# SQUAT D-4 in Boston... back in the day



## rabidpossum (Jul 22, 2009)

was at the food not bombs feeding in the commons when my buddy introduced me to some folks who had cracked the place. my other two friends were also homeless, but they had girlfriends in town so they didn't really need it, but i was dying to check it out. it was right next to the district 4 police station off Trenton (i think that was the name of the street, it was a right turn off boylston at the commons). you had to get up the fire escape to the third floor window to get in. this was, of course, on the same side of the building visible to the cop shop, which made it whatever at night, but wicked sketchy leaving during the day.

i was there about 2-3 months. the people who cracked it were there longer. i was just about to head west when i heard one resident got boarded in and kicked the boards out when he woke up. the same thing happened two nights in a row, but when he came back the third day, it was steel bars on the windows and that was that. i headed west without my sleeping back and a few personal trinkets, lost forever... well more like entomed for gutter archeaologists to find later on.

by the time it was done, we had teams spanging for booze and food. the place had electricity. we had buckets of water to flush (after some super hero took it upon themselves to clean out the mounds of old shit). there was a gay bar across the street, which made for excellent late night money-making.

i've had a few other squats in boston, but nothing like that one. i've squatted around the country. i've even got a possible place in Providence right now if we can keep the junkies away. but i'll always remember D-4. none of my friends in town could even believe we had such a place. i wonder if the building is even still standing.


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## flashinglights (Jul 24, 2009)

Third floor is pretty sweet. Thanks for sharing.

my 2c... I've heard of people replacing boards from the inside, after climbing in, to keep visible entrances on the down low. Was that done at D-4? Would it have helped?


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## rabidpossum (Jul 25, 2009)

i dont remember any windows being boarded until it got shut down. the only access was thru the fire escape though. been a long time. and by the time it got shut down, only one person was still there.


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