EIGHTSTREETS

HISTORY OF THE EIGHT STREETS PARK

The Eight Streets Park is the result of many years of hoping and planning.  What follows is a brief history of this park pieced together by the residents from memory and a few letters and notes.

            The Neighborhood Association petitioned the City in 1957 to build a tot-lot on Hansen Street because small children had no place to play in the area.  The contract with Saletra Bros. of Hyde Park was approved April 25, 1958…

            On July 19, 1960 the Franklin School, which stood on the site of the new park, burned down.  The area soon became a dust bowl when it was dry, a mud hole when it rained and a catch-all for everything from broken glass and old refrigerators to abandon (sic) cars.  It was a pretty unhealthy place to play.  The one redeeming feature of the “hole,” as it came to be known, was that in the winter when it snowed it provided the only place for sledding.

            In the summer of 1962 the first of many communications to the City of Boston about a new park was sent.  In the fall of 1963 the neighbors decided to build their own park based on plans they worked out with Dave Farley an architect with the B.R.A.  Soon after this a three tier playground was started with rail road ties donated by the Boston and Albany railroad…

            It was a hard job.  Countless hundreds of neighbors and outside volunteers pitched in.  Most of the work was done on Saturdays with the ladies in the neighborhood providing the food at lunchtime. There were some great meals out there thanks to the many hard working cooks in the neighborhood.  Even a few cases of beer were donated by local establishments.  The list of names of people who dedicated themselves to this project would cover pages.  Among those who deserve special thanks are Mrs. Nellie Freeman who has supplied more lazagna (sic), cake and coffee to more South End events than can be counted and to the late Mmes. Yarwich and Baker who will long be remembered for their generous contributions of time and energy.  Of historical interest, is the fact that on several occasions Sam Messina from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Improvement was seen working here in his Bermuda shorts.  After the railroad ties were sawed by hand and arranged in tiers the Vincent Lachornie Construction Company donated the fill.  There was some confusion following this about the transfer of the title from the School Department to the Parks and Recreation Department.  By May 26, 1965 the frustration had ended and a contract was signed with the J.J. Botti Construction Company to hard-top the basketball court, plant some trees, install a drain and drinking fountain and install some benches….

            The Urban Renewal Plan was approved by the people of the South End in August of 1966.  By January of 1967 the South End Site Office Staff and the people of this neighborhood had agreed on plans for the Park that is being dedicated today.  Planning with people isn’t as easy as it sounds, but most residents of this area feel that the park now reflects their ideas and provides for many of the recreational needs of the neighborhood.  The park was completed May 15, 1968 by the Brendan Engineering Co. under the direction of Mr. Ken Gomer the foreman.
 
[A description of ongoing discussions with Dept. of Parks and Recreation about staffing and recreational programming including requests from Shawmut-Hanson Organized Teens (S.H.O.T.)]
 
…. We know that the struggle is not over.  We’ve come a long way from the mud hole to this three-level multi-purpose facility…Some people said it couldn’t be done, but today we can prove the skeptics wrong.  Today we have a new park thanks to the perseverance of the people who believed that their neighborhood could be improved.  Today we say thanks to those who helped and welcome to those who now know that a neighborhood association can move forward to improve its neighborhood.