Founded in 1630 (contemporaneously with Boston), West Roxbury, Massachusetts was originally part of the town of Roxbury and was mainly used as farmland. West Roxbury seceded from Roxbury in 1851, and was annexed by Boston in 1874. At the time, the town included the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale.

West Roxbury’s main thoroughfare is Centre Street, lined with local restaurants and commercial establishments. Today, the neighborhood’s tree-lined streets and mostly single family homes give it a suburban feel in an urban setting. Life in the neighborhood centers on political and civic activism as well as local parishes and youth athletic leagues. West Roxbury is home to many of Boston’s civil servants.

Six miles south-southwest of downtown Boston, Roslindale was originally part of the town of Roxbury. In 1851, current day Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury seceded from Roxbury to become the Town of West Roxbury. The area voted in 1873 to be annexed to the City of Boston.

In the 1920s, Roslindale Village assumed the configuration it has today, with tree-lined Adams Park at its center. Roslindale falls in a crease between several other Boston neighborhoods and the parts of Roslindale adjacent to these surrounding neighborhoods take on the characteristics of those neighborhoods. The Roslindale business district (called “Rozzie Square” by the locals) has been reinvented with many new shops and restaurants that have become a popular destination for the diverse population that lives in the area.