The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the Financial District, the Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods. Officially opened in October 2008, the 17-acre Greenway sits on land created from demolition of the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway as part of the Big Dig project.
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is named after Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the matriarch of the Kennedy family who was born in the neighboring North End neighborhood, the daughter of the former Boston mayor for whom the demolished expressway was named. Her son, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, played an important role in establishing the Greenway.
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy was established as an independently incorporated non-profit organization in 2004 to guide the emerging park system and raise funds for an endowment and operations. In 2008, the State Legislature confirmed the Conservancy as the designated steward of the Rose Kennedy Greenway; the Conservancy operates with a lease from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (now Massachusetts Department of Transportation). Since February 2009, the Conservancy has operated the park, leading the maturation of this new civic space, strengthening its physical beauty, and encouraging a sense of a shared community in Boston.
The 2008 legislation established a 50–50 public–private funding model. Through a multi-party funding agreement announced in June 2017, public funds from the State and City represent ~20% of the operating budget, a new Greenway Business Improvement District funds ~20% of the operating budget, and the Greenway Conservancy generates ~60%.
History In the 1940s, planning began for a "Highway in the Skies" that would alleviate traffic congestion and provide a direct route for moving goods in and out of Boston. Construction of the elevated Central Artery began in 1951 and was completed in 1959, displacing more than 10,000 residents and demolishing some 1,000 buildings. The limitations of the Central Artery soon became painfully clear, however. In 1991, after almost a decade of planning, construction began on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, more widely known as the "Big Dig", which was recognized as one of the largest, most complex, and technologically challenging highway projects in the history of the United States.
With the elevated highway to be relocated underground, Boston would be rich in prime urban land. Community and political leaders seized the opportunity to enhance Boston's city life by providing additional parks and gardens to connect some of its oldest, most diverse, and vibrant neighborhoods. The creation of the Greenway was a joint effort of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, and various civic groups.
On October 4, 2008, tens of thousands of visitors came together for the park's inaugural celebration with the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. The following year, on February 23, 2009 the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy assumed operational responsibility for the parks. Today, the Greenway encompasses gardens, plazas, and tree-lined promenades. The Greenway is a key feature of the modern reinvention of Boston, Boston Harbor, the South Boston Waterfront, and the Harbor Islands.
MassDOT's obligation under state law to provide 50% of the funding for the Greenway ended in 2012, and was replaced by year-to-year agreements until a six-year agreement in 2017. Now the Greenway Business Improvement District provides annual funding to the Greenway Conservancy, as do the City of Boston (from a fund established with proceeds from the sale of the Winthrop Square garage) and MassDOT.Partnership Seeks To Put The Greenway On Firmer Financial Footing
Parks
Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park
Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park (formerly Chinatown Park) is located at the southern end of The Greenway. This one-acre park contains design elements drawn from Asian traditions and art work. Designed by Carol R. Johnson and Associates and May Sun, Chin Park has a large plaza, as well as a serpentine walkway edged by bamboo within bright red sculptural elements and a fountain that suggests a waterfall and shallow riverbed.
In 2011, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy partnered with local community groups, residents, and abutters to add the plaza tables, chairs and shade umbrellas, while the City of Boston renovated neighboring Mary Soo Hoo Park to the south. Large festivals, such as the Chinatown Main Street Festival, the August Moon Festival, and Films at the Gate, are hosted in the plaza. Mary Soo Hoo Park was added to the Greenway Conservancy's responsibilities in 2015. In 2016, the PlayCubes children's climbing structure was added to the plaza temporarily as part of the Design Museum Boston's Extraordinary Playscapes exhibit; a portion of the PlayCubes installation was made permanent based on community input.
In 2019, the park was renamed from Chinatown Park to Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park.
Dewey Square Park
Located between Congress and Summer Streets along Atlantic Avenue, Dewey Square Park joins the major transportation hub of South Station to the Financial District. The park has gardens, lawn areas, and the adjacent plaza, which was designed to draw in commuters and nearby workers and residents. The tables, chairs, and cluster of food trucks have made Dewey Square Park a popular lunch destination, especially in the warm seasons when the plaza features the twice-weekly Boston Public Market Association's farmers market. Food truck and other major festivals are hosted here.
In 2011, Dewey Square was the site of the Occupy Boston movement. The subsequent redesign of the planting includes pollinator garden, raised beds planted with edibles, a rain garden, and a small orchard; produce harvested from the edible garden is donated to hunger-relief charities.
