SoWa
The SoWa district (South of Washington) is an area of Boston's South End known for its art galleries, restaurants, shops and open markets. Centered on the galleries, specialty shops and artist studios located at 450-460 Harrison Avenue, SoWa spans north-to-south from Herald Street to Massachusetts Avenue, and east-to-west from Albany Street to Shawmut Avenue.
History
GTI Properties and owner Mario Nicosia are credited with rejuvenating the district, beginning in the early 2000s, and also for coining the SoWa name. Their redevelopment of the massive factory buildings on Harrison Avenue has since drawn high-end restaurants, art galleries, retail stores and creative businesses to the growing neighborhood.
In the 19th century, SoWa's brick & beam factories were home to manufacturers of pianos, canned goods, shoes and other merchandise.[1] In addition, 540 Harrison Ave, a building currently used to host various markets & events, originally opened in 1891 as the Central Power Station for the West End Street Railway Company, the precursor to the MBTA. The Romanesque and Gothic Revival structure was the world’s largest electrical power station at the time and later became a trolley barn.[2]
Culture
Due to the number of artists & galleries located in the neighborhood, SoWa has become a creative epicenter, attracting a wide range of art-enthused fans. Every month, over 80 artists & galleries throughout SoWa stage their new 30-day shows featuring the works of emerging and established painters, photographers and sculptors. This event, known as "First Fridays", is held on the first Friday of every month starting at 5:00pm.[3]
The SoWa Art Walk (an annual art festival held each spring), draws thousands of visitors to the neighborhood. SoWa Art Walk was May 4, 11-6 in 2014 and is one of the main events of the year in the area. Besides drawing lots of new faces to the neighborhood, it enables many artists to present their works and host open studios. The range in the styles and the mediums of the different pieces shown are staggering due to the number of artists opening their studios as well as holding booths in the open area without a studio nearby. Artists from all around the country come to showcase their pieces, whether that be hand made soap to abstract expressionism to decorative optics.[4]
The South End Open Market at SoWa was created 12 years ago by New York transplant Chris Masci and his company NE Open Markets LLC. This collection of vibrant open air markets, brings thousands of visitors to the SoWa District every Sunday. The Arts Market, Farmers Market and Food Trucks run from May – Oct, while the SoWa Vintage Market run year-round indoors.
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