Formerly only a small parcel of land called "The Neck," in the 1830s, the surrounding marshes began to be filled in and wealthy residents began to move into the Victorian townhouses of the South End. The South End experienced a great deal of renewal and gentrification starting in the 1960s. In the 1960s South End residents, along with residents from other nearby neighborhoods, successfully fought a proposed 12-lane highway. Instead a 4.7-mile-long park, Southwest Corridor Park, was built. By the beginning of the 20th century, the character of the neighborhood had changed significantly, catering to Middle Eastern, Irish, German, Greek, and Italian immigrants.