A Brief History of Montgomery Park

Montgomery Park has been privately owned and managed by Park residents since its creation in 1867. The houses bordering the Park on Dartmouth, Montgomery and West Canton streets were built in the mid 1860’s by Eliphalet Baker, a dry goods merchant who purchased the block of land behind his residence at 607 Tremont. There is some evidence that Baker considered building 5-6 small frame houses in the Park area itself. Instead (fortunately!) in 1867, shares were offered by his widow for $12.50 a piece to the owners of the 36 buildings that surrounded the Park at that time. Proceeds from the sale of 538 shares, sold “for the care and ornament” of the Park, became a trust fund of $6,750, which probably ran out during the South End’s long rooming house era (c. 1890 to 1950). Today, the trust has been informally replaced by voluntary contributions from households that surround the Park, now numbering about 78 due to apartments and condominiums that have been added to the Park’s remaining 35 buildings.

The earliest known photograph of the Park¹ shows a formal space with elaborate wooden fences around the backyards and around the shared garden area. The Park is sparsely planted with grass, shrubs and young trees. In contrast, today’s photos show a profusion of plantings in a space that seems larger due to the blurring of lines between private yards and common areas. The paid gardener of the 19th century has been succeeded by a group of amateur volunteers who learn by doing and pass along what they learn to newcomers.

During the early to mid 20th century, the Park was neglected -- indeed referred to as an “alley.” It became a repository for demolition debris, abandoned cars and trash, with only a patch or two of surviving grass. The one-time garden was canopied by two large birch trees and an arching elm which succumbed to the Dutch elm beetle and had to be removed in 1969. The existing beech tree was slowly dying. A city trash truck entered the alley into the Park each week to collect trash from the metal garbage cans that residents kept behind their houses. By the end of the decade, the Park area was unfenced and many of the backyards were fenced with chain link and old wooden doors.

The Park began its transformation in the early 1970’s, when residents petitioned the City of Boston to end rear household trash pickups. The garden’s soil had become hardpan due to the trash trucks, and rain left a large puddle across the center. Gradually, due to the hard work and vision of a few neighbors (several of whom still live here!), trash was removed; a drainage ditch dug; loam wheelbarrowed in; grass sown and nurtured; and the beginnings of flower gardens and a vegetable patch created. Gates were added to the three entrances on Montgomery, Dartmouth and W. Canton Streets — and with this change, parents (there were many households with children at that time) began to think of the Park as a safe place for children to play and social gatherings began to occur.

In the 1980’s, the Park’s trees received their first professional care and the telephone company was prevailed upon to take down a half dozen poles and bury the lines. As shrubs and young trees were added, residents began to take down the fences along their yards so they could see the Park from ground level. Footpaths — and eventually brick (in some parts) -- replaced an unpaved alley around the perimeter. And in the early 1990’s, a few dedicated gardeners added more extensive flower beds, a large compost bin (recently replaced by a garden after a decade of use), and a fountain.

Today all residents enjoy the benefits of this shared treasure of an outdoor garden, quiet and privacy, all in the middle of the city. A resident who does some gardening in the Park expressed this appreciation: “It is surprising how few people it takes to make changes that all applaud. As we form small groups to rake leaves for compost or lay a path, we become friends. Now we share dinner tables in the evenings and compete for hammock time.”