There's no better place to watch the melting pot that Boston is becoming than River Street and Fairmount Avenue in Hyde Park (it's basically one street; River jags off by the municipal building).
Buy some black-pride t-shirts right down the block from an old Irish bar. Visit J&M (above) for an eclectic variety of figurines (and basics such as pots and pans). Hungry? Try some Dominican seafood at El Fogon (right next door to Melinda's Taqueria and across the street from the old-time Dotty's ice-cream parlor). And check out the small but growing number of galleries and gift shops:
Hyde Park has an important place in the history of black America - the 54th Massachusetts, the first black regiment in the U.S. Army, trained here before heading to South Carolina during the Civil War:
The two streets offer the urban connoisseur an interesting palette of textures to observe among its wide variety of building types:
The building below looks like it belongs in New Hampshire or Vermont, but it's off Second New Way (hmm, wonder where First New Way is?), a small street off Fairmount:
Want to take a look for yourself? Take the commuter rail out of South Station or Back Bay to either Hyde Park or Fairmount (they're at opposite ends of the River/Fairmount stretch). Or take the Orange Line to Forest Hills and then the 50 bus to Cleary Square (important note: this line stops running around 7:15 p.m.) or the 32 bus to Wolcott Square (which is where River Street turns into Fairmount Street).
