DURING COLONIAL TIMES, the North End was known as the "Island of North Boston". It was a narrow peninsula reaching into
Boston Harbor surrounded by water on three sides. By 1750, the North End
had become a commercial hub. Old North Church, officially Christ Church, was erected on Salem Street in 1723. As a teenager, Paul Revere rang the bell at the church. Revere, who lived and worked in the North End, is known for his historic ride to alert the Patriots of the British approach in the events leading up to the Revolution.
By 1800, the shipping industry drew thousands of mechanics, journeymen, and sailors to the North End and it became a thriving working class neighborhood. Since the 1800s, the North End has served a a home for immigrant populations looking for a better life. Each new group found a way to "become American" through hard work.
The Irish started arriving in the North End in 1815 at the start of the Potato Famine. Many Irish became laborers filling in Boston's Back Bay area or working as servants in more affluent areas of the city. By the late 1870s,
the Irish population peaked and the North End began experiencing an influx of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Salem Street became a thriving center of the Jewish community with kosher butchers, bakeries, delicatessens, and tailoring shops.
The Italian masses flowed into the North End on the heels of the departing Irish at the apex of the Jewish settlement. The Italian immigrants made their living as fruit and vegetable vendors and a peddlers selling wine, cheese and olive oil. The Italians were also able to find work in the booming commercial fishing fleets and the construction trades, Today, the Italian-Americans still comprise more than 41% of the resident population and the North End still retains its Old World charm.