What does Bill Galvin know that the Boston Landmarks Commission doesn't?

By adamg on Tue, 10/06/2015 - 10:38pm

The Globe reports Secretary of State and Brighton resident Bill Galvin has managed to block construction of an apartment complex for veterans because it would mean demolishing some old buildings that neither the Boston Landmarks Commission nor the Brighton-Allston Historical Society say are important enough to save - especially since there are numerous clones of the buildings across the Northeast.

Neighborhoods:

Brighton

Topics:

Politics

Free tagging:

Development

Brighton Marine Health Center

Bill Galvin

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Comments

Is Anyone Suprised At This?

By John Costello
Tue, 10/06/2015 - 11:18pm

The best insult about Bill Galvin that I ever heard is that he still has notes on who beat him out for lead altar boy at St. Col's in the early 60's and will use this information to screw over that person some day.

You keep voting for the guy that sits on public records and holding up housing for vets. It's your fault voters.

This is unfortunate. Thought

By Muerl
Tue, 10/06/2015 - 11:32pm

This is unfortunate. Thought not that unexpected.

I am curious though, how else did St E's plan to get access to their ER? Though the Convent on the hill seems odd, as does up the hill and around from Warren?

infinite jest

By anon
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 12:46am

Brighton Marine is a little historic since it was featured in the novel Infinite Jest. I think one of the buildings they're planning on tearing down was a major setting in the book.

Hey Bill Galvin

By Will LaTulippe
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 1:21am

Rent rooms in your house out to veterans or shut the (expletive) up.

Why are you pulling this Menino crap? He's dead, and someday you'll die too, and then this will get built anyway. So why not live life not like a schmuck?

The real question

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 10:30am

Why does Galvin have any power to interfere with this situation whatsoever?

This is why some Western states set up statutory roadblocks to this sort of "royal" behavior, by design.

Prince of Darkness

By FlyingToaster
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 11:42am

... with that sobriquet, I do not intend to underestimate his power.

Oh, Bill

By JohnAKeith
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 1:31am

Bill Galvin: “I’m very protective of my community,” he said. “We have many historic sites there.”

You're the Secretary of State, not Secretary of Brighton.

Landmarks commission does the

By anon
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 6:58am

Landmarks commission does the bidding if the mayor. Think dainty dot - nothing to see here - or annihilation of an amazing neighborhood of factory buildings at the channel for the convention center - small chinatown is disappearing among massive glass scrapers. Hopefully the north end wont head that way too

As opposed to the Mass. Historical Commission?

By adamg
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 8:26am

Which never does the bidding of the Secretary of State?

Wasn't the convention center built on vacant land?

By Ron Newman
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 10:09am

I don't recall there being any continuation of the Fort Point Channel brick warehouse district towards the area where the Convention Center is now.

Tip Top Tomatoes was the best.

By John Costello
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 10:17am

It looked like the building that was just converted by Converse at Lovejoy Wharf. There was also the Boston Water & Sewer Commission, Colman Brothers Movers and others. There were a few 5 to 8 story buildings there. Not Boston Wharf Company built buildings, but industrial early 20th century buildings nevertheless. A few low slung ones as well.

Thanks for the correction

By Ron Newman
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 10:25am

If anyone has a map or photos of this area before the Convention Center, I'd love to see them. In my memory it's a big empty area, but I probably never had much reason to venture beyond the last brick warehouse.

tracks

By Saul
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 10:25am

Looks like it was mostly tracks. (From historicaerials.com)

[img]http://s14.postimg.org/ofc4gd54g/fortpoint.jpg[/img]

Thanks, that's helpful

By Ron Newman
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 11:04am

Looks like a fair number of industrial buildings were demolished on the east side of the convention center site, the D Street side. We'd need to see street-level shots to decide whether they were worthy of preservation instead of demolition.

street view

By Saul
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 11:05am

Google Street View doesn't go back to 1938 :)

but street photography does

By Ron Newman
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 11:07am

and some of it has been digitized. Perhaps we can find some of those photos. (We don't need 1938; 1988 will do fine.)

Boston Landmarks

By cw in boston
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 11:26am

deals with hundreds of requests. I've had a lot of experience going before them, and it is the commission that decides issues that are important enough to not be decided by the staff, i.e. new roofs, paint, etc. It can be time-consuming to go through the process, but I have never had the impression that these professionals compromise their opinions because of politics.

I would like to see evidence that they do the mayor's bidding.

So how about keeping the barracks but *not* replacing the parking? That would satisfy everyone -- Mass Historical and the developer.

It wouldn't satisfy everyone.

By anon
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 6:24pm

It wouldn't satisfy everyone. Brighton Marine needs the parking spaces.