Table Of Content

FROM COLUMBIA POINT TO HARBOR POINT A Community History ^ V vV •»LI Tm ^J < m *Ml M- 1 I Z 4.*"**.^ Digitized by the Internet Archive 2016 in https://archive.org/detaiis/decentpiacetoliv01roes A Decent Place to Live A Decent Place Live to FROM COLUMBIA POINT TO HARBOR POINT A Community History ROESSNER JANE NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS BOSTON • Northeastern UniversityPress Copyright2000byJane RoessnerandTheAmericanCityCoalition Allrightsreserved. Exceptforthequotationofshortpassagesforthepurposesofcriticismandreview,nopart ofthisbookmaybereproduced inanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy- ing,recording,oranyinformationstorageandretrievalsystemnowknownortobeinvented,witboutwritten permissionofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data Roessner,Jane. Adecentplacetolive : fromColumbia PointtoHarborPoint—acommunityhistory / Jane Roessner. p. cm. Includesbibliographical referencesand index. — ISBN1-55553-457-6(cl : alk. paper) ISBN 1-55553-436-8(pa. : alk. paper) 1. Urban renewal—Massachusetts—Boston—History—Casestudies. 2.Cityplanning—Massachusetts— Boston—Historv—Casestudies. 3. Publichousing—Massachusetts—Boston—Histoiy—Casestudies. 4. Housingpolicy—Massachusetts—Boston—History—Casestudies. I.Title. HT177.B6R64 2000 307.76'o9744'6i-dc2i 99-086659 Compo.sed in ElectrabyBlue HeronTypesetters,Inc.,Lawrence,Kansas. PrintedandboundbyTbomson-Shore, Inc.,Dexter,Michigan. ThepaperisEortuneMatte,anacid-freestock. MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 04 03 02 01 00 54321 To my mother, Dorothy Hector Roessner ^ iii-. Contents 1. Acknowledgments ix 2. Prologue xi 3. 4. Part 5. Columbia Point, 1951-1962 1. 6. 7. Breaking Ground at the CalfPasture 3 8. The Promise ofPublie Housing 10 Ignoring the Warnings 17 Moving In: A Tale ofTwo Families 25 Building a New Community 32 The Mothers Club 40 11. Children ofthe Point: I 47 12. Columbia Point in the Spotlight 56 Part15.2. Columbia Point, 1962-1978 9. “Island ofIsolation” 67 10. The Downhill Slide 72 Housing ofLast Resort 83 Children ofthe Point: II 93 13. Planning for Columbia Point 107 14. Moving Out and Moving In 123 The News from Columbia Point 137 viii Contents Part Columbia Point, 1978-1987 3. 17. i6. Unlikely Partners 149 18. Seeing Is Believing 162 20.The Court Takes Over 178 21. 19. Reeeivership 184 22. Shotgun Marriage 191 Designing the New Community 204 The Wrecking Ball 217 25. Part 4. Harbor Point, 1988-2000 26. 27. 23. The Blitz 227 28. 24. Coodboy 239 Renting and Recession 246 Moving into Harbor Point 257 Running the New Community 267 Lessons from Harbor Point 280 Chronology 299 Bibliography 301 Index 309