Orient Heights is an historic section of East Boston. The neighborhood sits on a hill named "Orient Heights;" the hill measures 152 feet in elevation at its highest point. Reminded of their native terrain, Boston's very first Italian immigrants settled on the hill in the 1860s and '70s.
Landmarks of Orient Heights include the "Madonna Shrine:" it is the headquarters and National Shrine of the Orionine order, founded by St. Luigi Orione. A third of a mile away towards the west, a huge cross stands dramatically on Orient Heights. It is one of Boston's most visible and well-known landmarks. The steel cross on the site today replaced a wooden cross erected by The Madonna Shrine. It also marks the site of the second battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Chelsea Creek (May 27, 1775).
The hill of Orient Heights was once called Hog's Island; then it was later renamed Breed's Island. The hill is one of the five islands that comprised old East Boston.
Well into the 20th century, Italian and English were still spoken in roughly equal amounts in Orient Heights. It is documented that, as recently as the 1950s, Masses at St. Lazarus Church in Orient Heights were delivered by Pastor Luigi (Louis) Toma in Latin, Italian, and English.
Read more about Orient Heights: Madonna Shrine & Don Orione Home, Personalities
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