In the desolate eastern reaches of Boston’s South End, at the corner of the Mass. Pike and Interstate 93, the old Boston Herald office sits empty. The paper’s staff decamped to offices in the Seaport District in January. Earlier this month, new details emerged of a redevelopment scheme for the area, currently under consideration by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. With a large residential and shopping complex called the Ink Block and other plans for apartments, shops, restaurants, and a hotel, developers hope to transform this light industrial zone into a vibrant, “18-hour” neighborhood.
The Ink Block name is a hat tip to the printing presses that once defined the area. But nearly forgotten is an earlier identity of this same parcel of land, one that opens a window on a point even deeper in Boston’s economic history. Today, its only visible remnant is the street that would be home to many of these new buildings: Albany Street.
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Author here. I wish I had had the chance to contact and write about families who grew up in the New York Streets. Via twitter, I heard from Suzanne Morse, whose Italian grandfather was born there in 1905. His family left the neighborhood to move to a Victorian house in Oak Square when he was in his teens, Suzanne tweeted. It must have been quite an upgrade! Here's a picture of his wedding day in 1937. http://t.co/rHknruPs His bride was a translator for an immigration center in East Boston.
Another example of the BRA claiming to know what is best for the city, and acting on it with zero accountability to the public. Hopefully, the project is successful, but watch out for the tax deals, and sweetheart benefits that come with all BRA projects.
@Christopher Marstall - Thanks for an interesting article that taught me something about the Boston vs NYC rivalry that went beyond Red Sox vs Yankees or Patriots vs Jets / Giants. Those are great rivalries, but I didn't realize how the Hudson gave NYC a big advantage over Boston in the commercial arena. I used to work across the street from the Boston Herald on Harrison Street. I'll be interested to see how this neighborhood develops.