A Magical Neighborhood by Victor Passacantilli

I know most of my boyhood friends who grew up in the North End have come to realize with pride, what a cherished and unique community it was for us. We confidently attest that there is or never has been a place like our North End. 

Its people, its history, its culture, size, and magical ambiance can nowhere be rivaled. 

Where is there a neighborhood less than one third mile square that had upward to 35,000 inhabitants predominately of Italian descent during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s? 

It was an Italian enclave that had: 

4 Protestant Churches 

4 Catholic Churches 

7 Practicing Dentists 

10 Funeral Homes 

12 Pastry Shops 

12 Practicing and Visiting Doctors 

14 Pharmacies 

16 Grocery Stores 

16 Bakeries 

25 Barber Shops and 

32 Butcher Shops 

The above was compiled by several North Enders, while reminiscing, one evening as they sat at a dinner table. The names of the aforementioned were sounded out with regularity. I recorded the number of them but regrettably did not record the names. However, that is something that can be accomplished once again when the occasion arises! 

And where is there a community when on Saturday mornings the tenement buildings smelled of sulfur naphtha (‘suffanetta,’ a cleaning agent) and then on Sunday mornings the same buildings were sweetened with the aroma of fried meatballs and a bubbling red Sunday gravy? 

The answer: NOWHERE! 

Long Live Our North End!