archBOSTON ARCHIVE

[Ron Newman]

I thought someone else would have posted this by now.

Structural disrespect

By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist | May 19, 2006

This would not happen in Back Bay, what you're about to read. It wouldn't happen on Beacon Hill or in any of the mostly white, wealthy suburbs that surround the city.

It wouldn't happen because the residents wouldn't allow it, because state officials wouldn't even try it. But in Dorchester, those officials figured they'd give it a whirl.

So they announced in a couple of lines buried deep inside a recent newsletter that, by the way, we're about to tear down the massive colonnade at the entrance to the Franklin Park Zoo.

Of course. Demolish the colonnade. Why not? It's merely one of the most enduring architectural icons in all of Boston and certainly one of the most graceful sights in Dorchester. For 87 years, anyone who's walked in and out of the front gates of the city zoo has steered around it, stared up at it, marveled at the eight soaring columns, the graceful lines.

From the street, it looks like a remnant of ancient Rome. Awash in soft light at night, it makes a bold statement that despite the not-so-distant sounds of gunfire, despite the heavy grates on the windows of nearby stores, there is urbanity and culture even in this corner of town.

But not for long. Officials said the only thing keeping the colonnade standing is the high cost of tearing it down, which they hope to resolve soon.

The zoo property is owned by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, funded through the state office of Economic Development, and managed by a quasi-public agency. If it seems confusing, it's because it is.

The stately columns ''have exceeded their projected life and are becoming unstable," said John Linehan, chief executive of Zoo New England. ''They can't be salvaged. The experts all got together and said they can't be fixed."

Linehan, by all accounts, is a good guy doing a good job, even if the old Docktor Pet stores had more exotic animals than the Franklin Park Zoo has now. Ask for the elephant exhibit, and workers point you toward Providence.

But the zoo was underfunded long before Linehan got there, and the colonnade, built for the original Custom House downtown and moved to Franklin Park in 1917, has been neglected for decades. It really is crumbling, really is a health hazard. Age and acid rain have taken a toll.

''The cast concrete is falling apart, and the marble is melting away," said Ivan Myjer, a restoration specialist hired by the zoo to evaluate the colonnade.

But does that really mean it should be destroyed and not replaced?

I called the mayor on it; it was the first he had heard of the plan.

''For them to say it's unsafe, that's another way of them saying, 'We don't want to spend money,' " he railed. ''That's typical of the DCR. They don't know how to maintain their infrastructure. That's a disgrace."

Menino added, ''I'll fight that tooth and nail. It's got to go before [the Boston] Landmarks [Commission]. I'll be up there."

His problem, unbeknownst to him, is it already had gone before the commission -- last month. And the commissioners approved it.

A few hours after we spoke, Menino sent a sternly worded letter to Linehan insisting that the demolition money be used to develop an alternative plan.

An obvious idea: Rebuild the columns. Myjer estimated that would cost ''a couple of million" dollars. As I said, if that structure were in Copley Square, it wouldn't even be a close call.

That gets to the larger point: Is this racist? I posed this question to state Senator Dianne Wilkerson, who represents the area, and her answer was more nuanced than I expected.

''It's often an unconscious double standard," she said. ''It's about no one in the room feeling compelled, willing to go to the mat to fight for this. But this one is crazy. It should be a city treasure."

It is crazy. Destroying the colonnade sends an awful messge. And unconsciously or not, it is racist. Someone needs to stop the wrecking ball now.

Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at mcgrory@globe.com.

[PaulC]

If this is Boston then always pull out the race card. Guaranteed results.

[Ron Newman]

I think it has less to do with race and more to do with the immediate neighborhood being poor and not well-organized politically. If this gate faced towards Jamaica Plain, the outcry would be loud and immediate.

[cityrecord]

I don't think it has anything to do with race either--after all, go to the zoo and see who the visitors are. Mostly suburban folks as far as I can tell.

My own take is that Boston (and the State, which has the responsibility for the columns) significantly undervalues history that doesn't fit into the Freedom Trail/American Revolution narrative so the history the columns represent is disposable.

[Bowwest]

Isn't the ether statue in the Public Garden about to undergo a multi-million dollar renovation?

[briv]

Until someone posts a better photo, here are the columns in question -- courtesy of Windows Live Local: