Goodbye Hamilton Elementary
Last week, we got the sad news: Brighton’s Alexander Hamilton Elementary School is going to close. The closing is part of a measure to save the Boston Public Schools $13.8 million over the next five years. As part of the changes, the school department also plans to dramatically reorganize several schools in Brighton. Garfield Elementary will close and the building will become a new pilot high school affiliated with the Mary Lyons K-8 school. Garfield and Hamilton students will attend a new K-8 at the Thomas Edison Middle School on Glenmont Road.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sad to see Hamilton go. I used to live on Strathmore Road, just a couple of blocks down the road. I didn’t have kids attending the school, but Hamilton is where I voted and attended community meetings. I don’t know the educational merits of closing the school, but from a resident’s perspective, the closing is nothing but bad news. In an urban neighborhood heavy on students and young professionals, it was always a pleasure to see little kids and real families on the street. The school gave the neighborhood a sense of history and continuity, helping Cleveland Circle feel like more than a temporary waystation for young career climbers on their way up and out.
Now the question is what will happen to the old Hamilton building. Will it be reclaimed for another public use? Will it be turned into luxury condos? There’s no word yet on what the future holds for the building itself, but since the building is located so close to Cleveland Circle, the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and public transportation, as well as another group of luxury condos recently built along Chestnut Hill Avenue, it’s highly unlikely that it will remain unused for long.
And for old time’s sake, here are a few properties adjacent to Hamilton elementary where at one point in the city’s history, a family might have lived, maybe sending their children to Hamilton:
163 Chestnut Hill Ave, #303
Brighton
BEDS:2/BATHS:2
SQ.FT: 1199
$489,000
141 Chiswick Road
Brighton
BEDS:4/BATHS:2
SQ.FT:1198
$438,500
129 Chiswick Road
Brighton
BEDS:4/BATHS:2
SQ.FT: 1409
$439,000
Brighton, Brookline Archives
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