Mayor Martin Walsh and a consortium of administration officials converged on Hyde Square in JP Monday afternoon, July 22, for the annual Mayor on Main Trolley Tour – with the mayor breaking the news that the national Main Streets conference will come to Boston in 2021.
“We were talking about bringing the national Main Streets conference to Boston with several people in the neighborhoods and I took that back to my office, and we agreed to go for it,” he told neighbors and business leaders gathered on the sidewalk in front of the iconic Brendan Behan Pub. “I’m proud to announce that we have been awarded the 2021 National Main Streets Conference here in Boston. That’s pretty exciting. It’s a way to highlight businesses throughout our neighborhoods to the entire country.”
This year, Mission Hill Main Streets (MHMS) shared the stage with Hyde/Jackson Main Streets in JP – with MHMS giving out awards at the ceremony with Mayor Walsh.
The trolley tour is now in its third year, after the mayor and his staff decided to stop having the annual Main Streets awards in the Strand Theatre in Dorchester – instead opting to go mobile and visit several districts in person to give out the awards.
“We felt it was a good ceremony at the Strand, but no one was getting out and seeing the actual Main Streets and the neighborhoods,” he shared. “This was a way for us and the community to get out to the business districts, see what’s going on there and buy some things from the businesses.”
Mayor Walsh recalled an old friend, late State Rep. Kevin Fitzgerald of Mission Hill when handing out the awards.
“I know he loved Mission Hill,” said the mayor. “He would have also loved to see the great things happening in Mission Hill today.”
Fitzgerald’s son now works for the Walsh Administration in the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), and was on hand for the trolley tour.
The Business of the Year in Mission Hill was the Milkweed Café – a business that was started by Holly Cawley, David Cawley and Ben Johnson on Tremont Street.
“It’s another investment in the community made by people who put their life savings on the line to start a business,” said the mayor. “We have to honor that.”
Holly Cawley said they will have been open two years in August, and were excited to receive the award.
“To us, it means a lot because the Mission Hill community nominated us for this,” said Holly. “We feel like a real part of the community now.”
The Volunteer of the Year was Mossy Martin – who is always there to lend a hand to help out the business community, Walker said.
Martin has also written the monthly ‘Hill Happenings’ column for the Mission Hill Gazette for several years.
The Mayor on Main trolley tour concluded in Egleston Square on Tuesday, July 30.