Mayor Marty Walsh toured the long-shuttered Blessed Sacrament Church during his visit Jamaica Plain to celebrate the opening of small businesses in Hyde Square.
The church has been closed for about a decade, so it was a rare opportunity for community members accompanying the mayor to see inside the basilica.
Hyde Square Task Force recently closed on buying the old church. The space will become a community and arts space. Members of the youth development organization provided a live drum accompaniment to the mayoral tour.
The event began with refreshments at Centre Street Sanctuary. It marked the retail spaces of the former Blessed Sacrament campus being fully rented. In addition to the restaurant Sanctuary, other businesses at 363-365 Centre St. are: Family Caregivers, Massachusetts Bay Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center of Massachusetts, Peak Performance Chiropractic and Re/Max Destiny.
The businesses have all been open for some time, some for more than a year.
While Walsh was in JP, he cut the ribbon for [/caption]