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It's not just that brokers are trying to extend the South End to Melnea Cass Boulevard, they're misspelling the name of a local landmark

By adamg on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 11:40am
Real-estate post card for South End that's really Lower Roxbury

A correspondent who grew up in the South End and who now lives in Roxbury was not at all pleased with the post card he got the other day advertising a house for sale on Greenwich Street. For one thing, that's Lower Roxbury. For another, that's not the "Fredrick Douglas Historic District."

Although I'm not as surprised about [it being listed as "South End'}, nor the over $1 million dollar price tag, what I find infuriating is the callous use of Frederick Douglass' name in the ad. You'll notice that it misspells both his first AND last name! If these agents really cared about the Frederick Douglass Historic District, you'd think the least they could do is spell this vitally significant historical figure's name correctly.

This brokerage is not alone, either in misspelling the district's name or in trying to erase part of Roxbury and make Melnea Cass Boulevard the new southern border of the South End.

A search on 02120 "South End" shows numerous listings for "South End" properties that old timers would recognize as being Lower Roxbury, or younger folks as "Roxbury Crossing," including on such streets as Warwick and Sussex streets ("3 Levels of living Space located in the South End!!!!").

This, of course, leads to oddities such as 57 Greenwich being advertised as the South End, even as 55 Greenwich is listed as Lower Roxbury. Then there's the apartment at 6 Greenwich, listed as "large duplex 2 beds 2 baths in Greenwich Street in South End close to Northeastern University, transportation, shopping!"

The BPDA, meanwhile, has approved construction of a hotel on the north side of Melnea Cass Boulevard at Washington Street - to be called the Residence Inn by Marriott South End Boston.

Note: The misspelling of Frederick Douglass doesn't seem to have hurt the sales of the Greenwich Street house - it was scheduled for its first open house on Saturday, is already under a purchase-and-sale agreement.

Neighborhoods: 
Roxbury
South End
Topics: 
Annoying companies
Business
Home 'n' hearth
Free tagging: 
Lower Roxbury


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Comments

By Will LaTulippe on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 11:41am.

I notice.

By APB on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:39pm.

I talked to him the other day.

By eekanotloggedin on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 11:45am.

That part of Roxbury has South End resident permits. #whut

By anon on Wed, 05/31/2017 - 12:53am.

So people who live there are allowed to drive to an overpriced brunch place, while people who live too far to walk are not allowed.

By MassMouse on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 11:46am.

Are these the same idiots pushing that idiotic SoWa designation.

GET OFF MY LAWN!

By Neal on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 11:59am.

And this one is not to be confused with Greenwich Park, which is in the South End. Lower Roxbury's Greenwich Street is near Sussex, Windsor, Warwick, and Westminster streets, all named for English places (though I doubt the locals pronounce Warwick St as "warrick"). Greenwich Park on the other hand is near other streets and squares named for Massachusetts towns, and was named for Greenwich, a town that was flooded to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir, and should be pronounced "green-witch".

By anon on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 8:20pm.

The locals in much of merry old England DO pronounce it 'Warrick', including Warwick. A Boston accent, down east Maine, NYC, some southeastern, New Orleans are some of the very few American accents that are non-rhotic (pronouncing R as ah, as opposed to er). They are based on southern England accents. Most Americans have a rhotic accent, some a very strong rhotic (hard R) accent, most likely influenced by waves of German and Scandinavian immigration.

By Rob on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 12:16pm.

You'd never see this type of nonsense in NYC, I tell you.... grumble, grumble....

Down there realtors and marketers would never try stuff like rebranding Harlem as "SoHa" or...

ooops

Never mind.

By Sally on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 12:40pm.

it was just the typical Melena Cass misspelling which is near-constant. But wow--two errors in one name, and one that's been in the news a lot recently, given all of his great plans and all.

By anon on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:31pm.

For those unaware, it's Melnea Cass Boulevard. Melnea Cass was a civil rights activist, known as the First Lady of Roxbury.

By Sally on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 3:24pm.

that was my point. People spell and pronounce it "Melena" constantly.

By anon on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:46pm.

*Melnea

By ElizaLeila on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 2:53pm.

If you read the sentence, you can tell Sally purposefully misspelled it to describe the typical misspelling.

By Steeve on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 3:35pm.

Quotes would have helped. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

By ElizaLeila on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 4:29pm.

I'm aware of people getting it incorrect and correcting them, so I used deductive reasoning. And yes, quotes would have helped the ignorant.

By bike nerd on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:08pm.

This story reminds us that the power of marketing and real estate interests should not be underestimated. If a place suffers an imposed name, then is it really a place at all?

Recall the story by Toni Morrison about "Not Doctor Street" ? (Song of Solomon)

It may be up to the people to maintain Lower Roxbury in the face of outside determining forces.

By Ishmael Jones on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:51pm.

WGBH radio headlines this morning that the pedestrian was killed in South Boston, rather than the South End.

By Toneye on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:57pm.

As a resident of Mission Hill, 02120 was always Roxbury Crossing and Mission Hill zip code. I was surprised recently to discover a few streets over there off Tremont have the 02120 zip, and being called the 'South End'....We always considered Mass. ave to be the cutoff separating the South End from Roxbury.

They are running out of space in the South End. They are trying to stretch it.

By Angry Neighbor on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 2:28pm.

This is the South End according to the parking signs. You need a South End parking permit there. Not all 02120 is Mission Hill.

By ludsan on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 1:59pm.

Historically this was South End. Parking-wise, it still is.

Rather than re-hash, I leave you this excellent article from six years ago:

By Ron Newman on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 3:08pm.

You didn't link to anything.

By Steeve on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 3:36pm.

It's a metaphor.

By WhatTheBins on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 4:28pm.

You probably meant this article:

http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/2011/01/that-controversial-roxbury-sou...

The South End (shaded in pink along the dotted line) ended at the creek between (then and current) Kendall Street and (current) Hammond Street. Greenwich Street is south and west of both, decidedly Roxbury.

By ludsan on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 4:33pm.

don't know what happened... i guess in transit through the aether, the link was grabbed by a gremlin...

thank you WhatsTheBin

By bulgingbuick on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 5:32pm.

there would be a lot of liver transplants for transplants moving to the new "South End".

By anon on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 8:06pm.

or as I alone call it: LoRo.

By Tomato Tomahto on Tue, 05/30/2017 - 9:17pm.

Jeez, so there was a typo in an ad, who cares.

I've personally heard the Mayor say Melena Cass instead of Melnea Cass but no one cared.