Central Square, East Boston

Central Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The square begins at the intersection of Bennington Street and Meridian Street, continues up Meridian to its intersection with White Street, and includes all the area to the left. The square's intersecting streets also include Border, Saratoga, and Eutaw Street. It is within close proximity of the entrance to the Sumner Tunnel, which motorists take to downtown Boston.

Education

The Mario Umana Middle School Academy is the only school within the confines of Central Square, located at 312 Border Street.^[1] It is part of the Boston Public Schools system. Notably, the school's campus features the only recognized skate park in the neighborhood, the Harborside Community Skatepark.^[2] The first public branch library in the United States, built in 1870, lies in Central Square. Boston Public Library's East Boston branch is located at 276 Meridian Street.^[3]

Sites of interest

Italia Unita festival

Central Square is the site of the annual Italia Unita festival, where the square is closed off for festivities. Live bands play and food carts serve the crowds.^[4]

Liberty Plaza

The Lombardo family invested heavily to create a shopping district in Central Square. They began with a function hall named Lombardo's Function Facility and expanded to create what is now called Liberty Plaza, the square's strip mall. They expanded with a large supermarket, Liberty Market. In 2000, the family moved their business to Randolph, but the shopping plaza is still active and vibrant.^[5] The entrance to the Plaza features a small park, known as Bertulli Park or Central Square Park, which doubles as a rotary. Today, stores include CVS Pharmacy, Marshalls, Sprint, AutoZone, Shaw's Supermarket, including eateries such as McDonald's and Pollo Campero.

Trinity Neighborhood House

The Trinity Neighborhood House is a historic brick townhouse at 406 Meridian Street. Since 1888, it operated as a social service center and philanthropy of Trinity Church.^[6] In 1966, the House was taken over by the East Boston Social Centers. Today, it has been converted into Section 8 housing for the disabled and formerly homeless.^[7] In 1981, the Boston Landmarks Commission declared it a landmark and it was later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

References

^ "School Listings / Umana Academy".
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-03-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "East Boston Branch". Boston Public Library. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
^ Italia Unita website
^ "East Boston excited about restoration plans - the Boston Globe". Archived from the original on August 30, 2010.
^ Conte, Frank (August 19, 2012). "Boston Landmark Trinity Neighborhood House". EastBoston.com.
^ Fox, Jeremy C. (August 17, 2011). "United Way volunteers clean up Trinity Neighborhood House". Boston.com.

v t e Streets and squares in Boston
East–west streets	Beacon Street Boylston Street Commonwealth Avenue Congress Street Court Street Day Boulevard Dedham Parkway Fenway Gallivan Boulevard Huntington Avenue Melnea Cass Boulevard Milk Street Neptune Road New Chardon Street Newbury Street Park Street Soldiers Field Road State Street Storrow Drive Summer Street Tremont Street Winter Street
North–south streets	Arborway Atlantic Avenue Blue Hills Parkway Bowdoin Street Brattle Street Brookline Avenue Charles Street Columbus Avenue Dorchester Avenue Enneking Parkway Federal Street Franklin Street Hanover Street Jamaicaway Jersey Street (Yawkey Way) Massachusetts Avenue Morrissey Boulevard Morton Street North Street Park Drive Riverway School Street Truman Parkway Turtle Pond Parkway Union Street Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway Washington Street West Boundary Road West Roxbury Parkway
Intersections	Adams Square Andrew Square Blackstone Square Brigham Circle Central Square Chester Square City Square Cleveland Circle Codman Square Copley Square Day Square Dewey Square Dock Square Downtown Crossing Egleston Square Fields Corner Franklin Square Haymarket Square Hyde Square Jackson Square Kenmore Square Louisburg Square Mass and Cass Maverick Square North Square Nubian Square (Dudley Square) Packard's Corner Park Square Peabody Square Post Office Square Roxbury Crossing Scollay Square Sullivan Square Thompson Square Union Square Uphams Corner Winthrop Square
Italics denote streets and squares that no longer exist. See also Neighborhoods in Boston Transportation in Boston