Monday, January 3, 2011

To save or not to save

The Globe reports on the demolition of the East Boston Immigration Station, located on the harbor waterfront. The site was open from 1920 to 1959 to process and detain immigrants, but was relegated to use as storage by various entities after that. Massport now owns the structure, which was denied protection by the city's landmarks commission.

A couple weeks ago the Globe had a story on historic sites in the neighborhood that would be protected. The groups involved will release a report this month "intended to provide a roadmap for future redevelopment." One site recommended for preservation is the First Presbyterian Church (in photo, courtesy of Boston.com).

Update (7:15 p.m.): A Boston.com blog post advocates preservation of the immigration station.

1 comment:

Jocelyn said...

I've heard a lot about the stairs leading from the immigration center to the street. Are these stairs accessible to the public?

Unfortunately, the building looks fairly demolished already. It would probably cost a lot of money to preserve it to the level that would allow people to tour it.