04/25/2023
Creek Street snakes through the middle of this photo from the Salem State University Archives and Special Collections. Most all these houses that provided affordable housing for hundreds of families, including the one my father lived in, were demolished for the offices of the current Post Office, Verizon and Holyoke buildings. My father talked warmly of life on Creek Street until his dying day, and how heartbroken he was at its loss. Almost a hundred years later we are talking about a lack of housing and Lifebridge North Shore is aiming to tear down St Mary Italian Church - which was built by the working-class neighbors that lived in these streets - for a 5-story tower that will house homeless individuals from across the region. They also want to tear down the building that houses the Christopher Columbus Society (a mutual benefit society that took care of the needy of the neighborhood) and take over High Street playground for another 4-story building that will put neighboring houses on Pratt Street in its shadows. They also plan to build another 5-story tower to replace their present 2-story shelter - adding more shelter beds, offices, thrift store and the Columbus Society bar - adding a bar with the cheapest beer in town to a dry shelter. This neighborhood - once African American and then Italian American - has always been an easy target for those with money and power and constantly shifting visions about what is right for the neighbors. This film, made in 2003 at the time of the closing of St Mary, gives background on the church and the Italian neighborhood that built and supported it.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/9538939/video/799896427
