CREDIT: Courtesy of Neshamkin French Architects, Inc

CAPTION: An artist’s rendering of the development proposed for 75 West School St.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved a residential development proposed for the current home of the Knights of Columbus Hall at 75 West School St., Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced last week.
“I’m happy to see that this project is moving forward – the addition of 99 new units of housing is great for Charlestown and the project is an attractive re-use of this site,” Menino said. “The successful use of the development review process helped shape this project and ultimately make it a better one for the neighborhood.”
The seven-story, Federal-style brick building has an estimated cost of $30 million and will contain 99 residential units, 13 of which will be designated as affordable housing. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2008 and be completed by the end of 2009.
The development team of Boston attorney Bruce Daniel and Jack French, president and principal of Monument Square-based Neshamkin French Architects, Inc., are also planning several modifications to the site, including a new tot lot in the rear of the building, a public park at the front of the building on the corner of West School Street and Old Rutherford Avenue and a path along the Phipps Burial Ground that will provide improved public access to the site.
The original proposal included 111 units and had a maximum height of nine stories, but the developers agreed to reduce the overall scope of the project after meeting with representatives of the Charlestown Preservation Society Design Review Committee in early September.
“The project was enhanced and improved by the community process,” French said.
Despite the smaller scale of the revised proposal, the project still drew criticism from some Charlestown Neighborhood Council members at a Sept. 24 meeting co-sponsored by the CNC Development Committee and the BRA. Among the concerns they cited were parking provisions and height restrictions, since the project would exceed the 35-foot limit now in place for the neighborhood.
Still, French believes the development will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood that would recall the days of “old” Charlestown.
“I hope the project acts to extend the look and feel of Main Street on the New Rutherford Avenue edge,” he said. “The goal is to restore the look and feel of historic Charlestown to this Urban Renewal parcel.”
Like French, Daniel was also encouraged by the latest step in the approval process.
“It’s a significant step because the BRA is the planning agency for the city,” he said.
Daniel added the city’s Board of Appeals would review the project at a hearing in early March, marking the final step in the city’s approval process. The project will also be the subject of ongoing design review by the BRA until that time, he said.
Meanwhile, the Knights of Columbus plans to relocate to a new facility at 545 Medford St.

Parish mission:
St. Mary – St. Catherine of Siena is an urban, Roman Catholic parish formed in 2006 from two historic Charlestown parishes. We are an intentionally inclusive community welcoming all of the many people who make up our diverse neighborhood. Because our lives are nourished by the Eucharist, we strive to build a vibrant parish that develops and strengthens our faith and worship. With a goal of being community-oriented in the spirit of the gospel, we are involved in the local and global issues of our times. We are therefore dedicated to service, action and compassion.

Announcement:
As we all begin the new year with plans, goals and resolutions, so too must our parish look forward to another new beginning.
It has been almost two years since two historic parishes were combined to form St Mary -St. Catherine of Siena Parish. During that time, we have made tremendous strides toward becoming one community of faith. Building on our success and consistent with our mission of being an inclusive church committed to building a vibrant community-oriented parish, the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council have recommended to Father Ronan that our united parish worship in one location – St. Mary’s Church. Accordingly, we will close St. Catherine of Siena Church building. Fr. Ronan has accepted this recommendation.
This monumental decision was not reached lightly or without great difficulty. The Parish Pastoral and Finance councils, including a small group composed of members of each council, met and deliberated over the course of several months on the pastoral and financial issues presented by the fact that our parish has two church buildings. At the conclusion of that process, the councils did recommend that the parish close St. Catherine’s Church building. Please be assured that the closing will not affect the social ministry services currently provided from the St. Catherine of Siena campus.
Beginning on the week of Feb. 11, St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena parishioners will celebrate all Masses in St. Mary’s Church building. Daily Mass will continue in the chapel on Winthrop Street.
The last Masses at St. Catherine’s Church building will be celebrated the weekend of Feb. 9 -10. On that Saturday, we will celebrate the regular Mass at 4 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 10, the parish will celebrate one Mass at 11 a.m. There will not be any other Masses celebrated that day in St. Mary – St. Catherine of Siena parish. Following the special 11 a.m. Mass, all are welcomed to gather in St. Catherine’s Hall for refreshments.
On Sunday, Jan. 20,, at 2 p.m., you are invited to an open forum in St. Catherine of Siena lower church to talk with members of the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Council and Father Ronan about the church building closing.
We believe the parish has made remarkable progress toward unity. This latest step will make our parish spiritually and fiscally stronger. We will better be able to meet the challenges and opportunities facing us and better be able to fulfill our parish Mission.

