Brighton Allston Historical Society: The Urban Renewal of Barry's Corner

Brighton Allston Historical Society: The Urban Renewal of Barry's Corner

In the early 1960s, a 9.3 acre, 71-family Irish and Italian neighborhood on the northeast corner of N. Harvard St. and Western Ave. was declared blighted by the City of Boston to make room for a more expensive development. The residents lost, the neighborhood was demolished, the luxury complex was never built -- a vintage 1969 townhouse complex was built instead -- but the neighborhood's protests had an impact.

I used to pass this corner on the way from home to Harvard Yard. Harvard's business school and stadium are nearby, and there are plans for future campus expansion, including the redevelopment of the now abandoned Charlesview Apartments that replaced Barry's Corner neighborhood.

"The BRA's plan called for the demolition of the existing 52 structures, and the construction on the cleared acreage (by well-connected developers), of a $4.5 million ten-story, 372 unit luxury apartment building, to be paid for largely with federal money. The BRA contended that the Barry's Corner structures were blighted, a charge the residents hotly disputed. The authority also noted that the existing neighborhood was yielding the city relatively little tax revenue. The proposed luxury complex would pay $150,000 as compared to the $15,000 the Barry's Corner properties were contributing. The BRA assured the public that 'every effort is being made to assure that the residents now living in the area are provided with suitable new homes.'

"Barry's Corner residents were understandably outraged. The BRA was proposing to obliterate an entire neighborhood, to seize and demolish private homes, so that luxury housing could be constructed, and to pay for this questionable project with public revenues."

MORE about the history of Barry's Corner in the Harvard Crimson.