Living in Dorchester
Dorchester is a neighborhood of the City of Boston and its largest, covering more than six square miles south of downtown. It was founded by Puritan settlers in 1630, a few months before Boston itself, and remained a separate, mostly rural town until Boston completed its annexation in 1870. Rail and streetcar lines then brought rapid growth, and many of the neighborhood’s three-decker homes date from that period.
Dorchester is really a collection of smaller areas. Commercial districts include Uphams Corner, Fields Corner, Codman Square, Peabody Square, Adams Village, Lower Mills and Bowdoin/Geneva. Mostly residential sections include Savin Hill, Jones Hill, Ashmont, Meeting House Hill, Neponset, Popes Hill, Port Norfolk, Four Corners and Franklin Field. Columbia Point is home to UMass Boston and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, designed by I. M. Pei.
Homes you will find
- Triple-deckers throughout the neighborhood, popular with owner-occupants and investors
- Two- and three-family homes on many residential streets
- Victorian houses, especially on Ashmont Hill
- Single-family homes, plus newer condos around Washington Street and Uphams Corner and in converted buildings such as Baker Square, a former factory
Getting around
Five Red Line stations serve Dorchester: JFK/UMass, Savin Hill, Fields Corner, Shawmut and Ashmont. At JFK/UMass the line splits toward Ashmont and toward Quincy and Braintree. From Ashmont, the Mattapan trolley line continues south. The Fairmount Line commuter rail also has five stations in Dorchester. I-93 runs north and south through the neighborhood between Quincy and downtown Boston.
Parks, beaches and everyday life
Dorchester has a lot of open space. Along Dorchester Bay, the state’s Dorchester Shores Reservation includes Malibu Beach, Savin Hill Beach and Tenean Beach. Pope John Paul II Park Reservation covers about 66 acres, and the Neponset River Greenway and the Lower Neponset River Trail offer miles of walking and biking paths. Dorchester Park, which Frederick Law Olmsted was commissioned to shape as an urban forest in 1895, and the 485-acre Franklin Park, with woodland trails and a zoo, add even more green space. Dorchester is served by Boston Public Schools, and families can contact the district directly for school details.
Who Dorchester suits
Dorchester suits buyers who want city living with more space and more choices, owner-occupants looking at two- and three-family homes, and investors who want properties close to the Red Line. It also appeals to anyone who wants beaches and river trails within the city limits.
Curious about Dorchester? Ask Suad about recent sales in each part of the neighborhood, in English, Spanish (with Diana) or Bosnian.
