Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: The South End

Trends overlay classics along Tremont Street

By Chris Berdik. Slide show by Robin Berghaus. Graphic by Edward A. Brown

Brown grasses and thistles topped by magenta puffs of flowers poke out from a jar of water in Christos Hamawi’s painting studio. Hamawi harvested them from a vacant lot across from his brick rowhouse on Massachusetts Avenue in the shadow of Boston Medical Center.

“That lot is a teeming wildflower bed,” says Hamawi, who forages for inspiration in his South End neighborhood, looking for what he terms “natural distractions,” overlooked bits of unkempt nature that poke through sidewalk cracks and escape the Boston Parks Department mowers. Sometimes he just snaps a photo; other times he plucks his quarry from the ground and takes it home. Wild bits of his neighborhood become the stars of his paintings.

Hamawi, who works as a software consultant at Bose to support his painting habit, also collects neighborhood history. He’s accumulated maps of the South End dating to 1722, when the place was known as “the Neck,” a narrow strip of land connecting Boston and Roxbury, surrounded by a tidal marsh and the waters of South Bay (since backfilled to grow the city). Ships laden with cargo entered South Bay through Fort Point Channel; nearby Albany Street was a busy port.

“Every time they dig for construction around here, they find piers and shellfish,” says Hamawi.

That’s one secret of the South End, home to Boston University’s Medical Campus, but still a mystery to many BU students, staff, and faculty. Bordered by the Back Bay, Chinatown, Roxbury, and Interstate 93, the neighborhood began as a home to the city’s prosperous 19th-century mercantile class. Later, waves of immigrants settled the neighborhood, as did a black middle class. After World War II, the South End, like many urban neighborhoods, fell victim to suburban flight, disinvestment, and rising crime. Since the 1970s, however, it has gradually transformed into a trendy, gentrifying neighborhood — albeit one that still accepts all sorts.

Housing projects abut brownstones now chopped into million-dollar condos. Gothic churches tower over community flower and vegetable garden plots. Pricey restaurants abound: The Butcher Shop, B&G Oysters, and Aquitaine Bar à Vin Bistrot, to name a few. But there are still plenty of places to grab a slice, a cheeseburger sub, or a warm chicken kebab pita sandwich smothered in tzatziki — thanks to Billy’s Sub Shop, 57 Berkeley St.

From block to block, the neighborhood changes: there’s the hustle of Tremont Street, the quieter charm of Shawmut Avenue, and a more industrial area south of Washington Street (nicknamed SoWa) spotted with artists’ galleries and workspaces within sight and sound of busy highways. The South End is also known as a destination for Boston’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; rainbow flags hang in many windows.

With its wide sidewalks, tree-lined streets, beautiful architecture, and many small parks, the South End is one of Boston’s great walking neighborhoods, attracting a more diverse crowd and street scene than you’ll find in the Back Bay or Beacon Hill, and with more elbow room than the North End. Here’s a sampling.

Southwest Corridor Park
This stroll between the Mass Ave and Back Bay subway stops is a great way to start a visit to the South End. Southwest Corridor Park follows the Orange Line nearly five miles, from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain. This gently meandering path, popular with dog walkers and joggers, is more of a public garden.

Wally’s Café
427 Massachusetts Ave.
Wally’s is one of the South End’s original jazz clubs, and one of the few still thriving. When this hole-in-the-wall was established nearby as Wally’s Paradise by Joseph Walcott (better known as Wally) in 1947, it joined a booming jazz scene, including nightclubs with names like the High Hat, the Savoy Ballroom, and the Wig Wam. In the 1960s, as jazz’s popularity waned, Walcott started featuring up-and-coming artists from nearby conservatories. These young talents are still a big part of Wally’s, which boasts live acts 365 days a year.

Berkeley Perk Café
69 Berkeley St.
With booths, high-top tables, comfy wingback chairs, and even a park bench, Berkeley Perk is a friendly spot to stop for a scone or sandwich. It also serves a cup of coffee you’ll remember. The place is cozy, but high ceilings, yellow walls, and a huge storefront window make it seem bigger than it is.

