Thank you Richard “Deme5” Gomez and Thomas “Kwest” Burns for your love of Roxbury. From ‘Roxbury Love’ Mural Reduced To Rubble As Development Starts On Apartment Complex by WBUR’s Amelia Mason The ‘Roxbury Love’ mural by street artists Richard “Deme5” Gomez and Thomas “Kwest” Burns, was commissioned by the nonprofit Alliger Arts as part of the city’s “Pop Up! Dudley Connections” program in 2014. The image of Mandela pays homage to the South African anti-apartheid leader’s visit to Boston in 1990. The mural quickly earned an iconic status in the neighborhood, helping usher in an explosion of public art in a city once notorious forRead More →

John Pierpont, to whose home his broken father came for refuge, was the first one of the family to cross the seas. He settled at Roxbury in 1640 and purchased a large tract of land, calling a part of it Dorchester in honor of his second cousin, Henry Pierrepont, in England, who had succeeded his father. Robert, as second Earl of Kingston, and who had received from Charles I the further title of Marquis of Dorchester. 1618-1682 Pierpont began his religious work as a theology student in 1816, first in Baltimore and then at Harvard, afterwards accepting an appointment as pastor at the Hollis Street Church in Boston (1819-1845). DuringRead More →

Thanks to a generous grant from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture COVID-19 Fund, RCHT is publishing a series of articles to introduce a resource guide of historic Roxbury, Massachusetts. This $1 million fund supports efforts to continue bringing arts programming and projects to Boston during this difficult time of uncertainty. RCHT hopes the Resource Guide through its inter-connected posts on various Roxbury subjects, visitors will develop a deeper appreciation of this rich town and neighborhood. The guide categories include people, places, events and artifacts within specific eras, areas and demographics. Local writers and historians who will contribute articles include ByronRead More →

Landing Place at what is now 500 Parker Street was one of two public boat landing sites that served the town in colonial times. ln 1658, John Pierpont built a tidal mill here at the point where the Stony Brook emptied into the Tidal Basin. In 1821, the Mill Dam was built for power. The Sewall and Day Cordage Mill was built here in 1834, which became the largest manufacturer of rope used in maritime trades. On February 28, 1998, a historic marker was dedicated at 500 Parker Street in Roxbury by the Emerald Necklace Conservatory, The Bostonian Society, Massachusetts Historical Society, and Northeastern University. Read More →