Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — One obscure alley in Downtown Crossing turns out to have quite a bit of Boston history steeped in its walls.
Pi Alley on Washington Street has been around for over a century, and the story behind the name isn’t exactly common knowledge. Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Alliance said it has to do with newspapers.
“The newspapers of the era were largely along this area, and it was the newspapermen of the day who would use pi, literally p-i — these little keys that would be used to print the newspapers,” Nichols said.
The "pi" would be pieces of metal types, basically a pile of loose letters and characters. The alley housed many local papers from around the late 1800s to the 1940s.
Although the alley has large signs at both entrances, and is right in a bustling corner of stores and restaurants, Nichols said it has a locals-only quality.
“It in some ways feels like just one of those places only the locals really know and will find ourself in this alley, cutting through or grabbing a bite to eat,” Nichols said.
WBZ’s Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.