James Michael Curley
James Michael Curley (1874–1958) was among the most consequential and controversial political figures in Boston history, serving as mayor of the city four separate times, as Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and as a member of the United States Congress. Known as "The Rascal King" and "The Mayor of the Poor," Curley built a powerful political machine rooted in the working-class Irish Catholic neighborhoods of Boston, transforming city government while simultaneously generating lasting controversy over corruption, self-dealing, and the boundaries of democratic leadership. His life and career inspired Edwin O'Connor's celebrated 1956 novel *The Last Hurrah*, cementing his place not only in Massachusetts political history but in the broader American cultural imagination.
History
James Michael Curley was born on November 20, 1874, in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, the son of Irish immigrant parents who had fled the poverty of County Galway. His father died when Curley was ten years old, leaving the family in difficult financial circumstances. Curley left school to work and help support his mother and siblings, an experience that shaped his lifelong identification with Boston's poor and working-class communities. His early hardships gave him a firsthand understanding of the struggles faced by the city's large Irish immigrant population, and he would draw on those experiences repeatedly as a politician, crafting a public persona rooted in solidarity with the dispossessed.
Curley entered politics as a young man, winning a seat on the Boston Common Council in 1900. His political rise was rapid but not without scandal: in 1904 he was convicted of taking a civil service examination on behalf of a constituent and served a brief jail sentence, an episode he later turned to his political advantage by presenting himself as a man who would bend the rules to help working people. He was elected to the Boston City Council and subsequently to the United States House of Representatives, representing a Boston district in the early 1910s before pivoting to his true political ambition — the mayoralty of Boston. He was first elected mayor in 1914, defeating the incumbent John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the grandfather of future president John F. Kennedy. That victory marked the beginning of a political career that would span four decades and four mayoral terms: 1914–1918, 1922–1926, 1930–1934, and 1946–1950.[1]
During his multiple terms as mayor, Curley fundamentally reshaped Boston's public infrastructure. He championed the construction of hospitals, parks, bathhouses, roads, and public buildings, directing government investment toward the neighborhoods where his immigrant and working-class supporters lived. His administration funded beach improvements in South Boston, built the Arborway and other road projects, and expanded city services at a scale that his critics argued was financially reckless but that his supporters celebrated as genuine governance for ordinary people. His style was flamboyant and personal: he was known for his oratorical skill, his elaborate suits, and his ability to connect with voters on an emotional level that transcended ordinary political transactionalism.
Culture
Curley's cultural impact on Boston extended well beyond the mechanics of politics. He became a symbol — for his admirers, of the Irish Catholic community's rise from marginalized immigrant status to political power; for his critics, of machine politics, ethnic patronage, and the corrosive effects of corruption on civic life. The tension between these two interpretations has defined his legacy for generations. In many Boston neighborhoods, particularly those with strong Irish American roots, Curley was remembered long after his death as a champion of the working class who delivered tangible benefits to communities that had been ignored by the Yankee Protestant establishment that had dominated Boston for centuries.[2]
The cultural resonance of Curley's story was amplified enormously by Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel *The Last Hurrah*, which fictionalized Curley's life in the character of Frank Skeffington, an aging urban political boss navigating the twilight of his era. The book became a bestseller and was subsequently adapted into a film starring Spencer Tracy. The novel brought Curley's archetype — the charismatic, ethically flexible urban boss who genuinely loved power but also genuinely loved his people — to a national audience. A bronze statue of Curley stands near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, commemorating his enduring place in the city's identity. The statue, which depicts him both seated and standing in two separate figures, has become a minor landmark and a point of reflection for visitors and residents alike on the complicated nature of Boston's political heritage.
The Curley era also left a mark on how Boston's neighborhoods understood their relationship to City Hall. The patronage system he built created expectations about political representation and ethnic loyalty that persisted long after his death, shaping the culture of Boston municipal politics well into the late twentieth century. His career coincided with and accelerated the transformation of Boston from a city dominated by its old Anglo-Protestant elite to one in which Irish Catholic political figures held sustained power. That transformation had lasting consequences for the city's demographics, governance, and self-image.
Notable Residents
Curley lived for much of his life in a distinctive mansion in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, a home he had built in 1915 and which became almost as famous as the man himself. The house, adorned with shamrocks carved into the shutters, was a conspicuous statement of Irish Catholic pride and political success. It served simultaneously as a family home, a political salon, and a symbol of Curley's ascent from poverty. The property remained in his family for years after his death and has been recognized as a landmark in Boston's architectural and political history.
Among the figures connected to Curley's world, the most historically significant is the Fitzgerald family. Curley's 1914 electoral defeat of John F. Fitzgerald—grandfather of President John F. Kennedy—placed him at an intersection of Boston political dynasties that would define Massachusetts politics for generations. The rivalry between Curley and the Fitzgerald-Kennedy axis was one of the defining tensions of Boston Democratic Party politics in the mid-twentieth century. Curley and Joseph P. Kennedy, father of the future president, maintained a famously complicated and often hostile relationship, reflective of the competing power centers within Boston's Irish Catholic political world.[3]
Economy
Curley's approach to municipal governance had significant economic dimensions that remain subjects of historical debate. On one hand, his public works programs provided employment to thousands of Boston workers during periods of economic hardship, including the Great Depression. His administration pursued an activist approach to city spending, using the resources of municipal government to stimulate economic activity in working-class neighborhoods. Bathhouses, parks, hospitals, and road projects all created jobs and improved quality of life in communities that had limited access to private economic development.
On the other hand, critics — including business leaders, fiscal conservatives, and rival politicians — argued that Curley's spending habits left Boston with unsustainable debt and that his patronage system diverted public resources from their most efficient uses toward political reward. The city's credit rating and fiscal position were subjects of ongoing controversy during and after his administrations. His opponents also pointed to the chilling effect that his confrontational relationship with the business community had on private investment in Boston during certain periods. The economic legacy of the Curley era is thus a contested one: genuine investment in public infrastructure and employment coexisted with fiscal strain and a patronage economy that had its own inefficiencies and costs.[4]
Attractions
Today, visitors and residents interested in Curley's legacy can engage with it through several tangible Boston landmarks. The most prominent is the pair of bronze statues near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, created by sculptor Lloyd Lillie and installed in 1980. The statues present two contrasting images of Curley: one shows him standing, gesturing in an oratorical pose; the other depicts him seated on a bench, approachable and informal. Together they capture the duality that defined him — the powerful public performer and the man of the people. The statues are located in Curley Park, named in his honor, and are frequently photographed by tourists exploring the historic district around Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.
The Jamaica Plain mansion where Curley lived for decades also represents a point of connection to his life and era. The house, with its distinctive shamrock-decorated shutters, stands as a physical artifact of the Curley years and has been recognized as a historically significant property. Beyond these physical landmarks, Curley's presence in Boston is felt through the ongoing engagement with his legacy in local journalism, academic history, and popular culture. The Boston Globe has written extensively about Curley over the decades, examining his record from multiple angles as Boston's political and demographic landscape has continued to evolve.[5]