Until it was taken down last month in a nod to irreparable decay, the Walter Baker neon sign had towered over Lower Mills for nearly a century, standing tall even after the eponymous chocolate factory closed 56 years ago, leaving hundreds jobless and the buildings empty. Blacked out since 1965, the sign remained firmly in place as the old complex, with its administrative
Hot real estate and land markets aren’t just squeezing the living these days, but also those who have been laid to eternal rest. More and more older cemeteries in city neighborhoods like Dorchester, and in the inner suburbs like Cambridge and Milton, have come to a crisis point in finding new land for burials. When it comes to the business of a cemetery, as burials slow, so,
By Daniel Sheehan, Reporter Staff
April 22, 2021
Daniel Sheehan, Reporter Staff
The Walter Baker sign sits on top of an administrative building in Lower Mills. Dan Sheehan photo
A campaign to re-light the sign atop the former Walter Baker Chocolate factory in Lower Mills is nearing the final stages of its fundraising phase, setting the wheels in motion for a project that would restore the iconic symbol of the neighborhood in a matter of months.
Terry Dolan, president of the Lower Mills Civic Association, told the Reporter this week that the re-illumination project – an idea years in the making that this year was finally made possible by funds from the Community Preservation Act – could be completed as early as this summer or fall. Re-lighting the sign, which sits on top of an administrative building erected in 1919, would restore a central part of the village’s identity, said Dolan.