Orchard Park, also known as "Home of

New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 198 ...

," was one of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's most notorious housing projects, located in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

. It is also the former home of singer

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

and

members Ricky Bell,

Michael Bivins New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 198 ...

and

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released the album ''Ralph Tresvant'' (1990). In 2008, he ...

. The 350-unit three-story brick complex was built in 1941 and was demolished in 1998 due to crime problems.

History

Construction began in March 1941 and opened a year later to both African-American and Irish-American families. In the early 1960s, Orchard Park was very diverse, but by 1970 the majority of the complex were low income black families. When racial tensions in the area began to rise in the early 1970s, the

Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the ...

system began busing black kids from Orchard Park and the nearby Lenox Street complex to other white filled housing projects in

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

. This led to more riots and crime problems in all Boston's housing developments. Local juvenile gangs began to form in the housing projects for protection from rival gangs. Housing projects like

Columbia Point Columbia Point is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorad ...

also had begun to deteriorate throughout the years. Orchard Park was among those housing projects suffering from urban decay. During the mid-to-late 80s, crack cocaine dealers from New York began to move into Orchard Park. The most well known drug dealer was Darryl "God" Whiting, who also introduced crack to the area. Whiting set up shop in Orchard Park and later became the biggest drug lord in

, operating on Bumb Road. Whiting associates also formed a sub gang called the Orchard Park Trailblazers. OPT become infamous for violence and drug trafficking, mainly operating crack dens in and around Orchard Park. In August 1996, Orchard Park was set for demolition. A year later, portions of Orchard Park were torn down. The buildings were finally razed in 1998 and replaced with a $159 million development called Orchard Gardens in 1999.

References

{{Reflist Demolished buildings and structures in Boston Buildings and structures demolished in 1998 Roxbury, Boston