Back Bay’s alleys are the soft underbelly to the stunning architecture that graces the streets and avenues of the neighborhood. For years everyone from the Back Bay Architectural Commission to residents to tour groups and tourists have paid much attention to the preservation and enhancement of the 19th century buildings that dominate the area. Meanwhile, few if any have concentrated on the alleys, and it shows.
Much of this has to do with the history of the Back Bay. Alleys were built to be the place where the less seemly side of human existence would occur. Activities such as washing and drying, cooking, trash removal and deliveries all were designed to happen in the alleys, leaving the streets themselves uncluttered and pristine. The alleys were for the servants. Indeed, it was servants who often lived in rooms facing the alleys while building owners looked out to the front.
That has changed in the last 100 years. Few of us have servants, and many, myself included, find ourselves in apartments and condos that face onto alleys. Yet our treatment of the alleys has worsened. Now we seem to treat them as dumping grounds. Back Bay’s alleys are dirty, noisy and unkempt. The poorly maintained rear of many buildings contrasts startlingly with their prstine, architecturally correct fronts. A profusion of telephone and television cables are strung willy-nilly through each alley, looking for all the world like the lair of some giant spider.
It’s time to pay attention to the alleys. Publicly owned (unlike many alleys in the city), Back Bay’s should be treated as we treat our streets.
The city itself is moving in this direction. As most readers of this newspaper know, Boston has embarked upon major reconstruction of the alleys. That will commence in a few weeks and will not be concluded until the fall. It was this project that provoked some Back Bay residents, led by Marlborough Street resident Matthew Lena, to look at the cables strung throughout the alleys. Electric cabling is underground (which is the reason downtown residents did not lose power during the April Fool’s blizzard), yet for some reason all other cabling is above ground, strung along telephone poles. Lena’s thought was that the rebuilding of the alleys posed a unique opportunity to install conduit and begin to place all cables underground.
After a series of meetings over several months, it became apparent that it would not be possible to get NYNEX, Cablevision, RCN (a new cable company) and the city to coordinate their schedules sufficiently to allow underground cabling to be done this season. Yet the idea has much merit. Placing cables underground reduces the risk of storm-related outages, makes the cables easier to maintain and most importantly, enhances the alleys and restores them architecturally.
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay has now made a formal request to the Back Bay Architectural Commission to review the placement of cables in the alleys. We live in a neighborhood where the wrong color paint on a door or the wrong replacement window will earn a sharp rebuke from the Architectural Commission. Yet cables hung all through the alleys represent a far greater offense. Don’t believe me? Walk out to a close-by alley and spend some time looking, really looking. The cables darken the sky and ruin the rears of the buildings. Imagine it without the cables. You will be struck by the difference.
It’s time to pay attention to the alleys. The Architectural Commission should begin to implement a policy that prohibits additional cabling above ground and encourages below ground conduits. Residents who face back deserve the same consideration as those who face front.