Delux Café
100 Chandler St.
You can hear Delux before you see it. The music in this crowded, windowless hipster-dive bar-restaurant tucked away from the more posh South End eateries ranges from Sinatra to Bow Wow Wow, but it’s always loud. The TV is tuned to the Cartoon Network, the walls plastered with old LP covers and lit with Christmas lights. The drinks (including Schlitz in a can) and better-than-dive-bar menu are priced right (cash only). You get a feel for the attitude before you walk in the door — an official “No Smoking” sign is followed by a handwritten note: “per order of the fascist regime at City Hall.”

Anchovies
433 Columbus Ave.
In a neighborhood where shops claim a “cheese philosophy” and restaurants promise “the art of Thai cuisine,” it’s nice to know that a place like Anchovies still exists. This is no-frills Italian; take a seat at one of the dark booths and you’ll be fed and treated well at a reasonable price ($10 to $12 for entrees).

Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Ave.
The writing above the door says it all: Community Space, Collectively Run. The Lucy Parsons Center is a collective of left-wing outreach efforts run by volunteers, offering space for community organizers and events such as the weekly radical film night and English conversation groups for non–native speakers. It keeps afloat by selling books and magazines, posters, bumper stickers, and T-shirts oriented to progressive politics. Open noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Club Café
209 Columbus Ave.
When Club Café opened 25 years ago, its owners say, it was the first gay club in Boston to have windows — meaning patrons didn’t have to hide. Today, the place is still a popular late-night drinking and dancing destination for the city’s gay population. Late-night noshers can order quesadillas, turkey and brie sandwiches, and beef satay from the bistro menu until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. During the day, high-end dinner and Sunday brunch menus beckon — for those who can afford $17 entrees and $8 omelets.

Addis Red Sea
544 Tremont St.
Tucked on Tremont is a restaurant that many consider an introduction to Ethiopian cuisine. In Addis Red Sea, diners sit at low tables enjoying a cumin-flavored bread called Dabo, and can order lamb, chicken, beef, and vegetarian meals, such as Gomen Wot (chopped collard greens cooked in herbed oil with onions, green pepper, and garlic), Yegeb Alcha (lamb simmered in a mild sauce of butter, onion, ginger, and tumeric), and Kitfo (an Ethiopian version of steak tartare seasoned with hot chili powder). Entrees cost between $9 and $15, and there is a full selection of beer and wine.

Sibling Rivalry
525 Tremont St.
Among the South End’s trendy eateries, Sibling Rivalry, which features dueling menus from brother chefs David and Bob Kinkead boasts the best personality. David and Bob each offer culinary riffs on seasonal ingredients. Take pork: David’s potato gnocchi with pancetta, favas, English peas, new onions, baby leeks, butter, and basil versus Bob’s herb-crusted roast pork loin with hamhock gravy, cornbread, sautéed escarole, and dried fruit compote.

Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St.
Call the BCA the heart of Boston arts and theater. The complex supports five resident theater companies, houses an art gallery and studio space for local artists, and hosts the Boston Ballet. One of the most interesting buildings in the BCA complex is the Cyclorama, a massive brick rotunda topped by a copper skylight dome built in 1884 to display a circular painting of the Battle of Gettysburg. It has also served as a skating rink and a flower market. Today, this 23,000-square-foot space is a venue for artistic shows, public events, and private functions. In 2004, through a partnership with the Boston University–affiliated Huntington Theatre Company, the BCA opened the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion, Boston’s first new theater space in 75 years, which actually houses two separate theaters.

Hamersley’s Bistro
553 Tremont St.
With appetizers like crispy duck confit ($17.50) and entrees including spicy halibut and clam roast with bacon-braised greens, white beans, and black trumpet mushrooms ($36), this four-star bistro, owned by chef and BU alum Gordon Hamersley (CGS’71, SED’74), is not an everyday dining experience. But if you have money to burn and are looking for a classic alfresco dining experience, Hamersley’s is hard to beat, particularly for brunch on a warm Sunday. Visit here to watch Hamersley describe how he puts together a menu.

Polka Dog Bakery
256 Shawmut Ave.
This palace of pooch pampering was inspired by a one-eyed dog named Pearl, who would perform a little polka in an effort to see people with her good eye. In addition to walls of fashion-forward collars, leashes, and dog sweaters, display cases are crammed with doggie treats such as Treatza Pizza and peanut butter oatmeal crunch. There’s also a huge selection of meat jerky (including duck, lamb, and rabbit), squeeze toys, and dinosaur-size bones for gnawing. The best seller: bite-size chicken poppers ($1.75 an ounce). It’s worth a look, even if you don’t carry your dog around in your handbag.

