Rose Kennedy Greenway

dshoost88 said:
This put such a smile on my face reading it. I feel equally elated every time I'm walking through downtown now on these hot summer days. The greenway has become such a destination.
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Yup. What I've been saying the whole damn time.

To be fair, the fountain is close to Faneuil which is where the Greenway is the most successful. We have to get this kind of programming further down the stretch.
 
I walk through the RFK Greenway down near Haymarket. It was quite nice and there's a lot of activity there. The northern part of the Greenway is well developed and the sides interacted well. Why can't we repeat this success further down the Greenway? Oh right, because the Greenway has a firestation, a parking garage, buildings that don't interact with pedestrians as neighbors compared to a street market, bars, shops and restaurant.
 
Although the North End parks are successful, don't overlook that the northern part of the Greenway near Haymarket has two major eyesore ramp parcels - worse than those on the southside. It has no fewer than three garages, one large surface lot, and an overlook into a tunnel entrance. The only places that really "interact" are the Hanover and Salem intersections with Cross Street and the Haymarket itself which is still buffered from Surface Artery (somebody give this f*king street a real name please!) by the barren Blackstone parcel.
 
KentXie said:
I walk through the RFK Greenway down near Haymarket. It was quite nice and there's a lot of activity there. The northern part of the Greenway is well developed and the sides interacted well. Why can't we repeat this success further down the Greenway? Oh right, because the Greenway has a firestation, a parking garage, buildings that don't interact with pedestrians as neighbors compared to a street market, bars, shops and restaurant.
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That's because those buildings were designed to interact with cars/block out that reality.

You can't change the fact of all of those buildings (to the south of Faneuil) were built along the Central Artery and the dull streetwall is a result of the once extremely unsightly neighbor. A ton of redevelopment is necessary and as with everything else in this country, change takes time.
 
Russia Wharf (aka Atlantic Wharf), Intercontinental and Independence Wharf -- a significant piece running along the Greenway from the Federal Reserve to Rowes Wharf, were all approved and constructed during and after CAT/Tunnel construction.

Of those projects running on the block, 2/3rds of the streetwall does nothing to interact with the Greenway.
 
Rowes Wharf, on the other hand, feels like it was built to interact with the Greenway even though it was built long before anyone thought of having an Greenway.
 
Ron Newman said:
Rowes Wharf, on the other hand, feels like it was built to interact with the Greenway even though it was built long before anyone thought of having an Greenway.
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It's a blessing that the building was built that way.

And yes, there are some new developments that don't do the best job interacting, but a large issue is International Place and the rows of buildings that suddenly end because they were chopped off to build the CA.
 
The Intercontinental is wrapped around the Big Dig's biggest? and deepest vent shaft. So I give it a pass, because the vent shaft was built on what I believe was an Edison substation.
 
stellarfun said:
The Intercontinental is wrapped around the Big Dig's biggest? and deepest vent shaft. So I give it a pass, because the vent shaft was built on what I believe was an Edison substation.
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I agree.

My concerns are also not along the waterfront side (Atlantic Wharf, Intercontinental, Independence Wharf, etc). I'm more concerned about the city side (IP). The buildings on the waterfront aren't that bad.
 
I think if Chiofaro gets the Green light to knockdown Harbor garage and build something significant that interacts with the Greenway it will definitely help that area evolve for the better as additional growth in foot traffic would increase dramatically.

Harbor Garage is sort of the Key to interacting the Greenway since IC & Russia Wharf have failed.
 
TheRifleman said:
I think if Chiofaro gets the Green light to knockdown Harbor garage and build something significant that interacts with the Greenway it will definitely help that area evolve for the better as additional growth in foot traffic would increase dramatically.

Harbor Garage is sort of the Key to interacting the Greenway since IC & Russia Wharf have failed.
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The Harbor Garage will help, but that's also near Faneuil.
 
Shepard said:
Although the North End parks are successful, don't overlook that the northern part of the Greenway near Haymarket has two major eyesore ramp parcels - worse than those on the southside. It has no fewer than three garages, one large surface lot, and an overlook into a tunnel entrance. The only places that really "interact" are the Hanover and Salem intersections with Cross Street and the Haymarket itself which is still buffered from Surface Artery (somebody give this f*king street a real name please!) by the barren Blackstone parcel.
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The parcel that actually contains a ramp is the only deadzone which separates the parks near Faneuil and the parks at near Haymarket and Little Italy. It can be overlook because it is only one parcel and isn't meant to be a park (though I saw two backpackers relaxing on that plot during my visit) and the Greenway essentially ends there
 
Ron Newman said:
Rowes Wharf, on the other hand, feels like it was built to interact with the Greenway even though it was built long before anyone thought of having an Greenway.
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Unfortunately, in my many drive bys in that area, the parks there are devoid of pedestrians. This is probably due to the lack of things to do at the parks there and that Rowes Wharf pulls all the activity away from them.
 
datadyne007 said:
The Harbor Garage will help, but that's also near Faneuil.
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It will solve 50% of the problems for the Greenway in my opinion.

That development is crucial for the Greenway..........It seems Chiofaro has the right idea wanting to connect the Greenway with his development.

I think the BRA/Mayor will make one of the biggest developmental mistakes in history by not giving Chiofaro sometype of height to work with on this parcel. It will either be a parking garage or a 200ft stump of shit which that half of the Greenway will be a BUST.
 
Ron Newman said:
Rowes Wharf, on the other hand, feels like it was built to interact with the Greenway even though it was built long before anyone thought of having an Greenway.
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When Rowes Wharf was first proposed they were required to maintain the view down Broad St.(?) At the time I saw drawings of what the arch would look like with and without the artery. The city expected the developer to propose more that one building and was impressed at the proposed arch solution.
 
My daily toil puts me in a different part of the City than the Greenway. Consider my thoughts and questions below, offered to our absent friend, greenwayguy1982:

Beton Brut said:
Rowes is attractive. I've warmed to it, although PoMo isn't my thing. As architecture, it's a novelty building. The arch serves its purpose to funnel people to the waterfront, the money-side of the building.

But take a look at this:
Rowes_Wharf,_Boston,_MA_-_2.JPG

Check out that garage-ramp. Along that facade, do you see a barber pole, or a pastry shop, or a window displaying jewelry or designer clothing? Are there colorful awnings? Do you see any evidence that seasonal cafe seating is available on this side of the building?

Again, Rowes is a handsome building, but to suggest it offers its most engaging face to the Greenway is disingenuous.
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It's been some months since I walked this part of the Greenway. Has anything been done to this side of Rowes Wharf, in the way of retail storefronts, cafes, or other kinds of activity-generating permeability?
 
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