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They say that the old must make way for the new. But sometimes it is terribly difficult to let go of the familiar, some of which may have been familiar throughout a lifetime.
Watching various structures go down these past few days in and around the Ball Square area was something of a gut wrenching sight for some. Others took it in stride in their acceptance of the inevitable. Either way, a dramatic sight it was.
Of course, it’s best to keep our eyes on the prize, bearing in mind that all the wreck and roar and hubbub is being done in the name of progress. The Green Line Extension will be a boon to our own community, as well as to our neighbors’.
And it’s not just the pain of watching our collective past crumble into dust that affects us. The traffic snarls and their resulting delays will present us with a tough road to follow along our way to a better future. Our only choice is to bite down and bear it as best we can.
While the long term gains may currently only remain a dim vision of grandeur, what happens today and in the days to come is readily in our eyes, ears, lungs, etc. There will be a lot of tumultuous activity, and we will watch with interest, and perhaps with a bit of nostalgic longing.
As time passes, we will witness the new supplanting the old. The great plans coming to life before our eyes. Let’s keep a positive outlook on what is to come. May it meet our expectations and then some.
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Why does progress always mean the destruction of our history? It seems that too many cities are “progressing” to the point where they are no longer recognizable. You can bet someone who’s been away from Somerville for a few years will come back and think they’ve arrived in the wrong city.
Why do tourists go to “historic” cities? Because those cities have a lot of buildings that have been around for centuries. Sure, Boston has its own historical places, but considering how huge the city is, they can afford to preserve those places, not to mention the fact that they’re making money through tourism for them.
Somerville should focus on what history it has, and promote it. Let people see what we have to offer that way, instead of always pushing the new. We can have a happy medium if people really want it.
They say “what’s old is new again”, so maybe at some point people will leave Somerville for the very reason that it’s “too” progressive, and move to a city that has a more traditional feel, because that will become popular again.
If I had my way, I would probably prefer to move to a town that has fewer people. Somerville used to be that kind of a city; now it just seems to be a clone of all those “progressive” cities. I cannot imagine bringing up a child here, that will someday have some place to look back on with nostalgia.
At least those of us who have been here for a long time can remember something about what used to be here. But now, there’s very little that will become memorable in the eyes of a child growing up here today.
My only benefit is that at my age, I have less time to watch the city disappear into “progress” than today’s children do.
Somerville is mostly gone now. it’s been replaced by higher income millennials who cycle through and couldn’t care less if the place is better off than when they found it. Move in, push out regular people, make demands on everyone else, drive up rents, and move onto to the next best opportunity when something pops up. i’ve seen it happen so many times now, it’s a broken record. Somerville has become the playground for the post college set. The rest of us are just trying to pay all the damn tax and fee hikes that never seem to end. The parking permit scheme was just a ploy to get ticket revenue. Same for 2x a month street sweeping (streets so clean, you can eat off them!) THen they said a “community preservation” tax would help, but preserve what community?? everyone has ALREADY left. Then it was the new water meter fee they tried to sneak through. Then it was the new high school. (Assembly will pay for it all! wink, wink.) And god forbid you have to get permit for anything. they’ll bleed you dry and make you beg for it. Now the water rates are going up every year by 6%? And did you hear, the sewers have to be replaced for a tidy little sum. The only way to afford Somerville is to leave Somerville.
Anyone notice we’ve lost the beautiful mixture of cultures & ethnicities? We are becoming all white, upper middle class, young, able bodied. Go to a festival and find a minority or immigrant, an elder brother someone using a wheelchair I grew up here and it was white, vanilla, boring like it is now