To the people of the one-square mile that we know and love: In February, my church, Saint Catherine of Siena, will close.
When our ancestors emigrated from Ireland and other countries, they found it hard to be accepted. In storefronts, there were signs that read “No Irish need apply,” and riots broke out, one of which led to the burning of the Ursuline Convent in Charlestown. But our ancestors made Charlestown their home, street by street, house by house. This became our town, where we celebrated our culture, spoke our native tongue and created everlasting traditions. Charlestown was home to the second Catholic church in all of Massachusetts, Saint Mary’s. When our ancestors came here, the only thing they had that kept them going was their faith. It was the only thing in America that they could claim was theirs. As years went on, we built three vibrant Catholic parishes, we had a tight-knit community, traditions that would hopefully never end and our own unique culture in America and Boston.
But as 2008 arrived, I realized that traditions are disappearing, culture is being lost and that once tight-knit community is breaking and now forming a committed community made up of old and new residents. I am not old enough to remember the “old” Charlestown, but I hear stories about it all the time — stories of when the Bunker Hill Day Parade was the biggest day for Charlestown, with parties in every house and everyone filled with pride and happiness. Now, on the beloved parade days, I see fewer parties, fewer American flags waving in the crowd and streets that barely have any spectators. I hear stories of mothers, 400 deep, praying the rosary on Bunker Hill Street and marching against forced busing, marching for the love of their children and a cause that was worth fighting for in their eyes. I hear stories of the whole town watching Charlestown High’s football games, how Charlestown had the most pubs and sent the most people to World War II than any other one square-mile town in America. Other stories tell of looping, the Charlestown Rose, Ancient Orders of Hibernia, the Knights of Columbus, funeral marches with Irish women wailing, Saint Catherine’s “little Townies color guard,” mothers sitting on the stoop, CYO meets, stores and pubs that are gone, stories of the Bunker Hill Hillbillies and the Majestic Knights, tournaments and memorial services and, most of all, packed Masses.
When I was in eighth grade, I started an organization called FACES – Fill A Church Every Sunday. This was when Saint Catherine of Siena Parish was supposed to close (before it merged with Saint Mary’s). I was desperate and I wanted to save my parish, my church and my faith. I went from door to door in Charlestown; I got doors slammed in my face by people whom I knew, people who did not bother to answer and others that really did not care about church. I asked people to come to church and told them that my goal was to invite people to church and have them invite other people in order to fill a pew and, eventually, a church. I told them the Mass schedules at Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Mary’s and Saint Catherine of Siena. People used excuses such as: “I have a hockey game to go to,” “It is too far,” “I don’t have time,” “It is boring” and “I have to watch my television show.” My argument was all the hours of the Masses were spread over different hours of both Saturday and Sunday, so maybe you can make time. “Why can’t people spend an hour with God?” I thought to myself. I eventually gave up and lost hope. I was sad because this was a tradition that had been going on in the world for 2,000 years, a symbol of hope for our ancestors when they came here. This was our ancestors’ blood and sweat being thrown out the window.
I yearn for that old sense of community. I yearn for that tight-knit community, I yearn for those disappearing traditions, and I yearn for the culture we bestow upon ourselves. How can a shamrock be the town’s symbol when no one goes to church anymore? Do people forget what the shamrock symbolizes? Do people know why they’re wearing a Townie sweater with a big shamrock on it? Well, if you’ve forgotten what it symbolizes, here it is: Saint Patrick used the shamrock to show the Irish the sacred Trinity, three in one, one in three. The shamrock will be a tradition that will live on forever and a sacred symbol that represents Ireland and our faith.
To the People of Charlestown: WAKE UP! We are losing traditions and culture that we created and fought for. New traditions are being created, which I hope never die. But we must keep our old traditions going and teach them to future generations and future neighbors, because without the memory of the past, we are nothing. Traditions, such as passing a church or hearing an ambulance and then making the sign of the cross, hearing the church bells ring and not complaining or even simply going to church, are essential. These traditions are what make us who we are, a people who lived here for generations, a people who have just moved here, a people often misunderstood and put down, a people who fight for what they believe in, a people who have strong traditions and a historic past, a people who call themselves Townies and a people who live in a diverse, vibrant, urban and tight-knit community. We (old and new residents) know what it means to be from Charlestown. There is always a sense of pride and comfort in your heart. But we need to keep traditions going — keep the faith, keep the community and keep our culture, as well as share it.
As much as I do not want Saint Catherine’s to close, as much as I want to fight to keep it open, I know it is for the better. I am grateful for memories like Fr. Coyne’s Charlie Brown robes, midnight and six o’clock masses, CYO meets, shows and all the memories from Charlestown Catholic. I hope that I am able to raise my children in a town with never-ending traditions, with the people whom I knew when I was growing up and the new residents, and that sense of a tight-knit, diverse and unique community. I invite you all to attend mass at either St. Mary-Saint Catherine of Siena churches or Saint Francis de Sales Church. I invite you, Charlestown – both old and new residents, to keep the tradition of going to Mass alive. I invite you to keep other traditions alive and even though our neighborhood is changing before our eyes – to give new neighbors a warm welcome to “God’s country” and pass/share our traditions on to them.
I extend a warm welcome to the people of Charlestown to celebrate the last Mass of Saint Catherine of Siena Church on Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. (There will only be one mass for Saint Mary-Saint Catherine of Siena Parish on that Sunday). Join the people of Saint Catherine’s in tears, laughter and hopefulness, even if you are from a different church. I hope that through out the years the “spirit of Saint Catherine’s” will live on forever in this town. I also hope that more people keep the tradition of celebrating the Eucharist alive. Let us be united in Christ and united in Charlestown, and let us show our ancestors that we did not give up on the faith they once had.


