Orient Heights, Boston’s northernmost neighborhood. I’ve lived in this city for nearly twenty years and there’s still sections unknown to me. With a few hours to kill, I headed up the blue line outbound towards Revere one Friday in May.
Officially part of East Boston, Orient Heights is an unpretentious enclave untouched by much gentrification or many tourists--I’m assuming it’s one of the city’s last affordable areas. The top picture is of the T station (with the tall, yellow back of the infamous Madonna Shrine in the center); the rest are of various businesses along Bennington and Saratoga Streets. While New Saigon Restaurant indeed looks newly refurbished, I marvel at the ancient fake siding and uneven lettering of Oxigen.J Hair Design--wonder if it’ll look the same ten years from now (same goes for the whole neighborhood)?