How Watson park came to be…
The area that is now Watson park originally contained buildings. Fires in the 1960's destroyed the homes; and they were never rebuilt. The BRA took possession of the land in the 1970's and created the open space parkland.
While the land was under supervision of the BRA, it was still vulnerable to sale or development In 2014, a small group of dedicated neighbors banded together to begin the challenging process or preserving the parcels as parkland.
It took 2 years of hard work, but in 2016 the deeds for all fire parcels were transferred to the Boston parks Department, ensuring the areas will remain open public space forever.
Mr. Watson at the official park ribbon cutting.
The park space was named for Mr. Watson, a long time resident of Taylor Street. His son Charlie continued to live on Taylor for most of his life until recently moving to a more accessible home.