Tonight Robert, Staci, and I celebrated the end of busy week with dinner at Red Sauce, housed in one of the Water Arsenal buildings. Walking to the restaurant, Robert and I commented on how nicely renovated the buildings and grounds looked, and on our way out, we were amazed to discover the Italianate Commander’s Mansion standing just behind the Arsenal grounds. When I got home, I began to poke around on the web to find out more about the mansion and the Arsenal property.

I was interested to discover that:

1. until 1999, Arsenal site was was on the national superfund list (the River Park portion is still on the list)
2. Harvard University now owns the property, having purchased in June 2001 for $162 million. This is yet another source of concern for local residents and even some Harvard students who are bothered by “Harvard creep” and its potential economic impact on neighboring communities.