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While you're in town...
Neighborhood residents have long cherished Southie's many attractions, as have folks from far beyond its borders:
Amrheins (80 West Broadway, 617-268-6189) - Priests, politicians, and CEOs mingle with sheetmetal workers and carpenters at this Southie institution. Operating at this location since 1890, Amrheins is the quintessential Boston bar/restaurant with wood-paneled walls, the original hand-carved bar, and the city's oldest electric beer pump. [Get directions].
Curley Recreation Center (Day Boulevard, 617-635-5104) - This beachfront city-owned facility, better known as the L Street Bathhouse, had a million-dollar makeover a decade ago. It houses a senior center, gymnasiums, fitness classes, youth services, and is the site of the annual New Year's Day dunk in the harbor by the L Street Brownies. You don't have to be a city resident to use the facilities. [Get directions].
The beaches - More than 2 miles of some of the best urban beaches on the East Coast run along South Boston's shoreline. Carson Beach, M Street Beach, and Pleasure Bay are kept clean, and the MDC is currently installing new beach walls along most of the stretch.
Castle Island - The gem on the 2.1-mile ring of Pleasure Bay, Castle Island has a Civil War-era fort (Fort Independence), fine walking paths, a beach, a fishing pier, a memorial to South Boston's Korean War veterans, a playground, sailing facilities, close-up views of ocean-going freighters, and, for the burger-and-franks set, Sullivan's restaurant (which reopens next month).
The Vietnam Memorial - This black granite plaque in windswept M Street Park, overlooking the Boston Edison power plant, is held in great reverence by residents who are proud of the community's men and women who served in the military. In the Vietnam War, Southie lost 25 of its sons, a casualty ratio three times higher than the national average.
Dorchester Heights - With panoramic views of Boston, the Harbor Islands, and Dorchester Bay, you can see why Gen. George Washington had his Colonial army built a fort here in March 1776. Using artillery dragged in from Fort Ticonderoga in New York, he tightened a siege against the British troops and their loyalist supporters in Boston. Today the site is home to Thomas Park and South Boston High School.
Fort Point Channel Artist Colony - This three-block square neighborhood just across the channel from the Financial District is in South Boston, but is separated by railroad tracks and industrial parks. Worn-out brick buildings and factories, which once housed Boston's wool trade, are home to more than 300 artists' studios.
- J.T.
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