Sean Boyle is a 16-years-old Charlestown native and a junior at BC High.

Liam Harris, age 2, is seen placing the head on the snowman he and his father Jeff Harris made this morning near the Bunker Hill Monument.

As the new First Justice of Charlestown division of the Boston Municipal Court, Michael Bolden realizes that he is now an employee of one of the most distinguished courthouses in the state.
“I’m realizing the tremendous historical significance of the court itself, which was the first sitting of the Supreme Judicial Court in the Commonwealth,” he said. “Therefore, it’s an institution and a building that should be something of pride to the people of Charlestown and the Commonwealth.”
Born in Philadelphia in 1953, Bolden was raised in Cherry Hill, N.J., and graduated from Cherry Hill High School (now known as Cherry Hill High School West) in 1971. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Bates College of Lewiston, Maine, in 1975 and his law degree from Suffolk Law School three years later.
Afterwards, Bolden completed a one-year clerkship with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals — a role in which he did research for judges and helped draft their opinions. A stint with the D.C. Department of Labor followed, which found Bolden as a trial attorney representing mine inspectors for its Mines, Safety and Health Administration out of Arlington, Va.
“Mining is such an inherently dangerous occupation that mine owners have a set of rules and regulations they must follow that are promulgated by the Department of Labor,” Bolden said. He added that the division is similar to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Health & Safety Administration, only it’s specific to the mining industry.
Bolden returned to Boston in 1982 and began his tenure as assistant district attorney for Middlesex County. From 1984 to 1990, he served as the City of Boston’s assistant corporation counsel and the chief of its Civil Rights and Public Safety Bureau. In this role, he represented city employees and officials who were charged with civil rights violations in state and federal court.
In 1990, Bolden was named the assistant U.S. attorney for the Major Crimes Unit and prosecuted crimes ranging from drug charges to violations by postal inspectors. Two years later, he became the chief of district courts for the Suffolk Court District Attorney’s office and was responsible for overseeing all the assistant district attorneys assigned to the county’s district courts.
By 1997, Bolden was working as the executive assistant district attorney for Norfolk County. He was later named undersecretary of public safety for the Commonwealth under then-Gov. Paul Cellucci.
Sept. 11, 2001 brought another career change for Bolden when he was put in charge of the state’s anti-terrorism efforts. As he was driving to his office near the State House, Bolden learned that the second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Later that day, he met with elected officials and the heads of public safety at the underground bunker in Framingham and helped them draft an emergency response.
Afterwards, Bolden oversaw the juvenile justice agency for the state’s Department of Youth Services. In 2005, he was appointed associate justice of the Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court.
Today, Bolden hopes to make the Charlestown court more accessible to the community. He recently held a small reception for Charlestown Substance Abuse Coalition members in his lobby and swore Charlestown resident Melissa Doherty into the Massachusetts Bar during a private ceremony at the courthouse.
“These are the types of activities the court should participate in and not just act as the town disciplinarian,” Bolden said. “I want the court to be a resource for the community, not just the place where people go to get sent to jail.”

Super Duck Excursions recently finalized a deal to purchase the assets of the Discover Boston trolley tour company, according to Super Duck Excursions spokesman Lanny Johnson.
Discover Boston, which has been in existence for several years, offers “a two-hour, fully narrated tour that covers over 100 points of interest in Boston, Cambridge, the Freedom Trail, Back Bay and Charlestown,” according to the company’s Web site. The acquisition cost in excess of $1 million and includes licenses for seven tour vehicles. Discover Boston will be re-branded Super Trolley Tours, Johnson said.
This acquisition is intended to complement the 1-year-old, Autoport-based Super Duck Excursions, and, together the companies will be known as Super Tours, Johnson said. Dennis Kraez, president of Autoport-based Diversified Automotive and general manager of Super Duck Excursions, will head up Super Tours.
Patrons of Super Duck Excursions will receive a complimentary ticket for Super Trolley Tours and vice versa. The Super Trolley Tours route will include a stop at the Super Duck Excursions loading area at Baxter Street in the Navy Yard for customers’ convenience, Johnson said, adding that it will also serve to significantly reduce traffic in the Navy Yard.
In addition, Super Tours has entered into an agreement with Cambridge-based Double Decker Bus Tours, whereby all of its patrons will receive a free pass for Super Tours and vice versa.
Johnson said Super Trolley Tours recently sent letters to the principals of schools in the Greater Boston area, offering them tours for school children in the spring at a “deeply discounted rate.”
Super Trolley Tours has received regulatory approval from the state and municipalities and currently is in the process of repainting trolleys, evaluating existing staff and making the tour compatible with Super Duck Excursions, Johnson said.
“We expect this will take a couple of months,” Johsnson said.