Rose Kennedy Greenway

Ron Newman said:
It's part of the North End, but didn't open until the late 1970s, about 50 years after Paul Revere Mall.
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It is interesting to look at the Paul Revere Mall/Prado side by side with the John Harvard Mall in Charleston, as similar open spaces cut from the same cloth: both done around the same time by the same designer with nearly identical material and vegetation strategies.... I think shade kills both (funny enough) but the presence of the Freedom Trail keeps the prado alive. I find the Charlestown more pleasant overall, but I think if you swap out the mature lindens with either the planetrees from Mem Drive in Cambridge or the Honeylocusts from Quincy Market and they are incredibly more inviting and hospitable.
 
And now I have to admit that despite living in the Boston area for 29 years, I've never heard of the John Harvard Mall and don't know where it is. (And that's even though I used to regularly bike commute down Main Street in Charlestown.)
 
Ron Newman said:
And now I have to admit that despite living in the Boston area for 29 years, I've never heard of the John Harvard Mall and don't know where it is. (And that's even though I used to regularly bike commute down Main Street in Charlestown.)
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I doubt many people outside of Charlestown knows it exists (i'm not a Charlestown resident but a student and scavenger of urban open space)

It is here
 
What a waste. What shortcut does it even serve? I bet dozens of houses were demolished for it.

These malls were the baby steps that led to Government Center and the West End.
 
Just a reminder...

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Somehow the model looks more pleasant than reality. But I can't put my finger on why, exactly.
 
Because there are actually more people than cars in that shot?
 
Two problems with the John Harvard Mall:
1. It's overshadowed by the infinitely more pleasant City Sq Park nearby.
2. There's an elevation change that (coupled with the brick walls that enclose it), make the Mall feel more like a prison yard.
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
Two problems with the John Harvard Mall:
1. It's overshadowed by the infinitely more pleasant City Sq Park nearby.
2. There's an elevation change that (coupled with the brick walls that enclose it), make the Mall feel more like a prison yard.
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Agreed on both points, but don't forget that city sq park came about 60 years later. It's also worth noting that the Main Street el tracks were there for most of the mall's life so far.

I also agree that in the current view of Charlestown this park makes a rather pointless connection and its footprint seems out of scale with the neighborhood. But I think its important to view some historical context:

(note just how much "open space" the north end has from the copps hill overlook and the swimming beach in the second image)

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That's a great picture, because it shows you just what it's going to look like for the next 7 months... oh, and the days during the spring and summer when it rains... and on some days when it's not raining... oh, and don't forget weekends. Yep, that's pretty much what it looks like all year round.
 
Shepard said:
Just a reminder...

156090943_2b8e25a07f_b.jpg


Somehow the model looks more pleasant than reality. But I can't put my finger on why, exactly.
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Give the trees a few years go mature, it'll become more pleasant. Just remember that the Back Bay and its Commonwealth Avenue Mall took several decades to build, but today it's one of the premiere communities in the country. All the Greenway needs is some time.
 
I've been to the Commonwealth Ave Mall. I know the Commonweath Ave Mall and sir, the Greenway is no Commonweath Ave Mall.
 
Give the trees a few years go mature, it'll become more pleasant.
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God I wish I had a nickel for every time this has been said in this thread.

Guess what: most successful urban parks are successful from the day they open. The High Line in New York has three foot tall trees, and it's swamped with people. The hordes are not waiting to descend upon this thing because there is insufficient shade...
 
I can think of one exception, though: Copley Square took several iterations to get right. The previous version had lots of concrete instead of grass and was sunk below street level. The version before that was a not-very-inviting triangle surrounded by busy traffic.
 
But that's a bit different of an intervention from "waiting for the trees to grow in". It involved rearranging streets (which is a lot of what the Greenway needs, too).
 
Speaking of the abundant cross streets, wasn't the Crossroads Initiative supposed to make them more pedestrian friendly. Actually lead people to the RKG instead of creating obstacles. Anyone know if this "initiative" has initiated anything?
 
It's well-used in any good weather, it has a popular farmers' market, it has concerts, people like to hang out there, sunbathe, throw frisbees. That's "right" enough for me.
 
dshoost88 said:
Give the trees a few years go mature, it'll become more pleasant. Just remember that the Back Bay and its Commonwealth Avenue Mall took several decades to build, but today it's one of the premiere communities in the country. All the Greenway needs is some time.
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The trees are planted along the surface highway.
 
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