Highland Park, which is approximately
bordered by Malcolm X
Boulevard on the north, Washington Street on the southeast, and Columbus
Avenue on the southwest, is known for various topographies and
architectural styles that reflect the many communities who have resided in
this neighborhood throughout history. This district represents a diverse
cross section of Boston’s history, which began with its important role for
the Native people from the region. Highland Park also served a strategic
role in the Revolutionary War and was critical for the civil rights
movement, fostering grassroots activism and community organizing for
housing, education, and economic equity. Highland Park covers about 170
acres of steep terrain with a variety of topographies, eclectic
architectural styles, and distinct social significance.
“I am extremely excited that Highland Park
has been designated as a historical landmark,” said District 7 City
Councilor, Tania Fernandes Anderson. “Naming and honoring is important,
as it helps us to properly value and maintain that which is integral to our
heritage and history. With an eye toward acknowledging our rich past, we
move forward in the creation of a bountiful future.”
In 1978, Highland Park residents submitted a
petition that was accepted by the Boston Landmarks Commission to designate
Highland Park as a historic district. At the time, there was not enough
wider community interest for the process to designate the district to move
forward. Over the following decades, support for the district was
periodically revitalized. A group of local activists organized in support
of the creation of a district commission in the 1990s, although this did
not come to fruition. Then, in 2018, the Highland Park Neighborhood
Coalition approached the Landmarks Commission with the goal of reviving the
process. Neighborhood residents gathered more than 500 signatures in
support of district designation. With the support of a Massachusetts
Historical Commission grant, the Boston Landmarks Commission hired the
Public Archaeology Laboratory to undertake the historic research for
a study report
on Highland Park.
Over the course of 16 months, 23 public
meetings, and three community listening events, the Study Committee worked
to create guidelines that would preserve the character of the district and
the quality of life for its residents, without requiring homeowners to
undertake potentially costly actions. In order to avoid placing financial
burden on local residents and property owners, the Study Committee
developed a set of standards and criteria for the proposed Highland Park
Architectural Conservation District. This includes the proposed district to
not regulate how to do maintenance and repairs or which materials a
building owner must use on small alterations. The regulations do address
the demolition of existing buildings, major architectural alterations,
major landscape alterations, and new construction. The designation of
Highland Park as an Architectural Conservation District will create a
commission made up of two members and two alternates from Highland Park as
well as three Boston Landmarks Commission representatives. The commission
will be charged with reviewing and issuing guidance on proposed demolitions
and developments, monitoring and evaluating the use of open space, and
reviewing any major exterior alterations to the district’s buildings. This
District will provide learning opportunities and be a model for
preservation in other neighborhoods where residents want to have a voice in
what is preserved in their community without imposing a financial
burden.
“For generations, Highland Park residents
have celebrated the multilayered history of their neighborhood and today we
celebrate their role in preserving it on a city-wide scale,” said Reverend
Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space. “As
a Roxbury native, I am grateful to the Highland Park Study Committee for
bringing light to this important history and to Mayor Wu, the Boston City
Council and the Boston Landmarks Commission for the designation of Boston’s
newest conservation district.”
“With the ACD designation, Highland Park
residents now have a voice on how we want to protect our neighborhood and
how we want to shape its future,” said Andrea Caceres, Highland
Park Study Committee member. “This allows us to both respect our
diverse history, especially our Black culture, and celebrate and protect
our community that lives here today. I want to thank Mayor Wu, the Boston
Landmarks Commission, the City Council, and our community for supporting
the Highland Park community in achieving this massive feat.“
Prior to the designation of Highland Park,
the last historic district to be established by the City was the Fort Point
Channel Landmark District (South Boston) in 2009. Any ten registered Boston voters
can petition the Boston Landmarks Commission to
designate a historic neighborhood, building, landscape or object as a
protected Boston Landmark or District. Local historic districts carry the
ability to regulate change in historic neighborhoods, unlike National
Register districts, which advocate for their protection. You can learn more
about designating a
landmark in Boston by emailing BLC@boston.gov.
Additionally, Mayor Wu created the new
Office of Historic Preservation, which sits under the Environment, Energy
and Open Space Cabinet, effective July 1, 2022. The Office of Historic
Preservation works to ensure that Boston’s history is inclusive, honest and
elevates every community to have the tools and resources to research,
preserve, acknowledge, and celebrate history. Historic preservation helps
support the City with its carbon neutrality goals by preserving the
upfront embodied
carbon, which is the
energy it took to harvest, manufacture, and ship building materials that
make up these properties.The new office includes the Boston
Landmarks Commission and the City
Archaeology Program. The Boston Landmarks Commission and the ten local historic
district commissions are volunteers nominated from professional
organizations and neighborhood groups specified in each commission’s
legislation. There are over 8,000 properties designated as individual
Landmarks or located within Boston’s local historic districts.
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