The ancestors of most Bostonians may have hailed from Ireland and Italy, but the current top two immigrant groups are from China and the Dominican Republic, according to City of Neighborhoods: The Changing Face of Boston, an exhibit at the Boston Public Library through August 22. Overall, about 27 percent of city residents were born abroad, a quarter of them in Asia. Nearly half of East Boston’s inhabitants are foreign-born, the majority from Latin and South America. Boston also has the third-largest Haitian population in the country (after New York City and Florida), and a growing Cape Verdean community. These dramatic trends are illustrated through maps, U.S. Census data, photographs, and drawings that make clear that this ever-changing population influences the city’s physical landscapes and culture in countless ways—and always has.
Boston's immigration trends on exhibit at Boston Public Library
A Boston Public Library exhibit illustrates immigration history.
Advertising trade cards from the 1850s to the 1910s depict Irish immigrants’ social and economic climb from the laboring classes… | Courtesy of the Boston Public Library
…to civil-service jobs. | Courtesy of the Boston Public Library
You might also like
Padimut at Harvard
A rare Egyptian mummy case is on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.
There’s a New Sargent Painting in Town
Harvard Art Museums restores a rare glimpse of an American master.
Don’t Call Stephanie Pierce A Paleontologist
From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.
Most popular
Explore More From Current Issue
Your thoughts on how to regulate the platforms—and stop using them so much
A rare Egyptian mummy case is on display at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East.
The University is expanding industry ties and investing its own funds to support research, but neither will replace lost federal dollars.