Rose Kennedy Greenway

Aaaaah, yes. Nothing says recreational public space like genocide.
 
You could say the World Trade Center Memorial will be a monument to genocide. I'm pretty sure it'll be appropriate if not recreational.

Perhaps not all parkland needs to be recreational. This may be the first Greenway parcel that has a point of view; that is, it's not mindless doodling without an ounce of passion (what shall we do next, Ernie?).
 
Re: The Highline. It did not happen overnight. It was an unused eyesore for a long time. The RKG has been poorly planned (75% parkland!!??), but the picture is not yet complete.

FYI: One of the attractions is the W Hotel, where guests have been spotted doing, well, intimate acts in full view to the passersby. The day I was there that stretch was mobbed, people hoping to catch a glimpse.
 
I have to admit that, in general, I'm not the biggest fan of our culture's memorial mania. But this one seems especially random. I'm not seeing its connection.
 
nm88 said:
Re: The Highline. It did not happen overnight. It was an unused eyesore for a long time.
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It was a railroad viaduct and access was forbidden. Passionate designers transformed it into a brilliant park, and from the day it opened it was mobbed. What's your point?

One of the attractions is the W Hotel ...
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Standard Hotel. It's called the Standard Hotel.

... where guests have been spotted doing, well, intimate acts in full view to the passersby. The day I was there that stretch was mobbed, people hoping to catch a glimpse.
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I doubt that as an explanation for the crowds. Hope it wasn't the main reason for you to be there; you can do much better on the internet.
 
^ Point that it was unused as that part of the city evolved from meat-packing and industry. Yes, it was mobbed from the start but it sat in a sorry state for years.

Unrelated, it is an example of what I like best about cities, the clash of old and new. When done well it's thrilling. One can feel people's enthusiasm for the space.
 
nm88 - I don't follow your reasoning here. Because it took a long time for the High Line to become a park, its popularity doesn't count?

If anything, the way the High Line has attracted mobs to a part of the city that was gentrifying but not altogether crowded speaks volumes about what a destination it is.

On the flipside, the fact that the Greenway can be so dead in such a vital and built-up part of Boston, even during business day lunch hours, when it loses out to nearby Post Office Square, speaks volumes about the low regard in which it's held.
 
A lot of people like to walk labyrinths, so this could end up becoming popular.
 
labyrinth.jpg
 
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Ron Newman said:
A lot of people like to walk labyrinths, so this could end up becoming popular.
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"Let's go walk the awesome Armenian genocide labyrinth!"

I can see this getting popular with kids and its designers burying their heads in their hands...
 
...labyrinth? It's a squiggly path...

...we used to draw them with chalk on the blacktop in elementary school.
 
briv said:
I have to admit that, in general, I'm not the biggest fan of our culture's memorial mania. But this one seems especially random. I'm not seeing its connection.
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Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but what's Leif Ericson's connection to Commonwealth Avenue? Or George Washington's connection to the Public Garden?
 
Artists, craftsmen, and designers need to get paid bro.
 
Anybody have any ideas or vision on what they would actually change for the GREENWAY?
 
Repeating ideas I've mentioned before:

A public rock-climbing wall on the vent building near Dewey Square

A beer garden

A public outdoor stage, open every night until 2 am, for free concerts and performances of any and all kinds

Bring back the Garden Under Glass in some form
 
Keep / build 4 public squares: Dudley/ So. Station; Fort Hill / Rowes Wharf; Market / Aquarium / Town Dock / Columbus Park; North End Parks / Haymarket.

Put tall buildings on the edges of these (as they already exist in Dudley and Fort Hill) with very strong pedestrian friendly edges (easy enough with so. station, quincy market, haymarket, etc.)

Fill the rest with 3-5 story, granite or brick warehouse style brick building (a la india wharf)

Build roof parks on top of these buildings and connect the rooftops and the ground-level squares with architecturally interesting pedestrian bridges / staircases / elevators.

Oh yeah, and reconnect Hanover st to cambridge st, and kill the GC garage.

Voila - an Boston style 'high line', with very intensive use (because of new low rises and high rises) with lots of neat urban rooms / public squares to explore and plenty of sun and open space up on the roof / high line for the pedestrian 'through traffic'. Plus some tax revenue.

Also - immediately kill that fucking insipid carousel.
 
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