Logue, Edward J. (Edward Joseph), 1921-2000

Edward Joseph "Ed" Logue (February 7, 1921 – January 27, 2000) was an American urban planner and public administrator who worked in New Haven, Boston, and New York State. Commentators often compare Logue with Robert Moses - both were advocates of large-scale urban renewal in the United States from the 1950s through the 1970s.<p>
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Logue headed the New Haven Redevelopment Agency, Boston Redevelopment Authority, New York State Urban Development Corporation, and the South Bronx Development Organization. Logue is best known for overseeing major public works projects, such as Faneuil Hall-Quincy Market and Government Center in Boston, and the re-development of Roosevelt Island in New York City.
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Edward Joseph Logue was born on February 7, 1921, to Edward J. Logue and Resina Fay Logue in Philadelphia. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1942, and served as a lieutenant in the United States Air Force during World War II. For his service in the war, Logue was awarded an Air Medal with clusters. After the war, he found work for Chester Bowles, the Governor of Connecticut, as a legal secretary. Logue worked as development administrator for New Haven, Connecticut, from 1954 to 1960. He worked to redevelop New Haven's downtown area.
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Logue was made head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BDA) in 1961 at the request of then-mayor John F. Collins. As head of the BDA, Logue sought to develop a "New Boston". One of the agency's major projects was a housing development in South End, known as Castle Square. They also oversaw construction of the Government Center, redevelopment of the Prudential Center as well as the cities waterfront. While Logue was at the BDA, the Faneuil Hall-Quincy Market redevelopment was planned, though it was not completed until 1976. He remained at the BDA until 1967, when Logue unsuccessfully ran to be Mayor of Boston.
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Logue left Boston to head the new New York State Urban Development Corporation from 1968 to 1975. As head of that organisation, he oversaw construction of various housing projects, notably on Roosevelt Island. 33,000 units were constructed under Logue. He also supported a failed plan to construct 900 low-income housing units in Westchester County, New York. In the late 1960s, he led a project to design a neighborhood in Fort Lincoln, Washington D.C. for 25,000 people as requested by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. However, nothing came of the planning. Logue resigned from the Urban Development Corporation after it went bankrupt in 1975. From that year to 1985, he worked to revitalize the South Bronx, culminating in a term as president of the South Bronx Development Organization from 1978 to 1985. Logue died on January 27, 2000. The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino said of him: "Ed Logue was a guy who reinvented Boston".