OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
DESIGN ISSUES

Click here for map and orthophoto

Click here for data from census tract 1104.01. (From U.S. 2000 Census).

OWNERSHIP:
Healy Playground: City of Boston Department of Parks and Recreation
Flaherty Pool/ Community Center: Boston Community Centers (BCC)/ Boston Centers for Youth and Families

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CONDITIONS:
This section of Roslindale is defined by Washington Street to the west, by Healy Playground in the midst of the area, and by Roslindale Village to the southwest. The northernmost part of this neighborhood could also be considered part of the Archdale area.

Healy Playground and Flaherty Community Center:
Healy Playground covers 9.63 acres and is one of the largest playgrounds in the Heart of the City. Flaherty Pool, tot-lot, and community center are within the same enclosure as Healy Playground. After years of disuse, Flaherty Pool underwent $140,000 of renovations and was reopened in 1996. The pool deck and drains were repaired and fans were installed. At about this same time, the tot-lot was redesigned and new play equipment was installed at a cost of $86,300.

Healy Playground has three well-kept softball/ baseball diamonds, a basketball court, and an open area appropriate for other field sports (the baseball fields were renovated at a cost of $52,000 around 1995). Twelve sets of lights tower over the fields. Youth in the neighborhood use the fenced basketball court, even in the winter, into the night. Flaherty Community Center is complete with a pool, locker rooms, and a meeting area. The tot-lot is a small space with basic play equipment for young children.

Residential areas:
Healy Playground and the community center are ringed by triple-decker homes, intermixed with a number of two- family homes. East and northeast of the playground are dense residential complexes, including Florence Apartments and the more upscale Dale Village condominiums.

The Florence Apartments create a long, almost unbroken line of buildings along one edge of the playground. Illegal dumping has been a recurrent issue in the vicinity of the Florence Apartments. A commuter rail along Hyde Park Avenue defines the eastern edge of the neighborhood. Children throughout the lower Washington neighborhood make extensive use of the playground and pool, including children living at the Archdale Village public housing development. During the summer months, the pool is filled with children, even in the early morning hours.

South of the playground, the neighborhood becomes significantly less densely populated, with mostly single- and two-family homes. Trees line the streets and small home gardens are found scattered throughout the neighborhood. There are virtually no vacant lots in this section of Roslindale. Residents live with close accessibility to Roslindale Village and the range of public facilities in that area, including another community center, a library, post office, medical clinic, public square, and of course stores and restaurants.

Also located in this area is the Rogerson complex at the former Roslindale High School on Florence Street. The building was vacant between 1976 and 1987 before Rogerson Communities renovated it to provide subsidized senior housing and office space.

The Roslindale Baptist Church and the Roslindale Congregational Church (both of which are on Cummins Highway) are local landmarks with classic bell towers that are visible from Roslindale Square and throughout the surrounding neighborhood. Finally, Sumner Elementary School lies in the midst of the neighborhood in a maze of one-way streets, where parking and access are difficult.  

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CONTEXT:
According to the 2000 Census, the community immediately north, east, and slightly south of Healy Playground has 44.6% white residents and 25.9% black/ African American residents, and 38.6% Hispanic residents.

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DESIGN ISSUES:
Congestion in the neighborhood around Roslindale Village reaches a peak when school lets out at the Sumner Elementary School on Basile Street. During this time, a crossing guard directs traffic at the intersection of Basile, Washington, and South Streets. Buses have a difficult time navigating the narrow residential roads and traffic in the neighborhood comes to a stand still.

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