In the colonial and post-revolutionary periods, Washington Street was the only connection between Shawmut Peninsula, on which Old Boston was located, and the mainland. Nubian Square is located on the mainland side of what was the Washington Street isthmus, an area known as The Neck. At the time, it was known as Dudley Square. Notable development began in Roxbury in the 19th century, and Nubian Square served as a commercial center in this period. As Boston introduced streetcar service through the Boston Elevated Railway, Dudley Square station was opened in 1901, leading to another boom in Nubian Square's importance and reinforcing its status as a community hub. After the Boston Elevated Railway's reorganization into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 1947, streetcar service to Nubian Square was curtailed and replaced with bus service through the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, the Southwest Expressway was planned to run through Roxbury, and attempts to relocate the Nubian Square community to make way for the project led to the displacement of many residents, the destruction of much of Nubian Square's community, and tensions with Boston City authorities. The process of replacing streetcar service with bus service was completed in 1987, with the closure of the Washington Street Elevated. Around this time, Nubian Square entered a period of reinvestment, as key community buildings, such as the post office, were rebuilt and others, such as the Roxbury Boys and Girls Club and Palladio Hall, were restored.
Name change
The square was originally named after Thomas Dudley, a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. An effort to rename the square was led by a local community group, the Nubian Square Coalition. Proponents noted that Dudley was "a leading politician in 1641", when the colony became the first to legally sanction slavery. Other reasons included resisting gentrification and rebuilding a sense of community ethnic identity around the square. The proposed name came from a region that is now Egypt and Sudan and refers to the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa. Roxbury-based newspaper the Bay State Banner had supported a name change, although "pushed back against the square becoming 'Nubian', as Nubians owned slaves". Byron Rushing, former president of the Museum of African American History in Boston, noted, “I’ve really searched, and I’ve found no evidence that Dudley ever owned slaves." A non-binding advisory question was added to the November 5, 2019, municipal election ballot for all Boston residents asking, "Do you support the renaming/changing of the name of Dudley Square to Nubian Square?" Approximately 54% of votes cast on the question were in opposition, while approximately 46% were in favor. Although the question was defeated, it "passed in the surrounding areas" near the square, and Mayor of BostonMarty Walsh subsequently announced that the proposal would be considered further by the city's Public Improvement Commission. On December 19, 2019, the Public Improvement Commission unanimously approved changing the name of Dudley Square to Nubian Square. The name change is recorded in Boston's street register, but there is no physical city signage displaying either the old or the new name of the square. The Nubian Square Coalition stated that they would next pursue a name change of Dudley Square station, a bus station in the square. In mid-February 2020, it was announced that the station would be renamed to Nubian Station.
