chinatown and the Financial District are to the southeast; the parks are a couple blocks south; the glitzy Back Bay is to the west; and Cambridge is to the northwest. The bounding streets, Charles and Cambridge, are long strips of retail and restaurants, and there are even a few shops, liquor stores and restaurants buried in the neighborhood itself. (Each time I go out, I seem to notice something new; today, I found a tiny barbershop one block north of my apartment.)

As I alluded to before, it's more expensive to live here and Beacon Hill has some of the country's most expensive real estate, but there are plenty of students and young professionals here.

Even still, the neighborhood carries a meaning with which I'm still not comfortable. People at work look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I live downtown, and their jaws drop slightly when I tell them I'm living here. (I also learned recently that I'm one of a handful of people in the newsroom who actually live in the city of Boston — everyone lives out in the suburbs or even other states.) I know I could get a larger apartment or, heck, a house if I lived outside downtown — but I also know that, at this point in my life, all I would do is come down here on my days off and regret not living here.


Pinckney Street at night.


The Massachusetts State House, which is down the street from my apartment.


Louisburg Square, the centerpiece of Beacon Hill. John Kerry is one of its notable residents.


DeLuca's Market in Beacon Hill, a neighborhood icon for more than 100 years.


One of the many back alleys in Beacon Hill.