Sullivan's — a classic South Boston food stand. "Back in June of 1951, Dan Sullivan, Sr. opened the stand for the first time offering quality food at reasonable prices." Great place to grab a bite to enjoy for your walk around Castle Island. Open late Feb through November.

A crowd stands on top of a Boston Police cruiser in front of South Boston High School on Dec. 11, 1974. A clash between police and a crowd of 1500 people outside the school after a student was...

Atlantic St. in South Boston. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Castle Island South Boston, MA

Students gather at Mercer Street and Columbia Road near a housing project in South Boston to wait for a school bus bound for McCormack Middle School at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 7, 1977. An initiative to...

The scene of fire at the Captain's Room in South Boston, Oct. 9, 1974. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

boston, 1971 city life part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of nick dewolf © the Nick DeWolf Foundation Image-use requests are welcome via flickrmail or nickdewolfphotoarchive [at] gmail [dot] com

Bathing at City Point, South Boston by Boston Public Library, via Flickr

John Goyette a retired truck driver who lives in South Boston's D Street housing project, conserves energy while filling a child's wading pool on a sticky summer afternoon, July 13, 1979.

G and Broadway in South Boston, near the high school. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Many critical scenes in the novel are set in the Old Colony hosing projects. It's where Matthew grew up, and where Buzzy Driscoll and Kathleen Sutliff still live. Matthew returns there twice during the story, and during a flashback readers get a glimpse of how chaotic and violent the place was during the start of school desegregation in the seventies.

Dorchester Heights

South Boston East Broadway Row House Capital Residential Group

In chapter three, Salty Mahoney's funeral takes place at Malloy's Funeral Home. It's located on Dorchester Street in South Boston. The real-life inspiration is O'Brien's Funeral Home at the same spot. The name Malloy's comes from the name of a funeral home in the Lower Mills section of Dorchester, where I attended grade school.