It was a shock to learn last fall that the Nazzaro Community Center–a beautiful feature of Boston’s oldest neighborhood–is no longer wanted by the city government that built it so proudly, over a century ago. We are fighting to ensure this iconic building’s survival, amid the rising steel and glass skyscrapers that now dominate the Boston landscape.
An inspiring vision of what the historic Nazzaro building could become has been created for us by the Boston Architectural College. See their designs here: NAZZARO BAC Report While preserving the much-admired Renaissance Revival exterior, these architects imagined a gorgeous new community auditorium, replacing the indoor basketball court, since a new one is being built on the waterfront. They would also add a kitchen, which would enable community meals and celebrations.
We hope the BAC proposals will become the starting point for negotiations as we meet with our political leaders in September, after the summer break. The cost-conscious designs were created for free, as a public service, by Boston Architectural College. Working with our Save the Nazzaro coalition, they consulted North End senior groups, the North End Waterfront Music and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC), the North End Waterfront Residents Association (NEWRA) and other community stakeholders, to envision the building’s future uses.
The city of Boston, which built the elegant North Bennet Street building in 1906 to serve as a public bath house, has not agreed yet to finance any renovations. Instead, political officials want to focus only on building the new $30 million North End community center on the waterfront, next to the Mirabella swimming pool. We do appreciate the city’s plan to build a new community center! But more than 1,400 signatures on two petitions show that this should not mean giving up our red brick gathering place in the heart of the North End.
The Mayor pledged in public on June 4 (skip to 13:45 on the video) that he will work with our community to find a good future for the Nazzaro building, even after all the city’s programs move out. We applauded his promise not to build condos there. And yet… there is still reason to be concerned. The mayor’s chief of operations announced in April that the city will “surplus” the Nazzaro building as soon as the new community center is built on the waterfront! The mayor has not cancelled this plan. He wants someone else to pay for keeping up this culturally significant landmark and putting it to unknown uses.
We won’t be able to relax until the moment when he 1) signs the Landmark petition to preserve the exterior and Polcari playground in front 2) authorizes the city to upgrade the building inside, and 3) ensures that some community programs will continue in this central location. Much work lies ahead, over many months, to persuade Mayor Walsh, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and City Councilor Lydia Edwards to make this happen.
We remain hopeful that we will find a way. Please stay tuned for new developments. We will invite you to attend future meetings, and help us to make the case for saving the Nazzaro building as a beautiful and vibrant community resource. We are deeply appreciate of the support we have gotten so far, including the special contributions from the Boston Architectural College team.
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