Boston Apartment Rentals  |  Call (617) 586-7881 Live Person
List Your Property Manage My Ads

Brighton



  

History


Brighton is on the Western edge of Boston. In 1646, Reverend John Eliot, established a “praying village” on the current site of the community, to convert the local Native Americans to Christianity. For its first 160 years it was part of Cambridge and was known as little Cambridge. During the Revolutionary War it was a farming community of 300 that supplied cattle to the Continental Army. When Cambridge proper didn’t want to pay to repair for a bridge over the Charles River linking the two parts of the city, Brighton seceded in 1807 adopting its new name.
 
Brighton prospered as an agricultural center with the Boston and Worcester Railroad reaching the town in 1832. By 1866 the town contained 41 slaughterhouses. As Boston grew, locals realized that the land would be worth more if developed residentially. By 1874, it was annexed by the City of Boston. From 1875 to 1925, the population zoomed from 6,000 to 47,000 people. Electric streetcars reached the neighborhood in 1889. Today the area is well served by the MBTA’s Green Line, with 36% of the population commuting on public transit.
 

Description


Brighton is connected to the rest of the city by the neighborhood of Allston, but borders Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, and Brookline. Boston Brighton is popular with students and young professionals who live in apartments, as well as working class families who usually live in the homes.
 

Residents


Brighton’s population is 43,000 with a median age of 32. A third of the residents are between 25-32 with nearly 60% of the population listed as never having been married. The area is 78% white, 12% Asian, 7% Hispanic and 3.5% Black.
 

Rental Housing


The housing stock is relatively old. Four out of ten units were built before 1939. Many apartments are in a classic style featuring hardwood floors and high ceilings. Home rentals are available too although most are in two family residences. If you watched Mel Gibson’s 2010 Thriller “Edge of Darkness” his home was set in a typical Brighton neighborhood. Rentals for a 1 bedroom apartment typically run between $1500-$2500 a month, more affordable than downtown Boston, but like the rest of the state with no rent control.
 

Fun Stuff


Universities are always a Mecca for stimulating activities. Brighton is close to Boston University. Parts of Harvard have now moved to the area with more expansion on the way. Boston College is on the edge of Brighton in Chestnut Hill. Washington Street is the center of Brighton’s shopping nightlife and many ethnic restaurants. Scullers Jazz Club in the Double Tree Hotel at 400 Soldiers Field Road is a popular jazz and blues venue. New England’ flagship PBS Station WBGH is located in Brighton. Probably the best place to see first run movies locally is just over the line in Brookline at the Coolidge Corner Cinema.