Queen’s pre-reigned home was literally around the corner.

Hopping off directly at the pavement of Huntington Avenue from a streetcar at the tiny Mission Park stop of Green Line E, the extension of America’s oldest subway, steep Parker Hill Avenue was right in front of the platform-less station without a safety zone. After passing 4 buildings, I found a white, 3 stories house she lived.

16 Parker Hill Avenue. That was where Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco, grew up with her parents, 6 siblings (5 sisters and 1 brother), and her extended family. It was easy to identify the house. Only that house had a porch between the streetcar stop and her house. There were a few of Donna’s pictures that were taken on the porch including her high school prom.

That triple-decker residence housed Donna’s family on the second floor, her aunt and uncle on the first floor, and her maternal grandmother with her cousins on the third floor. Plus the house always had their friends and neighborhood kids as it was the mother’s policy to welcome them. Donna recalled on a TV program that the house always had 20 kids. Her home was very lively. That was the house Donna Summer enjoyed home entertainment with her family and friends. Dancing and, of course, singing. Gospel, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Supremes. Donna always favored being Diana Ross like many other girls. I can imagine she always competed with her 5 other sisters who would be Diana in that house…

When I looked at the front of the house first, I wondered how that house could be occupied by so many family members and their friends. The front was narrow. But when I looked at the side, I understood. The side was very long. That was a big house. The house was well maintained. I didn’t see age from the surface. Probably nothing much changed when Donna Summer lived there almost 65 years ago.

In 1995, A&E Channel broadcasted the “Biography” program about Donna Summer. During the program. Donna’s only brother, Richard, who resembled their father, introduced the house outside. The house looked pretty much the same as in 1995 when I visited. A clear difference was trees. There was a tall tree on the left corner of the property but that was gone. There were a few trees on the sidewalk along with the house but not existed anymore.

Another difference was the house was no longer a family house. That was an apartment. I happened to chat with one of the residents and was confirmed. I asked him if he knew Donna Summer grew up there. His answer was “Oh, yes, yes. Of course!”. The current building could look like a beach house with an outside decor attaching many colorful license plates from multiple states on the white wood fence next to the doorsteps. It was hard to think that was inherited from Donna’s family because license plates weren’t seen in the “Biography” program. The exterior was hip while keeping good ol’ Donna’s house.

Donna wrote her autobiography that her house had a big backyard that sometimes held family singing shows. Her sister, Mary, told A&E that the neighborhood kids always played in the backyard.

The backyard was changed to a parking lot but still existed. Indeed the space was big. In that big yard, sometimes Donna Summer had fun singing her favorite songs and imitating Supremes with her sisters like an ordinary girl.

Donna also recalled that there was a nursing home next to her house, and sometimes the residents of the nursing home requested the sisters to sing at the front porch of their house rather than the backyard so they could see and hear better. The sisters kindly entertained the nursing home residents with gospel and oldies.
The nursing home had already been gone but the big building itself still existed. The former nursing home became Doe House, supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals.

And the porch. The trademark of the house that the future disco queen had many childhood memories with her family. When I was feeling nostalgic after fulfilling one of my biggest travel purposes (visiting Donna Summer’s home was the first thing I did in Boston, and I purposely chose that day. Would be very beautiful weather) and just about leaving for the next, I found one small thing on the porch.

Disco ball!!

Obviously, the current resident thoughtfully set up the disco ball for the tribute to the Queen. That house icon instantly heated me up and motivated me more for the success of this biographical guide.

Mission Hill neighborhood is located on the eastern end of Boston, approximately 3 miles from Downtown. Statistically, Mission Hill is a racially mixed neighborhood, 48% white, 18% each for black and Latinos, and 15% Asian, though characteristic is different between east and west. The part Donna Summer grew up, northwestern Mission Hill is mainly a white neighborhood. That was the same back in Donna’s childhood. Donna and Mary recalled they were among the first black family in the area. Though the parents didn’t point out the racial difference, they insisted their kids be better than the others.

Mission Hill was a pretty neighborhood when I visited. Huntington Avenue was vibrant. Farmers’ markets, restaurants, and local businesses around nearby Brigham Circle on the main street attracted many people even on weekday daytime during the reopening phase. Because the neighborhood had many hospitals, medical professionals busily walked on the streets. And Green Line streetcars, one of Boston’s symbols, frequently passed over the street.

Yes, a streetcar. Though Donna didn’t mention it in her book, it’s natural to think she regularly took Green Line during her youth. Her favorite places, which will be mentioned in the next chapter, were direct connections from the nearby stop visible from her home. Green Line existed there very long before her family lived. Originally opened as a horsecar line in 1884, the line was electrified by 1894 and connected with the Downtown underground line in 1941.

Mission Hill is known for triple-decker houses like Donna’s home. Triple-decker is classic New England architecture built in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and Mission Hill has many that were built before 1910.

