Jamaica Plain – anything but dull

This is the third in an occasional series spotlighting Boston’s

neighborhoods.

From her post behind her jewelry stand on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, 41-year-old Belle Pronman watches the passers-by window shopping and enjoying a Sunday stroll.

“You don’t get the same traffic here that you do in downtown Boston,” said Pronman, a resident of Jamaica Plain – known as JP to its natives – for 17 years. “But you know everyone in the community. And Centre Street has some high traffic in the area.”

The street, which stretches through the heart of Jamaica Plain, is a miniature business district, attracting both residents and visitors. But along with economic growth and new businesses, changes have sparked mixed reactions from some long-time residents.

“Particularly in the business district, there are a lot more restaurants lately, and it’s a more expensive area,” Pronman said.

Indeed, a five-minute walk down Centre Street turns up a variety of trendy shops and restaurants, including the Bukhara Indian Bistro, Arbor (Mediterranean cuisine), Ban Chiang House (Thai food), Cobwebs Antiques and the Cha Fahn tea room.

At the end of this vibrant business district, the street splits in front of the Unitarian-Universalist Church and continues as Centre Street up past the Arborway and Moss Hill, where upscale homes line Moss Hill Road. To the left of the split, it becomes South Street, a second business district in Jamaica Plain – one with a much different atmosphere than that permeating the fashionable shops and restaurants on Centre Street.

A series of hair salons and barber shops, a laundromat and neighborhood pubs like the James’s Gate Restaurant and Pub and Jeanie Johnson Pub and Grill, helps South Street retain the characteristics of a neighborhood with a rich community history. It also shows scars indicative of inner city life – closed shops still have bars on their windows and doors, a noticeably absent feature just around the corner on Centre Street.

“All the shops you see along Centre Street, they are there because of the people moving into places like Moss Hill,” said long-time JP resident Irene Desharnais. “Literally, within a 10th of a mile you go from projects to million-dollar homes.”

In some ways, Jamaica Plain feels like a small town in a big city.

“Yes, Jamaica Plain is a part of the city of Boston; no, it is not its own town,” reads Boston’s website.

“I like the small-town feel,” said 25-year-old Annalise Keen, a Harvard Medical School student who moved to Jamaica Plain last week. “The parks are beautiful, and I feel very well connected to Boston.”

The “Main Street” feel of Centre Street gives the impression of a small town, with local shops where neighbors all know each other.

“I like that Centre Street has everything I need,” said Erin Parks, 24, who has lived in the area for two years.

Jamaica Plain also hosts abundant parks and green space around Jamaica Pond and the Arborway, an eight-lane road that leads into Back Bay.

“I like that we have the pond and the running area around it,” Parks said. “It is very residential and quiet – you see a lot of people with kids.”

Jamaica Plain is also home to the Arnold Arboretum, managed by Harvard University. The 265-acre botanical garden is the centerpiece of the city’s Emerald Necklace, a seven-mile network of parks designed in the late 19th century by Frederick Law Olmsted (who also helped plan Boston Common and New York’s Central Park).

Residents have long fought to keep the Emerald Necklace alive, despite the urban sprawl that invades from downtown. In some cases, they have succeeded.

“This whole area along the Orange Line was supposed to be the Southwest Expressway,” said Irene’s husband Paul Desharnais, pointing to the park behind English High School that borders the MBTA’s Orange Line. “But the residents wanted houses – not roads – and that’s why we have the parks instead.”