The mysterious stall of the Mission Church complex redevelopment has left Smith Street stuck with the worst of both worlds—grand, yet boarded-up, buildings that could be good for a million things. It’s time for some authority to give the owners…
Category: Opinion
Hill Happenings
Condolences to the family of Patsie MacDougall, who passed away last month. Patsie was a beautiful and elegant woman who raised her family in Mission Hill at 31 Tobin Court. It was nice getting to chat with Patsie the last…
What’s Happening on Main Street
Spring finally arrived after an unusually miserable winter, and Mayor Marty Walsh drove a spade into Mission Hill soil breaking ground for the long-awaited Roxbury Crossing Senior Center on March 29. This 40-unit affordable rental housing development for seniors over…
Editorial: Reviewing historic reviews
The vanishing of a charming 1926 tavern building from Huntington Avenue is yet another case study of why Boston’s historic review processes need reform and better support. Whether the building merited saving is beside the point. This was a well-liked…
Editorial: Replace the LMA Guidelines
The LMA Interim Guidelines should be tossed into the recycling bin of history and replaced with a serious, inclusive master plan for the LMA. The guidelines are a reprehensible Boston Redevelopment Authority trick that institutionalized back-room dealing-making. They are a…
Letter: City needs better preservation rules
Thank you for covering the advocacy of the Friends of Historic Mission Hill for saving and reusing our historic buildings. (“Local history group keeps fighting for landmarks,” Feb. 7.) Fortunately, we are not alone in these efforts. When interviewed for…
Hill Happenings
Condolences to the family of Tommy Tucker, who passed away last month. Tommy was a laborer and a jack-of-all-trades with his hands. Although he sometimes carried himself with a blustery facade, Tommy had a heart of gold. By coincidence, my…
What’s Happening on Main Streets
The proverb, “March comes in like a lion” certainly applies this year, and let us hope that by the end of the month it lives up to its ending and “goes out like a lamb.” Thousands of daffodils and tulips…
Editorial: Improving the Hill
Projects, large and small, that soon will improve Mission Hill are good signs of the times. A mixed-use development at the Clutch Works site that will transform the Tremont streetscape. A new, much-needed community center at Mission Park. An inventive…
Editorial: Hill history
Besides reporting recent developments, the Gazette this month also takes it annual look back at “Hill History.” It is interesting how closely the past and present intertwine. Mission Church, the Parker Hill Branch Library and various historic parks are among…