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Old 08-21-2010, 11:32 PM
 
11 posts, read 28,707 times
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I have not lived in Dorchester in years . How is the White Church, St Peters, Mather School ,Ronan Park area ? I am planning a visit in September. Is it safe to visit ?
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Old 08-22-2010, 11:27 AM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,888 posts, read 13,825,930 times
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Only by driving through quickly with the car doors locked. Meetinghouse Hill has seriously gone down the tubes during the three decades I've been in Boston. When a shooting makes the papers just about every week you know that the place they occur isn't one you want to tarry in.
For a while that area was one of the next hot places to live. The three-deckas on Juliet St, Mt Ida Rd, etc were getting spiffed up and condo-converted. Urban pioneers fell over each other to buy handyperson-special houses closer to and at Fields Corner. But that was then (primarily the '80s) and this is now. Few of the "pioneers" remain. One of those who did was shot to death not long ago when he ran from his house to thwart a mugging. Ronan Park wouldn't be safe if an entire squadron of cops were assigned there 24-7.
So, go if you must - and I think you should. But make your trip down memory lane brief. And do NOT take Bowdoin St.
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Old 03-19-2014, 01:19 AM
 
11 posts, read 28,707 times
Reputation: 19
Goyguy it is three years and a half later did the area improve or implode more. I once lived in the area of the Mather School , White church, St Peters Church, Ronan Park area. I took your advice back then and only took the Google Earth tour the place looked basically the same. Is it improved ?
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Old 03-19-2014, 09:23 AM
 
2,440 posts, read 4,834,313 times
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Goyguy is, I think, unreliable on this subject--sour out of all proportion to reality, as if he'd lost money in the Betty Gibson promotion. Thousands of people live there, after all. I've bicycled all around there with no difficulties and had a pleasant conversation with a local lad right on the green by the First Church. The church, by the way, got money to restore its cupola. Unfortunately St Peter's lopped off its tower 30 years ago which ruins the architectural effect. At least the archdiocese hasn't closed the church as it did St Williams. Sad, though, when you think of the significance of St Peter's and Father Ronan in local Irish Catholic history.
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Old 03-19-2014, 05:14 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,888 posts, read 13,825,930 times
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I stand by my firsthand observations from before, except for recognizing that Meetinghouse Hill has become somewhat less of a hot spot for crime. Those looking for trouble are now more likely to find it around Geneva Ave and towards Four Corners. But a nighttime excursion still wouldn't be the wisest thing to do.
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Old 03-19-2014, 07:34 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,639,559 times
Reputation: 4798
Quote:
Originally Posted by goyguy View Post
Only by driving through quickly with the car doors locked. Meetinghouse Hill has seriously gone down the tubes during the three decades I've been in Boston. When a shooting makes the papers just about every week you know that the place they occur isn't one you want to tarry in.
For a while that area was one of the next hot places to live. The three-deckas on Juliet St, Mt Ida Rd, etc were getting spiffed up and condo-converted. Urban pioneers fell over each other to buy handyperson-special houses closer to and at Fields Corner. But that was then (primarily the '80s) and this is now. Few of the "pioneers" remain. One of those who did was shot to death not long ago when he ran from his house to thwart a mugging. Ronan Park wouldn't be safe if an entire squadron of cops were assigned there 24-7.
So, go if you must - and I think you should. But make your trip down memory lane brief. And do NOT take Bowdoin St.

That is plainly tragic about that activist urban pioneer.

Looking at the Live Google map, it seems unbelievable this same neighborhood is only blocks away from neighborhoods like Savin Hill that are in so much demand right now.
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Old 09-21-2015, 09:57 AM
 
7 posts, read 7,492 times
Reputation: 17
Default Meeting House Hill

Quote:
Originally Posted by Datadog View Post
Goyguy it is three years and a half later did the area improve or implode more. I once lived in the area of the Mather School , White church, St Peters Church, Ronan Park area. I took your advice back then and only took the Google Earth tour the place looked basically the same. Is it improved ?
Improved. YES! I live in Meeting House Hill. I work at Harvard University, love the easy commute, and the available street parking in my hood. And, who are the neighbors? Well, there's a surgeon living in the unit below me.And, heck, if Meeting House Hill is good enough for a Boston area surgeon, well it's good enough for me. Across the street lives a very friendly attorney and her professor husband. And, the list goes on... You should check out the plans for the neighborhood including dot block Dot Block | Boston Redevelopment Authority, which is slated to rise just down the street from Meeting House Hill. :

Please note that ALL of the negative comments are from people who DO NOT live in the neighborhood.
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