The East Boston Immigration Station was an immigration station in
East Boston
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and d ...
that was built from 1919 to 1920 and operational from 1920 to 1954. In 1959, it was declared surplus and sold to the highest bidder.
As of 2010, it is owned by
Massport and leased as a shipyard.
It is located directly to the east of the former
Bethlehem Atlantic Works.
At the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, it was used as a detention center for
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
German and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
immigrants deemed potentially dangerous by the government (many of whom had resided in the United States for decades and despite a lack of evidence proving their supposed risk). Their internment at East Boston was temporary; all were later transferred to more permanent facilities.
[J. Burton, M. Farrell, F. Lord, R. Lord. ''Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites'']
"Department of Justice and U.S. Army Facilities: Temporary Detention Sites"
(National Park Service)
See also
*
Demographics of Boston
References
External links
Image of the buildingInformation on the now-demolished building
{{Coord, 42, 21, 48.45, N, 71, 1, 51.65, W, display=title
History of immigration to the United States
Immigration detention centers and prisons in the United States
East Boston
Boston Harbor
1919 establishments in Massachusetts
1954 disestablishments in Massachusetts