South End Formaggio
268 Shawmut Ave.
To get to the artisan cheeses that made Formaggio famous, you need to get through the handmade sweets, pastas, pâtés, spices, and specialty items ranging from fig relish to organic Tuscan fruit preserves. Then there’s the cheese-tasting platter. And if you make it that far, you might still get hung up on the wine, including a selection of “everyday table wines” under $16, before you can make your selection from such tasty options as Monterey Chevre, Azeitao (a sheep’s milk cheese), and cheddar brie.

Syrian Grocery and Importing Company
270 Shawmut Ave.
Hookahs might be the biggest draw for college students, but there’s more to see in this quirky grocery/cookware/specialty food store. Opened in 1940 to service the South End’s sizable Syrian, Lebanese, and Greek community, this is where you’ll find hazelnut praline, wild rose jam, fig spread, and chutneys of all sorts. They also stock kitchen necessities such as stovetop espresso makers and large serving platters. In the back are containers of olives and hard-to-find spices such as fenugreek seed, za’atar, and mahlab, just in case you want to experiment. The store sign says it’s open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 7 p.m., but locals say it’s not that predictable.

Flour Bakery and Café
1595 Washington St.
Blue hospital scrubs and stethoscopes are a common sight among the outdoor lunch crowd at this lively bakery and sandwich shop a couple of blocks from the Boston University Medical Campus. Indoors, patrons stake out a square foot or two while waiting for a hummus, cucumber, red onion, and sprouts sandwich or grilled portobello melt with roasted tomatoes and basil pesto. The pastries — among them the “ooey-gooey caramel nut” tart and the lemon-raspberry cake — are legendary. A saying chalked on the wall advises Flour’s busy crowd, “Make life sweeter … eat dessert first.”

Code 10
1638 Washington St.
Named for the police code for lunch break, Code 10 is a corner café across the street from Flour. Its lunches tend toward the classics (ham and cheese, beef gyro) and draw fewer raves than those of its neighbor. But Code 10 offers a calmer alternative. And it has its own temptation for a sweet tooth: a selection of homemade ice cream that includes rum raisin, cookie dough, Totally Turtle, and Moose Tracks.

Foodie’s Urban Market
1421 Washington St.
Sure, you can pick up a gallon of milk and some eggs here. But this is the South End, and it’s not just the hardwood floors and stamped tin ceiling that make this place different from your average neighborhood market. Its meat department features the store’s own specialty sausages. The produce bins include hard-to-find items such as malanga blanca, cherimoya, and pepino melons. There’s also a salad bar, offering Greek, Caesar, and fruit salads for a quick snack. The variety fits the store’s slogan: “For gourmet and everyday.”

Pho Republique
1415 Washington St.
This French-Vietnamese restaurant is a legend for its loungey, sultry atmosphere. Imagine sipping a mango martini by the light of multicolored lanterns while you await steamed shrimp dumplings and a large bowl of aromatic noodle soup (pho). Pho Republique is open every night for dinner; food served until midnight Sunday through Tuesday and until 12:30 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Enjoy dim sum Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Red Fez
1222 Washington St.
Offering a full bar and a menu of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, including mezze (Middle Eastern tapas), served until 2 a.m., the Red Fez is a popular destination for large groups looking for a celebratory night out. It is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And the Fez’s owners have added a 120-inch high-definition television for watching Boston’s biggest sporting events. Don’t miss live Arabic music on Saturday nights.

SoWa Open Market
540 Harrison Ave.
Every weekend from May 16 through October 25, a parking lot in the SoWa district becomes an artisans’ market. Artists, farmers, florists, and craftspeople set up shop under white tents, and the vendors change week to week.

Getting there: The BU Shuttle (BUS) runs from the Charles River Campus to the Medical Campus, which borders the South End. Nearby MBTA stops include Massachusetts Avenue and Back Bay on the Orange Line and Symphony, Prudential, and Copley on the Green Line. The Silver Line bus also runs up and down Washington Street.

Robin Berghaus can be reached at berghaus@bu.edu. Edward A. Brown can be reached at ebrown@bu.edu.

Explore other area neighborhoods here.

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