First held in South Boston in 1901, the St. Patrick’s Day parade now sees as many as a half-million spectators. What began as an observation of the anniversary of Evacuation Day morphed along the way into a celebration of Boston’s Irish traditions. The parade has on occasion served as a platform for political and social advocacy and protest. The NAACP joined the route in 1964, and viewpoints on the city’s busing crisis in the 1970s were expressed in the parade. In the 1990s gay marchers went to court to gain the right to participate. - Lane Turner and Lisa Tuite
-
Paul J. Connell/Globe Staff
March 17, 1958: Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, were crowd favorites at this parade. Whenever their car halted, the Kennedys were surrounded by well-wishers seeking to shake his hand and shouting "Good luck, Jack," or "Hi, Senator."
-
United Press International
March 17, 1964: For the first time in history, the Boston branch of the NAACP had a float in a South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade. Although there were several incidents of opposition in the forms of cans, bottles, and eggs being tossed at the float, they appeared mainly unplanned and spontaneous.
-
United Press International
March 17, 1965: Parade marchers 10,000-strong filled Dorchester Street in South Boston as they moved toward Broadway (top of photo) under sunny skies. The parade in South Boston originated as a parade to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the evacuation of British troops from Boston in 1776 and first took place on March 18, 1901.
-
Ellis Herwig/Globe Staff
March 17, 1974: Junior Naval Cadets hurried to finish the parade while still managing to hold on to their hats. Wind gusts of more than 40 miles per hour on the parade route made that a difficult task.
-
Ellis Herwig/Globe Staff
March 17, 1974: Emotions showed in the faces of the crowd watching the St. Patrick's Day parade with temperatures in the 30s, but a wind-chill factor near zero.
-
Ellis Herwig/Globe Staff
March 17, 1974: Boston's Mounted Police Unit led the parade up East Broadway. A highlight of the 1974 parade was a team of eight Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses pulling an open red wagon. They are just coming into view at the top of the picture.
-
George Rizer/Globe Staff
March 16, 1975: One man's point of view was expressed at the 1975 St. Patrick's Day parade. Laced with the politics of Boston's school desegregation struggles, the parade itself was longer than in previous years because of the number of floats or marching units associated with the school desegregation issue.
-
John Mottern/The Boston Globe
March 20, 1988: "Deco" Kelly waved an Irish flag from a rooftop overlooking the St. Patrick's Day parade route on Broadway.
-
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
March 17, 1991: Marine Lance Corporal John Linehan, who was spending his first full day home in South Boston after returning from the Persian Gulf, was honored at the St. Patrick's Day parade. More than 500,000 viewers lined the 5-mile route, many with signs of welcome for veterans of all wars.
-
EvAn Richman/Globe Staff
March 28, 1993: Snow had postponed the St. Patrick's Day Parade for two weeks. In their second court-backed appearance in the South Boston parade, gay marchers were met with some obscenities but also drew cheers. Supporter Brandon Krapes held a placard along the route.
