2.3 min readBy Published On: September 13th, 2023Categories: Features12 Comments on Blurred Lines: It’s all South Boston

This piece was originally published in August of 2014.  Lots of buzz on Twitter debating where Seaports ends and South Boston begins.  Is the Seaport District and Fort Point parts of South Boston or not?  Oh boy, where do we begin? 

Here’s the Original Post that has been slightly updated:

I’ve got a bee in my bonnet and it’s about the name game of the South Boston neighborhoods.  It all began several years ago when Boston Magazine came out with its Best of Boston Awards issue and felt the need to separate the South Boston neighborhoods into separate categories: South Boston, Fort Point, and the Seaport District.  Why did they feel the need to do that?  Isn’t it all South Boston?  There was no division for Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, or any other neighborhood in Boston – just Southie.  So why is that?

Recently, a local influencer posted a “What’s happening in Boston’s Fort Point Neighborhood” video. In the copy beneath, it had a list of “Fort Point things to know” – #1 reads It’s Not South Boston or Seaport.  Wait, what? According to the influencer, the Fort Point Neighborhood Association (FPNA) does not consider Fort Point part of South Boston.  To that, I say it 100% is South Boston.

To those who agree with the statement that Fort Point and the Seaport are not part of South Boston, you, my friends, are wrong. They most definitely are part of our fair neighborhood of South Boston. And to those who add the fact that those neighborhoods have different zip codes, I agree, yes, they do. Just like Dorchester. Dorchester has numerous zip codes (four to be exact) but Savin Hill is still Dorchester.

I will agree that Fort Point, the Seaport, and South Boston proper have completely different vibes – I’ll add even more that the West Side (aka Lower End) has a different vibe from City Point. But we are all part of the same neighborhood.  And no matter what neighborhood you are from, be it Andrew Square, City Point, Lower End/West End/Cityside, St. Vinny’s, Thomas Park/Dorchester Heights, the Seaport/ Fort Point, it’s all South Boston – embrace it – and be proud We know we are! It’s the best neighborhood in the world!

FYI: Interesting fact.  On the BPDA’s website – the neighborhoods of Boston are listed. Fort Point is not listed – it is included as part of the SOUTH BOSTON Waterfront.  So put that in your pipe and smoke it, FPNA! 

P.S. Ask the Seaport and Fort Point residents what their parking permits read.  Seaport? Fort Point? No, it reads South Boston.

P.P.S. Remember the Broadway Village incident? You can read about it here. 

12 Comments

  1. Anonymous August 7, 2014 at 4:37 pm

    Well done, I could not agree more. Tell them you would like to mail them a check for their generous coaching on the neighborhood boundaries/names and ask them where you should send it?

    Good luck getting it with ‘Fort Point’ MA written on the envelope.

  2. b.collins August 7, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    They claim to be from South Boston when they are looking for grants,  funding, and other donations that are giving out to local 501(3)c non profits in the South Boston 

  3. sc August 7, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    That is SO obnoxious you ‘fort pointers’.  I get it, you live in Fort Point, I live in City Point, but it’s ALL south boston! Come on.

  4. Molly August 8, 2014 at 10:34 am

    Back in the day if someone in Dorchester or Southie asked you where you lived, the answer would be either the corner where you hung – I and E 5th or Gatie

  5. Fort Point Resident August 8, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    It seems like the Southie part of Boston along Broadway and heading east HATES change, modernization and urbanization. Fort Point Historic District and the Seaport area are being developed since Boston Wharf Co sold the land. I never understood why the Silver Line that ran down Broadway got discontinued. Did those residents not want better public transit? South Boston in many parts seems to be digging their heels in the ground to remain suburban, with suburban rents, parking and limited transit. A neighborhood this close to downtown should have RAPID transit, innovative businesses and a diverse community. It seems like blue collar folks cannot be friends with new people moving in.

  6. Amy August 10, 2014 at 2:18 pm
    Every week on here there is an axe to grind. You locals get pissy if someone not from here says they live in South Boston. Then when someone doesn’t want to be a part of you rip them for that. Quite frankly I find the whole thing juvenile and irrelevant. I mean grow the F*^# up already. Who cares. And honestly it’s all Boston anyways.
    This whole southie territorial pissing match is ridiculous there are more important things in the world to worry about !
  7. Ironic August 11, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    Citypointers used to look down at Andrew Square folks and so on and now, Fort Point is looking down on all of Southie, including Citypoint. It’s actually all pretty funny to me. It doesn’t matter to me. ::shrug::

    ~Born and raised in The Square

  8. Anonymous August 12, 2014 at 5:08 pm
    Call it for what it is: the Lower End. And you’re not from Southie unless you know where that is.
  9. Anonymous August 17, 2014 at 8:33 pm
    Nobody gets pissy when the Newbies say they live in Southie. It”s when you incorrectly state that you are “from” Southie.
    You will never be from Southie. You’re all a bunch of transients who are passing through. Until you get married here, have kids, raise them here and get buried from one of the local funeral homes will you be considered from Southie. So, you grow the fuck up.
  10. Rick Winterson December 30, 2014 at 6:12 pm

       The plain fact is that Fort Point isn't really Fort Point.  The area we now call Fort Point is across the Channel from where the true Fort Point was originally situated.  It was a cannon emplacement to protect Boston Harbor from pirates; it has long since been built over by the Financial District structures and roads – just as Griffin Wharf, the site of the Boston Tea Party – has been buried under buildings.

       I suppose we could re-christen that area "Across-the Channel-from-the-Real-Fort-Point".  That wouldn't be any sillier than "innovation District" or "Broadway Village" (the Silly Prize Winner).  This contrversy is all kind of ho-hum, just as all controversies based on historical inaccuracies are.

  11. Anonymous December 30, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    Fort Point is South Boston. We have the same elected representatives. You receive grants for non profits that distrubted for South Boston. Let's take example from the Mayor who is for One Boston that we should be One South Boston. Powers in numbers………

  12. Anonymous January 1, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    At least us blue collar residents know how to parallel park.

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