LYNN — It was a night for all the people whose lives were influenced by former Lynn Tech director Al “Al Mal” Malagrifa to show their appreciation for what he’d done for them.
The Lynn Tech Annex’s Tiger’s Den was packed with Malagrifia’s family and friends Monday night for the ceremony to formally name the building after him.
“It was brought to my attention that for the past three Hall-of-Fame inductions, almost every inductee has cited Al Malagrifa as an influence,” said Bart Conlon, the person who succeeded Malagrifa as director of the school.
So, when it came time to honor the 86-year-old Malagrifa, naming the Commercial Street annex after him seemed like the most logical thing to do, Conlon said.
Malagrifa began his teaching career at the old Lynn Trade on Essex Street, and, as he said, the school was like a dungeon. The first priority was to build the current Lynn Vocational Technical Institute on Neptune Boulevard, and then convert the West Lynn Creamery building on Commercial Street into an annex to the high school.
“You can’t imagine what it was,” said Malagrifa. “It was just a big warehouse with shops.”
While planning for the new building, Malagrifa game up with an idea.
“When kids are absent from school, where do they go? They go to the mall,” he said. He hit upon the idea of remodeling the warehouse into something resembling a mall, but then-Mayor Patrick McManus wouldn’t go for it.
“So I took him to the Burlington Mall so he could get a look at one, and then we sat down with an architect. And the architect loved it. Pat’s feet were stuck. He couldn’t get out of it.”
Malagrifa said the teachers at Tech, for all intents and purposes, designed and built the annex, which was festooned Monday night with Christmas Trees of all varieties for the Festival of the Trees.
“It is bright and brilliant inside this building,” said Malagrifa. “I am amazed at how it’s still so well kept up.”
Others who crossed Malagrifa’s path were effusive in their appreciation for him.
“Did you ever think that I’d be here after this many years giving you accolades?” asked Lynn City Council president Darren Cyr, a former student at Tech. “I wasn’t the best student, and I wasn’t the smartest guy.”
School Committeeman John Ford said both his daughters graduated from Tech and that Malagrifa always kept tabs on both of them, even if it was over breakfast at the Little River Inn, which was owned by Ford’s cousin, Rick.
And Mayor Thomas M. McGee likened Malagrifa to George Bailey of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“It’s become apparent the impact you’ve made on people,” McGee said, addressing Malagrifa directly. “Just like George Bailey, you’ve changed thousands of lives, and this (naming the building after him) couldn’t be more deserved.”
