Nice article and nicely written.

You mention the professional landscaping accomplished in the '90s; have there been any major rehabs to apartment interiors?

As usual your article stimulated more questions about Charlestown's history. Prior to the influx of people of color moving into the projects were most of the project's residents from Ireland? The other question is - who was the architect for the Tobin Bridge, do you know?

Hi Lydia -- thanks for all of the great info. And for the historic photographs. They're fantastic.

Happy to hear about improvements to buildings, especially installation of energy-efficient appliances in apartments. Savings in water usage alone is almost worth the investment. Thanks for the follow=up.

While it is great to hear about the improvements being made here in CTown at the BHA, I feel it is yet another lost opportunity to give the Charlestown BHA residents what they deserve and what every other section of the City of Boston has received---a complete reconstruction of the development. I just returned from driving to/from Hyde Park and drove past several developments that have been knocked down and rebuilt over the past few years. It has happened in Eastie(mutliple times), Southie (multiple times), Roxbury, Roslindale, Dorchester (multiple times)...the list grows. Yet, Charlestown continuously gets renovations---just enough to keep it afloat. Can the BHA answer why the Ctown development does not get the complete reconstruction that the other neigborhhod have received ? Is it too big? Do we not have the political "pull"? I thinkthis is a legitimate question that should be answered.

I would like to reply to Jason regarding why the Charlestown development has not been completely redeveloped, as have some other Boston Housing Authority Developments. It is a legitimate question. You are correct when you ask if the size impacts the possibility of redeveloping the Charlestown development. Because of the size, it would take approximately $400 million to redevelop this development. The BHA developments that have received complete reconstruction (with the exception of West Broadway; a state funded development and the first phase of Old Colony, which received funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) have been awarded federal funding through the HOPE VI program, a highly competitive grant program that provides a housing authority with funding to embark on a private/public partnership that allows it to redevelop a site and completely rebuild the housing. Over the years, the HOPE VI program has been cut back and the highest award is now about $20 million, not nearly enough to redevelop Charlestown. A redevelopment of this size would have to be phased over many years with no guarantee that the funding would be there to complete the redevelopment effort. There are also a number of considerations regarding providing housing/relocation for existing residents if such an effort were to be undertaken.

It also had allot to do with the condition of Bunker Hill Projects. Most of the other ones mentioned were totally worn out and in need of replacement or extensive re-construction. I was involved with the Architectural / interior / landscape work done in the early 90's. We surveyed most of the units and considering the then 60+ year time line, they were in decent shape. I always thought this was a great compliment to the residents. Having lived there (25 Corey Street) as a teenager I also had a good feel for the development 'on the ground', and in the 'Courtyards'. Things always seemed cared for and well looked after when I was there (85' - 88). I can't really speak to what things are like now.

I think a more mixed income development like what was done over at Harbor Point (Columbia Point) in Dorchester would work well. Possibly knock down every next building and replace the lost density with wood-framed houses similar to what we have in town already at say, 75 % of the density that is there now. Combine this with a more Coherent Landscaping plan. Another way to improve the area would be to restore the pre-existing street grid and extend lexington / Concord / etc. Streets down to Medford Street.

From an e-mail to PATCH from a Townie now living out-of-state: 'Loved the column about the Bunker Hill projects, and especially enjoyed the old photos. I lived in the projects for many years, most of behind St. Catherine’s Church. We used to call that part Tuna Park.

Thanks for the memories…. '

Thank you.

An e-mail from a PATCH reader: "I am curious about an old brick abandoned building in the Navy Yard. It is on Tudor Wharf and has "New England Distributing & Warehouse Company" printed on its side. Years ago there seemed to be some activity there. Would it be possible to investigate this site and write an article on it?"

An e-mail comment just came in: "I was looking for stories on other Boston projects and I came across yours. One of the key things about these places is 1) the prison look and 2) the high density. It is no wonder that these places are such disasters for growing up and living there. The density is the real problem. Think about the typical suburbian home which is 4-6 homes per acre. So maybe 15 kids or so within this acre. Now take a project like Bunker Hill, where it has 1000 units packed into a few blocks. These poor kids are stuck living on top of each other which has plenty of issues including the gang problem where there are too many kids packed into a small area. It seems from a policy perspective that the city could spread people all over the city in small batches, buy up some of the deserted foreclosures among other things and separate families and individuals into small units. The large prison public housing structures have failed miserably which wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to foresee. The public housing units because of the density operate just like ghettos, only everyone lives in a uniform rental unit and there are central controls for the apartments. " (edited for space allowed)

Are there any ghosts there?

I AM TRYING TO FIND SOME INFORMATION ABOUT AN ACCIDENT AT THE PROJECT AROUND 1949/50 WHEN A GIRL WALKING THE 2X4 OF THEPICKET FENCE, WHICH WAS THEN THE FENCE OF CHOICE AT THE PROJECT, FELL AND WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED WHEN SHE STRADDLED THE FENCE AND HAD SEVERE INTERNAL INJURIES. THAT IS WHEN THE FENCES WERE REPLACED WITH THE CURRENT TYPE.

I LIKE YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT CHARLESTOWN, THAT IS WHERE I SPENT THE FIRST 13YRS OF MY LIFE AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW IT IS DOING NOW.

This request came via e-mail: "I'm looking for pictures of Sprague Street Charlestown before the housing project was built. Lived there in the '30s and 40's." Any suggestions where this reader might look?