Fort Point Channel Parks The Fort Point Channel Parks are located between Oliver and Congress Streets along Atlantic Avenue, they are often referred to as the "New American Gardens" for their wide variety of trees and flowers that are often found in gardens of typical New England homes.
The Fort Point Channel Parks, designed by Halvorson Design Associates, were planted in 2008 by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, with help from many volunteers including the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association. The Greenway Conservancy has added significant additional planting and is responsible for the ongoing care.
Wharf District Parks
The Wharf District Parks connect Faneuil Hall and the Financial District with Boston Harbor. Designed by EDAW and Copley Wolff Design Group, the parks contain areas of paved surfaces for active public use and a gathering space for public events known as the Great Room. Three open lawn areas, surrounded with plantings, provide informal space for gatherings. During the warmer months, the Wharf District Parks host the Greenway Open Market, food vendors, concerts and fitness classes. Large events also occur across the Wharf District Parks, such as the Boston Local Food Fest and the FIGMENT participatory art festival. The Wharf District Parks are home to the Mothers’ Walk, a curving pathway that consists of pavers engraved with names and personal messages.
The Greenway Carousel at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove The Greenway Conservancy raised funds to design and construct the Greenway Carousel at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove, which opened on August 31, 2013. Instead of horses, the hand-carved creatures of this carousel are the wildlife found in and around Boston and its harbor; the animals are carved by local sculptor Jeff Briggs and inspired by the drawings of Boston school children. ~100,000 visits enjoy a spin on the carousel each year.
Harbor Islands Pavilion One of the new additions to the Wharf District Parks, the Harbor Islands Pavilion is an open-air structure staffed by National Park Service rangers to welcome visitors and provide information about the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Ferry tickets and Boston Harbor Islands park merchandise are available for purchase at the pavilion. The Pavilion was designed by UtileBoston Harbor Islands Pavilion | Utile, Inc. Architecture + Planning and opened on June 2, 2011
Armenian Heritage Park
The Armenian Heritage Park is dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide and acknowledges the history of Boston as a port of entry for immigrants worldwide, and celebrates those who have migrated to Massachusetts shores and contributed to American life and culture. The Park consists of two key features surrounded by seating, brick paving and landscaping. The Abstract Sculpture, a split dodecahedron, is mounted on a Reflecting Pool, represents the immigrant experience. The Labyrinth, a circular winding path paved in granite and set in lawn, celebrates life's journey. The Park and its endowed programs are a key initiative of the Armenian Heritage Foundation.Armenian Heritage Park The park opened in May 2012 The park is maintained by the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy under contract with the Armenian Heritage Fountain.
North End Parks
The North End Parks (Boston Big Dig parcels #8 and #10, lying on opposite sides of Hanover Street) reflect the history and scale of the adjacent North End neighborhood. They were designed by two teams of landscape architects: Boston's Crosby, Schlessinger, Smallridge LLC and Seattle's Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd. Lawns surrounded by densely planted perimeter beds are designed to evoke a formal feel of past European style gardens with boxwood hedges enclosing an array of perennials. A trellis and "pergola" along the eastern edge offer public seating and a vantage point that overlooks both greenspace and historic buildings. The "canal fountain," a shallow water feature with fountain jets, reflects a period approximately a century ago when a canal connected the harbor to now defunct industrial operations. During the warmer months, the North End Parks host free fitness classes and other events.
Carolyn Lynch Garden The Carolyn Lynch Garden was dedicated by the Greenway Conservancy in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with The Lynch Foundation in August 2018. The garden's name is attributed to Carolyn Hoff Lynch, an avid gardener and philanthropist, who died in 2015. The dedicated gardens are part of a $1.4 million gift from The Lynch Foundation.
Land use
Big Dig planners debated the mix between open space and buildings on the land to be freed up by the removal of the elevated highway. Proposals in 1985 by the state and in 1988 by the Boston Society of Architects suggested that most of the land should be used for mid-rise buildings. But in 1991, the Boston Redevelopment Authority's "Boston 2000" plan called for 75% of the land "to be developed as a series of parks and urban plazas."
The 1991 environmental certificate for the project adopted this idea, mandating that not more than 25% of the surface could be developed, with the rest maintained as public open space. The certificate specifically required that three parcels near South Station, encompassing about four acres of land, be turned over to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MassHort) for outdoor gardens and an enclosed winter garden. And the certificate required that the three ramps at Parcels 6, 12, and 18 be covered "to mitigate their impacts on the surface environment."