Talk:Dorchester, Massachusetts
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The history of Dorchester in the Dorchester Reporter By Bill Walczak (not me) Very well written. Excerpts of it should become Widipedia. (I'd ask Bill first, if he can be found)
http://www.dotnews.com/history.html
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[edit] Crime
Something should be noted about the massive amounts of crime (drug dealing, prostitution, break-ins, etc) that occur in Dorchester. There is an article on the frontpage of the Boston Globe of August 1, 2005, about this, specifically Lyndhurst St. I used to live in one of the buildings mentioned too. Ick.
- MSTCrow 09:30, August 2, 2005 (UTC)
- Being front page material for the Globe does not make it "news" worth quoting. If you want to write something about "Boston" crime, go ahead, but be sure to use NPOV. I lived in Dorchester for nearly 20 years and it was much safer (and quieter) than when we lived in the Back Bay. Lupinelawyer 01:16, 16 August 2005 (UTC)
if you lived in dorchester for 20 years and didnt think that there was crime you must have been living under the train tracks. i lived in ashmont for most of my life, a safer neighborhood and there were still gangs, drive bys and drugs —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.223.243.5 (talk) 19:08, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
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- You may be a bit younger. I lived in Dorchester for 20 years too and we never locked our doors, never had any problems. But when I speak to friend who still live there they say it is awful. I also visited my old neighborhood a few years ago and boy has it changed. Very depressing. And the house we lived in is now priced at $300,000+! and it's a dump, the whole street is! My friend just sold hers for $425,000!!! and it is all boarded up! How can that be? - Jeeny Talk 23:15, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Map request
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It is requested that a map or maps be included in this article to improve its quality. Wikipedians in Massachusetts may be able to help! |
- I am going to try to work on this. Was thinking the same thing. Needs maps! Jeeny 19:07, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Horrendous
This article is completely worthless.
The largest neighborhood of Boston, with large amounts of history-- and somehow songs by a punk band merit mention?
[edit] Founding
Were the colonists who founded Dorchester part of the Plymouth Colony or the Massachusetts Bay Colony or both? Which would the settlement have been governed by? The two articles seem to have conflicting information. -- Beland 02:25, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
- I understand it may appear to be conflicting, but they don't, because there was not one group of people, but many, that settled in the New World. Although, they may have had common reasons for the immigration, such as the disagreements over the Church of England, persecutions, restrictions and its government. Also, different settlement areas had different "town leaders" (sent from different congregations in England) who had their own group of followers, and instructions to minister, govern, etc. The ministers and their congregations were sent to different areas, some directly from England, and others moved up from Plymouth to the Mass Bay. It's very complex, and like I mentioned, was not just one "group", but many, therefore, the different settlements. Though many occurring around the same time, coming from different locations and on different ships. Some of those people did come from the Plymouth Colony to "spread" or join the congregations, but it split into different groups and some of those joined the Massachusetts Bay Colony but many more came from England directly to the specific colonies. Plymouth's first voyage from England was on the ship the Mayflower and the most popular voyage to the Massachusetts Bay was the Mary and John. Although, there were other ships, and other groups, but those listed are the most famous. They also traveled (the leaders) back and forth from England and other areas, and back again, exploring other areas. Hope that helps explain the differences. Jeeny (talk) 17:28, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
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- That doesn't really clear anything up; I think we need to get some particulars. To my understanding, the various companies were given a monopoly over making land grants and enforcing the laws to which the individual settlements would be subject. They seem to have reasonably well-defined territories, though they shifted over time and there were often boundary disputes. Image:Plymouthcolonymap.png shows a boundary between Mass Bay and Plymouth established in 1639. I assume Dorchester was incorporated in 1630 in affiliation with the Massachusetts Bay Colony? What was the affiliation of the people who landed there before that? Was there more than one arrival before incorporation? The conflicting language has disappeared from both of the articles, but now it seems like the early history of Dorchester could use some filling in. -- Beland (talk) 23:02, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Neighborhoods
Your Neighborhood section omitted a very important section of Dorchester. Did you forget about Meeting House Hill? St. Peter's Parish was one of the most prominent neighborhoods in the city. Growing up and going to St. Peter's School are some of our best memories. The change that occurred in Dorchester to what it is today is to be blamed on busing in the 1970's. Many families moved out of this area and an influx of Puero Rican families moved in followed by the Asian groups. It's unfortunate that it is now known for high crime. I'm still proud to say that I am from Dorchester and still have family living in what is now called Adams Village section. This area is a wonderful reminder of how most of Dorchester was like in the 1960's and 1970's. fmm (OFD)Originally from Dorchester. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.126.54.79 (talk) 13:22, March 11, 2007
- I'm going to try to improve the article more. This takes time. Why don't you take a stab at improving and expanding it too? I was going to include St. Peter's but then it didn't fit in to what I was writing about at the time. But it did provide for a mental "to do" list for me. Also the many monuments, landmarks, etc. Remember the old White Church? I'd like to add that bit of trivia too, as it is known by its formal name the "First Parish Church of Dorchester" We never called it that. LOL. (and it's included in the article (I'm thinking of starting a page on it, but just did the Mather School article). I do remember the monument in front of the church in the park there across Winter street. I used to climb on that thing when I was a kid, not appreciating its importance. What about that one? Jeeny 19:20, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Punk band in the History section?
Does the information about the punk band really belong in the history section? Is this "band" any more notable than any other person, place or thing in or from this area? Perhaps in the notable residents section, or another section, (I doubt it) but I don't think the history section is appropriate. We might as well put in a paragraph about the Wahlburgs and all their entertainment work, as they are more well-known and FAMOUS. What about the other "famous" boy bands from Dorchester, where are they? I've moved it here in its entirety as it was at the bottom of the History section. Please discuss it here before adding it back to the article. Thanks. Here is the paragraph:
In 1980, local punk band The Gremies released a single, "No Surfin in Dorchester Bay", which featured a band member trying to surf in the still waters of the bay, wearing a "Dorchester" T-shirt with a picture of a classic Boston "triple decker" house; several Dorchester and Boston landmarks are visible in the background, including the Prudential Tower, the John Hancock Tower and the Boston Gas tank. In 2004 punk band the Street Dogs named a song after the neighborhood, entitled "In Defense of Dorchester."
Jeeny 20:42, 15 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Come on now...
This page needs a total rewrite. There must be someone out there willing to put in the time to make this a serious entry. MarkinBoston 18:52, 18 July 2007 (UTC)
- I agree, but I don't have the time, and I haven't been there in well over 15 years. Much has changed. Can you help? - Jeeny Talk 18:55, 18 July 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School is not in the Dorchester area... Boston Latin Academy is in the Dorchester area. This article also needs some major reworking.
[edit] Notable Residents
The notable residents section is a bit unwieldy, and doesn't appear to be comprehensive. Would anyone object to moving that information to a separate list or category?Fullobeans (talk) 06:23, 25 March 2008 (UTC)
