Combat Zone

The "Combat Zone", in Boston, Massachusetts, was the name given to the adult entertainment district in downtown centered on Washington Street between Boylston Street and Kneeland Street. It extended up Stuart Street to Park Square. The name "Combat Zone" was popularized through a series of exposé articles written by Jean Cole on the area published in the 1960s in the Boston Record-American newspaper. The name had a double meaning in that it was an area known for crime and violence, but also in that many soldiers and sailors on shore leave would frequent the many strip clubs and brothels in uniform giving the streets an appearance of a "Combat Zone". The Combat Zone began to form in the early 1960s, when city officials razed the West End...