Like the names of the neighborhood and street, Donna’s childhood neighborhood had a steep hill. While walking on Parker Hill Avenue, I found a row of beautiful triple-decker houses in front of an overlook of the hospital towers.

Donna Summer’s childhood neighborhood was charming like her song, “Fairy Tale High” from her sixth Once Upon a Time album. On my side, I just made my dream come true, a long one-week stay in Boston for the research of my favorite musician’s footsteps (before then, 2 nights was the maximum because of very high hotel rates). That doubled with the lyric of “Fairly Tale High”, one of my most favorite Donna Summer’s songs, in the beautiful neighborhood. I kept walking on with the song in my mind.

*****

Donna Summer and her family moved to a private house when she was 6 years old. It’s not really specific where they lived before moving to 16 Parker Hill Avenue. She only wrote in her autobiography that the family lived in a housing project that was constructed after World War II. A local newspaper, black-owned The Bay State Banner, mentioned in Donna’s obituary in 2012 that they lived in the “Mission Hill housing project”=notorious Mission Main on the opposite side of Mission Hill. One concern is Donna wrote in her autobiography that the project she grew up in was constructed after World War II while Mission Main was built before WWII in 1940. However, Boston’s first housing project after World War II opened in 1949, a year after Donna was born. I assume The Bay State Banner’s article is the most accurate information.

Mission Main was located on the east side of Mission Hill, across Bingham Circle from Donna’s home. She recalled that the project had racial diversity when she grew up. Mission Main became critically dangerous in later years and was demolished to develop a new mixed-diversity apartment project by the 1990s.
I couldn’t go to the current Mission Main Apartments. Here is the current areal view. Also, I found valuable videos of Mission Main in 1977 though they showed the struggling housing project during the economic crisis. Click the link below to watch the videos.

Link 1: http://bostonlocaltv.org/catalog/V_4EDDCA4FLGNF7QO#

Link 2: http://bostonlocaltv.org/catalog/V_4YBUXTO7RFRY6W5

Moving to a middle-income neighborhood from the low-income housing project wasn’t easy for Donna’s parents, especially feeding their 7 children. But they decided to improve the living environment for their kids as best they could, especially after Donna experienced a physical threat in the project. Her mother, Mary, a Boston native whose parents immigrated from Nova Scotia, Canada, worked as a teacher, and her father, Andrew, originally from Alabama, worked tirelessly with multiple jobs including butcher. Donna praised him as “father’s father”

*****

LaDonna Adrian Gains, who would be the world’s superstar known as Donna Summer, was born about 2.5 hours shy of entering 1949 at Boston City Hospital in the South End neighborhood. Not only that was New Year’s Eve night, but it was also Friday. Her mother recalled during the A&E “Biography” program that her doctor hoped to finish the labor as soon as possible because of the big event (what a doctor!). As the doctor’s wish, Donna was born within 30 minutes around 9:30 p.m. Donna was the parents’ third child of seven. The person who had the name idea was her father. Coincidentally, the parents later found in a book that LaDonna meant “a lady that sings”, that was the exact destiny of LaDonna Gains after 26 years with her professional singer debut in 1974.

Boston City Hospital, located at 800-820 Harrison Avenue, became the current Boston Medical Center by the merger with Boston University Medical Center Hospital in 1996. Boston City Hospital was an old public hospital founded in 1864. Though today’s Boston Medical Center is a modern non-profit hospital, a few buildings from the Boston City Hospital era are still in use (the first two photos below).

The Gains family couldn’t have many getaways during Dona’s childhood, especially while the parents kept working non-stop to feed their 7 kids. The places Donna recalled for recreation in her autobiography were a nearby amusement park, beach, and “Brighton Pool”. While I couldn’t specify the amusement park the family visited, I could assume the possibility of the beach location though nothing was confirmed. Donna’s autobiography included a family photo taken at a beach when she was about 3 or 4. The photo didn’t specify the beach’s location. It might be out of the city as Massachusetts has many better beaches including suburbs, but Boston also has beaches in the South Boston neighborhood. When I arrived at M Street Beach, I saw a similar view of Donna’s family photo. Might be wrong but here it is. Though I couldn’t take the photo at the shore as it was crowded, there was a similar shaped hilly landscape covered by trees across the water, sand is white…one of the possibilities.

Boston has been a seafood mecca as the old port city is close to rich fish grounds in the Atlantic Ocean. Donna Summer wrote that her father was good at fishing and caught ample fishes to feed the big family if her parents experienced financial difficulties. I don’t know where her father was usually gone finishing but I can imagine he could catch a lot of fresh fishes nearby.

South Boston was a beautiful neighborhood. Many colorful triple-deckers made the area like a beach town. I didn’t get bored wandering around the neighborhood with looking at the architectures I wouldn’t see in New York City. Oh, I swam, too! Honestly, the shallow water wasn’t clean.

