Dorchester Illustration no. 2355 Franklin Hill
In September 1951 City Councilor Julius Ansel (on the left) and Mayor John B. Hynes posed for this photograph at the ceremonies held for the ground-breaking of the new Franklin Hill Avenue Public Housing Development. Designed for 375 families, the development is located across Blue Hill Avenue from Franklin Field, between American Legion Highway and Harvard Street. At the time, it included 9 three-story brick buildings constructed by John Bowen Company, Inc., of Dorchester.
The property was redeveloped in 2010 by Trinity Financial. Their website says ” The 266 affordable units in the complex are now a shining example of new, energy-efficient urban housing, with a mix of townhouses and mid-rise buildings offering different amenities and lifestyle choices for the residents. The 118 townhouse residents have their own back yards. Each townhouse has its own washer and dryer. The 148 residents of the three mid-rise buildings — two with six floors and one with five floors– have a laundry on each floor with one washer and dryer in each. They also, of course, have elevators.”
Julius Ansel, who died in 1965, worked out of the G&G Deli, even putting the G&G’s telpehone number on his business cards. He served as city councilor from 1948 to 1951, state representative from 1953 to 1955 and again from 1959 to 1965, and state senator in 1965.