Dirty Old Boston
When Jim Botticelli launched the Dirty Old Boston Facebook page as a salute to the gritty city he once knew, he discovered thousands of people who were equally nostalgic and curious about Boston’s recent past. And for good reason; during the four decades following World War II, Boston changed rapidly, without apology, for better and for worse, and in many ways forever.
Dirty Old Boston chronicles the people, streets, and buildings from the postwar years to 1987, when a new wave of transformation began. From ball games to dive bars, and amidst an ever-changing skyline, Dirty Old Boston also covers some of the city’s most dramatic and tumultuous events including the wholesale razing of neighborhoods, Boston’s busing crisis, and the continual fight for affordable housing.