I could locate the “Brighton Pool”. That is currently a state-owned Reilly Memorial Swimming Pool in the neighborhood of Brighton, 2.5 miles east of Donna’s childhood home, and easily accessible by Green Line streetcar. 7 years old Donna experienced an accident at the “Brighton Pool” when her brother, Richard, took all the siblings there. She almost drowned when she tried to cross the pool. Donna asked Richard how to cross the pool. Probably Richard’s answer was a bad idea for a less than 5 feet girl. Rochard advised Donna to walk on the bottom of the pool by jumping up and down. Adventurous Donna did so, but she started drowning as she was getting to the center and the pool was getting deeper. Fortunately, she was rescued by her brother and sisters, but her first thought of seeing the surface again was interesting. Donna wrote, “Heaven is so beautiful. Why was I so afraid to die?”. And that survival experience made her Christian belief deeper.

When I visited Reilly Memorial Swimming Pool by taking Green Line D, probably the same line the Gains brother and sisters took because the only D connected her neighborhood and the pool (Green Line has 4 different subdivisions, B, C, D, and E. E is the closest to their house but D is not far, either), that was a very hot day like Donna’s drowning happened. It was almost 100 F (37.8 C). I even felt hotter than NYC’s 100 F. The reason was simple; less humidity compared with NYC because of its higher latitude. I felt sunshine and heat more directly than in NYC. Even though the train was fully air-conditioned and the pool was only 5 minutes walk from the nearby Reservoir station, the temperature was harsh that I almost drown in the heatwave. And ironically, above was a super clear blue sky like Donna saw heaven. The pool was open to the public even during the reopening process and the local residents were enjoying swimming in the inviting beautiful blue water. By the way, the pool wasn’t that wide. It was just a regular size swimming pool.

*****

Donna Summer was a naturally gifted singer from her childhood. Surprisingly she didn’t take professional training in her youth but had a big voice and loved singing, whenever and wherever. The place that cultivated Donna’s talent, as well as her religious and spiritual beliefs besides growing up in a religious family, was her family church. Grant A.M.E. Church was located at 1906 Washington Street in the South End neighborhood (A.M.E. stands for African Methodist Episcopal). One of the young Donna Summer’s most important places, probably next to her home, where Donna developed her vocal skill by regularly singing gospel at the church like many popular R&B singers.

The road to fame started at the church when Donna was 10 years old. Young Donna Summer unexpectedly took her church choir’s soloist position at the church’s special event, instead of the original person who couldn’t show up due to a sudden sickness. Her mother believed in her daughter’s special talent and pushed Donna’s back to the center. It would be the first time for her to take a solo in front of a large audience, and she wasn’t significant something among the choir until then. Many people laughed at the idea first but nobody was laughing after Donna opened her mouth. Donna touched everybody’s heart like an angel’s voice. Donna’s emotional voice made everybody cry; her mother, her father, her family, the church members, and herself. Not only she was supported by God at the event but also received a message from him that she would be famous after pursuing her dream.
God was good and right. She did. An international sensation. And the church was the starting point of Donna Summer’s timeless fame.

When I visited Grant A.M.E. Church, I saw a heart-touching but also very sad view. The historic church building was completely surrounded by four rows of ropes full of colorful prayer ribbons dedicated to the lost souls by COVID-19 in Massachusetts. A massive number of ribbons proved that Massachusetts had so many affected people in a short period of time. Almost 6,000. I couldn’t help but pray at the spot while witnessing the church’s kind prayer contained in each ribbon. I fully respected Grant A.M.E. Church showed what they could do being together spiritually with each deceased and loved one during the difficult pandemic.

Grant A.M.E. Church, originally founded in 1919 in another South End location, has been situated in the current location since 1952 after changing locations several times within Roxbury, another predominantly African-American neighborhood besides South End. So it was 68 years ago, but the church building was obviously much older than 68 years old. It was a beautiful historic architecture with a large stained glass on the front.

Today’s South End, adjacent to the popular entertainment, shopping, and hotel district of Back Bay in the north, is where people can enjoy a part of Boston’s African-American renaissance. South End has popular black-owned restaurants (see BOSTON MUSIC TRIP/DONNA SUMMER, OUTTAKE: Dining and Getting Around) and the famed jazz club, Wally’s Cafe, the first black-owned entertainment venue in New England founded in 1947. South End used to be known as Boston’s jazz district with many other clubs but Wally’s is the only existing one today.

The next chapter will focus on Donna Summer’s high school era.

CONTINUE READING BOSTON MUSIC TRIP/DONNA SUMMER

• BOSTON MUSIC TRIP/DONNA SUMMER, #2 OF 2: High School Era
• BOSTON MUSIC TRIP/DONNA SUMMER, OUTTAKE: Dining and Getting Around

ALSO, CHECK THE REVIEW OF THIS GREAT ALBUM!!

• DONNA SUMMER, “ONCE UPON A TIME” (1977)