The war for Allandale Woods
By adamg - 5/21/11 - 9:48 pm
Liz Kelleher isn't prepared for what she finds on her first trip into Allandale Woods, where West Roxbury meets Jamaica Plain: Mysterious objects strewn about, ominous graffiti and signs warning her "WE ARE WATCHING."
What is going on here?
There are people to whom this is all self-evident and mundane. It's a quiet neighborhood on the border between Boston and Brookline, between big city and citified village. Some folks' back yards back up on this in-between space, and presumably other people living nearby, better than I at searching out unpoliced spaces to watch birds or light up a joint, have always known about it, just as thousands of us streaming by have never noticed it.
It's like some little morality play about competing cultures.
Comments
When I was a kid
That Greek Orthodox church ran a little elementary school in their basement called Parkway Academy, which I attended from grades 1-3. I remember the rumor regarding those woods was that some sort of crazy woodsman/mountain man lived in a shack back there; there was probably something involving an axe too. Maybe the fanciful imaginations of us schoolkids wasn't that far off, at least in terms of its mysterious nature.
As far as I can tell there's
As far as I can tell there's nothing too scandalous going on back there. There is an extensive network of trails that crisscross the area, a couple small ponds, and various outlets into the adjacent neighborhood streets and back yards. I run back there regularly and most of the time don't see anyone else in the woods. Other visitors I do see are runners, dog walkers, and kids hanging out or fishing at the pond. There are a couple "party spots" that occasionally get trashed with cans bottles.
Here's a map: http://www.cityofboston.gov/Images_Documents/AllandaleTrailMapGreen_tcm3-9349.pdf