OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
HISTORY
PLANNING PROCESSES

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OWNERSHIP: 
-- AK Media
-- Leased from 2002 to 2005 by Egleston Square Main Streets for $1 each year.

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CONDITIONS:
The garden is located on the busy corner of Washington Street and School Street in Jamaica Plain, across the street from the Egleston Square YMCA. It includes grassy areas, raised planters, gravel, young trees, and a multi-paneled mural entitled "Peace Throughout History." Students at Greater Egleston Community High School designed the mural and have been involved in other aspects of the development of the garden. The Egleston Square Neighborhood Association has organized twelve neighborhood groups to provide the garden with daily care. The soil is nourished by compost and plant material from the Department of Parks and Recreation, but the underlying quality of the soil is poor and possibly contaminated.

The site is already being used as a community gathering place, although in the summer of 2002 there are not sufficient places for a group to sit and talk. Plans for the garden continue to develop.

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HISTORY:
This site was previously a trash-strewn lot -- unproductive space that attracted crime and dumping. The idea for a "peace garden" in this location began in 1998 with students from Greater Egleston Community High School. The park was established to commemorate the young lives lost to violence in the Egleston Square area. It was built through a $26,576 grant from the Greater Boston Urban Resources Partnership.

The intersection of School Street and Washington Street has become a symbol both of the dangers of gang-related violence and the power of community to overcome those dangers. Local youth gang member Hector Morales was mortally wounded on that corner in 1990 in a shootout with two police officers. Morales' brother William then helped transform the same corner into a place of learning and community through his directorship of the Egleston Square YMCA.

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PLANNING PROCESSES:
At various times, Egleston Square Main Streets has discussed the possibilities of installing benches, fencing, a community bulletin board, a sculpture, and a bus shelter. Tentative plans for soil remediation are also in play.

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