Fairmount
On a hillside overlooking the Neponset River lies a little Victorian time capsule amid more modern structures—that part of Hyde Park known as Fairmount. Also nearby is Cleary Square, home to a supermarket, post office, childcare center, banking service and a variety of other merchants. Together with Cleary Square, Hyde Park’s shopping and administrative center, Fairmount occupies Boston’s southernmost tip; it’s farther from downtown than any other part of the city. This remote location meant that Fairmount was somewhat of a late bloomer among Boston neighborhoods and is why it peaked in the Victorian period. The pivotal event in Fairmount’s development was the 1856 arrival of a group known as the Twenty Associates. These businessmen came to town soon after the railroads did and built twenty Italianate-style houses on Fairmount Avenue. The elegant homes sparked dramatic growth. Within short order, streetcar lines had been extended to Hyde Park, and an impressive number of fine residential, commercial, public, and church buildings had been erected. Hyde Park remained an independent town until 1912, when its residents voted to join Boston.
