Allston Corners Hidden Drama Essay -- Journalism Essays

Allston Corner's Hidden Drama Site of '60s homeowners rebellion may become the next Harvard Square Except for the occasional group of teenagers furtively smoking in front of the 7-Eleven, no one spends much time in Allston’s Barry’s Corner. Bordered by gas stations, loading docks, and an uninviting concrete apartment complex, the intersection of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue is a place to speed through before the light changes. Chris Fazio, an Allston resident and employee at the nearby Harvard Business School, always tries to walk through Barry’s Corner as quickly as possible. He describes it as a â€Å"soul-crushing urban wasteland† that â€Å"always looks dirtier than it is. You get the impression that it was just thrown together and abandoned,† he said. â€Å"It’s depressing.† But it wasn’t always this way. It used to be a place that people fought to save. In 1961, the owners of the 52 houses that once made up Barry’s Corner were shocked to learn on the news that their neighborhood would be sacrificed to urban renewal, according to Thomas O’Connor’s book â€Å"Building a New Boston.† Calling the area â€Å"blighted,† the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) planned to demolish it to make way for a luxury apartment complex, O’Connor wrote. Residents rebelled against the plans – at one point even arming themselves with brooms and shovels to chase away a BRA appraisal team – but they only delayed the inevitable for a few years. The city agreed to switch the new development to moderate income housing, but the character of Barry’s Corner was irrevocably changed. Now, after nearly 40 years, Barry’s Corner is once again being eyed for a makeover. Located between Harvard Business School and the university’s recently purchas... ...e police department is better prepared to serve the residents of the neighborhoods,† he said in an e-mail. Across the highway in North Allston, the nightlife is much quieter. Few undergraduates live in the neighborhood and the Harvard Business School graduate students have little time for raucous keg parties. Will it be different fifty years from now? As BU students flock to the bars and restaurants on Harvard and Brighton Avenues in South Allston, the sidewalks are empty in Barry’s Corner. Soon the number 66 bus pulls up, dislodging a handful of commuters. They step gingerly over the puddles flanking the wide streets. The kids are back in front of the 7-Eleven, but they don’t linger long. It’s hard to picture this corner changing. Will future Allstonians ever care enough again about Barry’s Corner to fight for its survival? Only time will tell.