We went to the Tenement Museum in NYC yesterday. We don't use the word 'tenement' in Boston. In Dorchester we prefer the term 'three-decker." Even to say 'triple-decker' marks you as an outsider.
It's true Manhattan's tenements are not Dorchester's three-deckers. They are two different types of building, housing different densities and built for different purposes. That doesn't escape the fact that the Dot is denser than most places, with three families (at least) living on a little lot.
So many people packed together, no matter the milieu, is very different from farm living. Dorchester doesn't have any green acres unless you count Cedar Grove Cemetery or Dorchester Park. Both are easily accessible via the Mattapan High-Speed, the best train on the MBTA.
When you move to Dorchester, you don't have to say goodbye to city life. It's not New York's Lower East Side and people are grateful for that, but it is city living. It is full of interactions, uncoordinated transactions, oldtimers and newcomers exchanging pleasantries and points of view. Dorchester is about immigrants and old stock mixed into a soup that no one knows the taste of once the cooking is done. Drop in one ingredient. Move to Dorchester.
4 comments:
In Somerville and Cambridge, it's a "triple-decker".
Thanks, Hack. That's good to know. For whatever reason they don't seem to say that in the Dot. I'm told it's a sort of code to seperate the natives from the newcomers. Apparently, natives also only use the term 'Dot' as an adjective but never as a noun. I.E. Dot Ave instead of Dorchester Avenue. No one ever calls Dorchester the Dot as a stand-alone name. At least that I've ever overheard.
You're right about "Dot", but I'll differ on "triple-decker". When I was growing up in Lower Mills - 50's, 60's, 70's - "triple-decker" was the accepted usage in our neighborhood. Now, I moved out of Dorchester in 1994, so in the 15 years since that move things could have changed drastically, I'll grant you that.
And the trolley is, was, and (hopefully) will remain the best little ride on any transit system in the world!
Oh, one other thing about "Dot". Just about the only people who refer to Dorchester as "Dot" come from Southie. As you say, within Dorchester we say "Dot Park" (Dorchester Park) or "Dot Ave" (Dorchester Avenue) but never just "Dot".
Post a Comment