3-family brick house (1886), built for John Bainard and Robert D. Ward. Most housing of the time was wood, not brick.
Yesterday, Bostonist had the excellent opportunity to be led on a walking tour of Mission Hill, learning about the area's history, architecture, and future. Sponsored by Discover Roxbury, the tour was led by some Friends of Historic Mission Hill and explored a number of notable stops, including several churches and historical homes.
Mission Hill was once called Parker Hill after the Parker family that owned much of the area (Parker Hill is where Boston's reservoir was once located), but the name gradually changed after the Mission Church (Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help) was founded in 1869. The church was part of what drew thousands of Irish Catholic immigrants to the area, doubling the Mission Hill population between 1870 and 1890. You might think of Jamaica Plain, home to the Sam Adams brewery, as Boston's beer capitol these days, but Mission Hill used to have its share of the booze: in 1900, there were as many as 25 breweries within a mile of Roxbury Crossing, and many of the churches in the neighborhood were built with "beer money." (Sadly, beer was not included with the tour, but at least the tour was free.)
We began our Mission Hill tour on Saturday at the adorably outfitted Butterfly Cafe next to Roxbury Crossing. Discover Roxbury's Derek Lumpkins (also of The Third Decade) welcomed us, then Butterfly Cafe owner Mash Abdirahman distributed materials from Mission Hill Main Streets. From the Butterfly, we proceeded down Tremont, Parker, Calumet, and St. Alphonsus Streets to a variety of local landmarks, which tour guide Mary Ann Nelson explained in detail.
The first major stop on the tour, a stone marking a distance of a mile from John Eliot Square in Roxbury, set the tone for the rest of the day. The stone, nearly hidden by an electrical box, was worn almost beyond comprehension, and formed part of a stone wall. You’d never know it was there—or realize its importance—if you didn’t make the effort to learn. Likewise, there’s a lot about Mission Hill that we would have never known if we hadn't made the effort to tour the area.
Some portions of the tour were of obvious interest: the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Parker Hill Branch Library, Mission Hill Playground. But other areas, from German brewers’ homes to puddingstone worker housing to Calumet Square to Mission Hill Playground, represent aspects of Mission Hill that are easier to overlook. Calumet Square, for example, hosted the launch party (attended by 15,000 folks) for Maurice Tobin’s 1937 mayoral campaign, in which he beat out incumbent James Michael Curley, becoming the only challenger to unseat an incumbent in a Boston mayoral campaign. Mission Hill Playground is located near the former site of housing projects where residents were harassed in the aftermath of the Charles Stuart case in 1989. These physical spaces provide important reminders of major parts of Boston's history—good and bad—that are all too easily forgotten.
Not only did we see some great buildings on the tour, we also met a number of interesting people. A brother from the Little Brothers of St. Francis spoke to us, we were treated to a live overview of the Roxbury Community Gardens, and we even got to drink tea in city council candidate (and Northeastern econ professor) Oscar Brookins’ backyard. (He’s got a pretty rad swing back there.) Our fellow "tourists" were fascinating, too: many were locals who shared their memories of the area's evolution, from protests of the Southwest Corridor (local jazz singer Fulani Haynes remembered lying in the streets to block the progress of bulldozers) to the recent student influx that's blamed for raising rents in this formerly family-friendly area.
The Discover Roxbury tour of Mission Hill was entertaining and informative, and demonstrated that there are many more Bostonians who care deeply about their city—especially their neighborhood—than things like poor voter turnout might lead you to expect. Based on our experience, we strongly encourage you to step off the Freedom Trail and explore other aspects of historic Boston and its neighboring cities this summer.
Discover Roxbury's current focus on Mission Hill continues through July 18, when you can participate in a glassblowing demonstration and workshop at Diablo Glass School. Even if you can't make it out to Mission Hill, check out Boston Main Streets and make an effort to explore a new part of town that you've never been to soon. It'll be worth it.
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