Our History
The Park Street Group began in 1945 and held one or two daily AA meetings in a member’s office. The Group occupied several temporary locations until June 1950 when it took a lease on the top floor of the building at 1348 ½ Park Street. In the early days, the number of meetings and members were small. Over time, additional AA meetings, as well as Alanon and Alateen were scheduled. Old timers I talked to said it was a lively center with meetings taking place in the morning, mid-day and at night.
They shared that:
The main meeting room was divided into smoking and non-smoking sides – and of course, the smoke enveloped the entire room. When the group moved to Oak Street, this smoking tradition continued for another 10 years until about 1997. Looking up at the tall ceiling, you could see a cloud of smoke.
The large painting seen here depicting the 12 steps that hangs near the coffee bar in our current location also hung in the meeting room on Park Street, and was brought over when we moved in December 1987 after losing our lease.
Currently, the center accommodates about 20 in-person meetings weekly and a daily online meeting at 6:30 am. Meetings include men and women’s meetings, a beginners meeting, a book study, dual diagnosis, plus other 12 step recovery meetings. The current Monday night women’s meeting was started at the Park Street address.
When the COVID pandemic began in mid-March 2020, all in-person meetings were closed. Park Street Center was blessed to have two members, Candise and Steve, set up a virtual 6:30 am meeting that began the first day of the shutdown. That virtual meeting continues to meet 7 days a week.
As soon as the Public Health Dept allowed, we began meeting at Park St in person again. Initially all tables were moved aside and chairs were 6’ apart. A service position was created to check your temperature at the front door and distribute face masks. Gradually, following the Public Health Dept guidelines, we returned step by step to the regular meeting set-up that we have today.
Today, newcomers continue to come in, find sobriety, work the steps with a sponsor, and step into service. They bring wonderful new energy to the Center. And, as a result, Park Street continues to thrive.