The Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park of the South Boston Seaport District was officially dedicated to the former mayor of Boston on November 12 in a gathering of city and state officials, tourism officials, labor activists, and local community leaders. Flynn, a lifelong Catholic who grew up in South Boston, served as mayor from 1984 to 1993 and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 1993 to 1997. During his tenure as mayor, Flynn received much praise for his political actions to bridge the distance between Boston communities with affordable housing, jobs, and the reduction of homelessness.
“Naming this facility for Ambassador Flynn is symbolic of so much that he has fought for every day over a 45-year career in public life,” said Francis J. Doyle, co-chair of the city commission that nominated Flynn for the honor. “Everybody counts in Ray Flynn’s Boston. Whether you arrived here yesterday or many generations ago, upholding the dignity and respect of all was the guiding principle.”
Standing on the parkland is the current Marine Industrial Park, the a former Army/Navy property that toed the line of abandonment before being granted to the city’s Economic Development and Industrial Corporation in 1977.
“The park is about what the Flynn Administration was about: economic development that creates jobs,” said the Flynn Commission in a letter to current Boston mayor Marty Walsh. “It is now how to over 200 businesses and more than 3,000 employees. Given all that Ray Flynn stands for, we can think of no more appropriate place for the Flynn name to stand.” ♦
Former Boston Mayor Immortalized
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