Published in the Beacon Hill Paper, May 12, 1998

Boston has been doing its best over the last week to imitate Seattle. Fog shrouds the John Hancock and boots and umbrellas are the gear du jour.

This mess hampers but does not deter the area's youngest residents, who have spent the last several weeks in practices, scrimmages and baseball games as part of Hill House Baseball. The program this year is bigger than ever. Children as young as five participate in T-ball. From there it's on to junior baseball and regular baseball. Kids as old as 12 are eligible.

Aside from the players, the program ropes in adults as coaches, umpires and cheerleaders. It's a little tougher on the grownups than the kids. A few too many find themselves aching after an hour or so of ball-playing. They spend post-game evenings massaging smarting arms and legs.

This year's season began with a first-ever parade that commenced at Charles Circle and proceeded to the Boston Common ball fields. The Mayor was present to throw out the first ball. It was a celebration that marked not only a new baseball season, but also the expanding success of Hill House and, most importantly, the continued success of Boston's downtown communities as residential areas.

Boston is frequently thought of as a city of neighborhoods, but to most of the city's political establishment those areas are thought to be places like East Boston, West Roxbury and South Boston. The downtown areas are too frequently regarded as transitory places where singles, couples without children and empty nesters reside.

There is much truth in the stereotype. In Hyde Park you are thought to be a newcomer if you weren't born there; Beacon Hill, on the other hand, thinks ten years makes for a long-term resident.

Yet much has changed over the last few years. As the city has become safer and cleaner, as it has for the first time begun to focus on its own educational system, new parents have been willing to stay downtown. The advantages of city living for kids are numerous. Boston is diverse and lively, with something new happening every day. Friends are a short walk — not a drive — away. And best of all, there are places like Hill House, a program so successful that it deserves much of the credit for encouraging people to stay and even move into Beacon Hill.

Hill House is Beacon Hill's community center. Located at 74 Joy Street, it serves more than the neighborhood's kids.. It offers programs for the area's large senior population, classes and events for adults and serves as the headquarters for the Beacon Hill Civic Association. It has a long reach as well, attracting participants from surrounding neighborhoods. Indeed, the Baseball League draws players from Back Bay, the North End, the West End and Charlestown.

All of this has put a strain on Hill House. The building at Joy Street is just not big enough. Relief is on the way, however. After a two-year long process, the old firehouse near the corner of Charles and Mount Vernon will soon become a second headquarters for Hill House. It will be a welcome event.

My guess is that even with this new space, Hill House will soon find itself with more participants than room. It's a good problem to have, however. Hill's House success is ultimately Beacon Hill's success as well.