Columbia Gardens housing development land is seized by the federal government.

(Jan.) U.S. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes announces that the U.S. Public Works Administration has secretly assumed ownership of an 11-block area to build the proposed development in order to avoid inflated land costs. Ickes describes it as, “At one time . . a fine old residential area . . . now blighted with many buildings in bad shape.” The project is approved by the State Board of Housing, City Planning Board, and Boston Housing Association, but opposed by residents.