Park Street Residents Share History of Vacant Lots

Over the course of the summer, BNCLT continued working with neighbors on Park Street in Dorchester to activate the vacant lot at 381 Park Street. In June, July, and August, we organized gatherings with neighbors to discuss what’s currently happening in the neighborhood, share food and local history, and begin envisioning the future of the vacant lot and the block.

A group of neighbors gathers to discuss community land trusts on Park Street in July 2022. 

In the words of one of the neighbors:

“[The vacant lot] brings some of the neighborhood who haven’t been coming together to be able to sit and talk and have a conversation and have fun and have a little fellowship together. As I said, fellowship means more than one person. Fellowship means talking and understanding each other, and where we are coming from, and where we would like to see what’s happening in the neighborhood.”

Interviewees gather to celebrate the completion of a booklet about the history of the Park Street vacant lots.

Throughout the summer, Louisa Winchell, a graduate student from Tufts, recorded oral history interviews with four former and current neighbors who have lived on the block the longest. She then designed the booklet titled “A History of Community Ownership at Park Street’s Vacant Lots,” which integrates quotes from interviewed residents alongside primary archival research and secondary source research. 

Passers-by add comments to response board at Park Street’s vacant lot. 

At the end of the summer, we gathered with the group of interviewees to share the booklet and celebrate the completion of the project. We also installed a sheltered response board in the vacant lot, inviting passers-by to add to, and reflect on, the vacant lot histories. We hope this booklet and the response board offers a platform for residents to work together to collect the history of the vacant lots on Park Street, and begin to envision the future of these spaces.

To read the booklet, “A History of Community Ownership at Park Street’s Vacant Lots,” click here.