Before and After: How Tom Menino Changed Real Estate Development
You wouldn’t be able to recognize Boston in 1993, Menino’s first year as mayor.
For a guy who never claimed to be a grand visionary, Tom Menino certainly changed the face of Boston.
Let’s say you were to commandeer a DeLorean time machine, shift into reverse, and travel back to the Boston of 1993, the year Menino first became mayor. You would be in for quite a surprise, to say the least.
First stop, Boston’s Theater District, today a mix of high-end condo towers and restored theaters like the Paramount, which regularly features big musicals like Wicked or The Lion King.
The first thing you’ll notice in 1993 is that there are theaters all right, but not the kind you were prepared for. They go by names like the Pilgrim Theater, with lurid advertisements for X-rated fare inside, or, if you are looking for a little live entertainment, the Naked-I would be happy to oblige.
Confused, you ask a couple of college kids, clearly in high party mode, staggering out of something called Playland Café.
“Hey what happened to the Theater District?’’ you ask.
“Dude, what, are you from Idaho or something?’’ one of the kids replies. “You’re in the Combat Zone!’’
Pilgrim Theater in the Combat Zone on Washington St. in 1987.John Blanding/The Boston Globe
The Paramount Theater shown on Washington St. in 2012.Soe Lin/Flickr
Thoroughly rattled, you take a spin over to the Fenway Park in your time machine.
Today, a beautifully resorted Fenway is the centerpiece of a vibrant neighborhood of deluxe apartment towers, clubs and restaurants.
But the first thing you notice is that the apartment towers near the ballpark have vanished. There are also many parking lots and fast food joints – it looks like a bad imitation of a third-rung suburb.
You are in for another shock when you show up at the ballpark and find it is closed to the public. The owners aren’t in the habit of giving tours. John Henry and Tom Werner, who restored Fenway and broke the Curse of the Bambino, are still years in the future.
Still, a rather glum looking front office worker takes pity and gives you a tour of the park – after all, time travelers are pretty unusual.
There was big downpour the night before, he notes, pointing out flooded sections of the ballpark, which looks a lot older than when you last saw it during the 2014 season. There’s crumbling concrete, worn out chairs and an air of disrepair.
“We are probably going to have to tear this thing down and build a stadium,’’ he says. “Our engineering studies have shown Fenway can’t be saved.’’
Part of Fenway Park and surrounding neighborhoods pictured in 1991.The Boston Globe
The ballpark pictured in 2014.Val D’Aquila/Flickr
Thoroughly disorientated, you speed over to the Innovation District on Boston’s waterfront. Today it’s packed with offices, lab and apartment towers, not to mention the stunning Institute of Contemporary Art, a red brick Moakley Federal Courthouse, and the aircraft carrier-sized Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The first thing you notice is that there is no problem finding parking. In fact, parking is just about the only thing you can find.
What happened, you ask, as you stare at acres upon acres of windswept parking lots. Though Jimmy’s Harborside and Antony’s Pier 4 are there, back from the dead and drumming up a lively business, it’s mainly rotting piers and waterfront dives.
In fact, just a few hundred yards down Northern Avenue, where the federal courthouse should be, Whitey Bulger gunned down one of his many victims.
Everything you know from 2014 is gone. You are tempted to ask some burly guy emerging from a dockside bar what happened to the Innovation District, but then you decide it may not be a good idea.
Fan Pier, New England Fish Pier, and Black Falcon Pier pictured in 1995.The Boston Globe
Fan Pier shown in 2011.The Boston Globe
Instead, you jump back into your time machine and close your eyes. And then, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, you say three times: “I wish I were in Tom Menino’s Boston, I wish I were in Tom Menino’s Boston, I wish I were in Tom Menino’s Boston.’’
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