Rose Kennedy Greenway

I highly recommend Pasta Beach on the left of that photo - better than 90% of what's in the North End. Great restaurant all around and wonderful value.
 
KentXie said:
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
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The air rights to this ramp parcel should be given to the adjacent Congress St. Garage project. Require that they build a plaza above the ramps, in exchange for density (height) of the buildings within the garage footprint. Build over the Surface Artery, too. The primary entry level to the buildings would then be the same on both the plaza and City Hall sides.

The plaza could then be connected to the rest of the greenway on the north via pedestrian / bike ramps / bridges; and could gently slope on the south side towards the Faneuil / Columbus Park area.

Ah, another pipe dream.
 
At least you packed that pipe with something decent. Not too shabby of an idea. The ramp parcels suck in that the break up the continuity of the parks. They give you that rumble strip sidewalk that hurts the feet to keep you off those parcels.

I agree with the sentiments 2 pages ago about the success of the rings fountain. It makes me smile everytime I go by and families are enjoying it.

It does make me wish for the 1,000ndth time that they reduced the streets on either side by at least a lane each (from 6 down to 4 sounds reasonable to me), to gain 50 or so feet of "park". I get nervous every now and then when I see the parents getting a little absent minded because the kids are enjoying the water, because inevitably I always see a kid or 2 sprinting out towards the roadway. Luckily they smarten up or their parents catch on before anything bad can happen.

I still think the greenway has potential, but 2 less lanes and half as many cross roads would do it wonders.

I often wonder how the North End parcels got to be so nice with the pergolas and running water features when it's right across froman existing beautiful park. Maybe because people actually live in the North End and complained and pushed for something better. The further south you go, the more it sucks because no one lives there or has a reason to go there....
 
Ok so I strolled down the greenway last night, and let me say it's actually pretty nice. It's only going to get better too as the trees grow. It seems like a lot of effort has been put into the greenway itself. Now, if only we can remove some of the eyesores that border it! (ahem, aquarium garage)

Here are some pics from around 10:30, I did the best I could but my camera's night capabilities are limited. Hopefully they still give you an idea though.

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I am continually irked by the way those pylons turn their back to State Street. The Greenway's intersection with State Street should be a major node, and it's not in any way celebrated. More Suburban fat-headed car-brained urban design: it's vital that a city make sense on foot, and the Greenway gets it wrong again and again. They're ugly, too. The fountain is nice.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
Why aren't there any people there?
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There were a handful, but places usually aren't that crowded around 10:45 on a Monday night. Also, I tend to let people walk out of my pictures before I take them. Every parcel seemed to have a couple of pedestrians strolling through it. Most people don't want to hang out in the unlit parcels at night though. The area between Rowes Wharf and the vent building by Atlantic Wharf is more a "dead zone", but it is actually landscaped extremely well and I noticed many portable chairs/benches stacked and ready to go. It is going to feel like walking through a small forest in a couple of decades. Now we just need more reasons beyond the park to bring pedestrian traffic to the area.
 
Sicilian said:
Residents. Residents. And more residents.

Build condos and they will come.
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Only if the BRA was actually an organization for the best interests of the taxpayers that would make too much common sense.

(Build condos) Are you crazy that would bring shadows on the Greenway.

We need to spend 18 months with more million dollar case studies and rezone the entire Greenway with Shadow laws.
 
TheRifleman said:
Only if the BRA was actually an organization for the best interests of the taxpayers that would make too much common sense.

(Build condos) Are you crazy that would bring shadows on the Greenway.

We need to spend 18 months with more million dollar case studies and rezone the entire Greenway with Shadow laws.
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OMG TEH SHADOWZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!1!!!!!!!1111!!!!!

/shrieks hysterically and calls Marty Walzzzzzzzzz
 
DZH22 said:
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It's getting better, that's for sure. Too many pavers on some of the parcels too call them green. There should be more pervious walking areas, maybe using latticed pavers. I know they don't look as nice, but they are greener...

I kept the picture above because it made me think a reflecting pool would look real nice right there. The light panels frame that rectangle of grass real weel, and the fountain in the foreground could be tied in. Make this a real recreation hot spot in the hot weather. Just a thought that struck me when looking at it.
 
SeamusMcFly said:
I agree with the sentiments 2 pages ago about the success of the rings fountain. It makes me smile everytime I go by and families are enjoying it.

I often wonder how the North End parcels got to be so nice with the pergolas and running water features when it's right across froman existing beautiful park. Maybe because people actually live in the North End and complained and pushed for something better. The further south you go, the more it sucks because no one lives there or has a reason to go there....
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The residents of Harbor Towers fought long and hard to make the parcels near their buildings as inactive as possible!! Lawns and such what what they demanded; any design that might possibly attract some activity was opposed! So damn sad that a few had so much influence over what belonged to all the residents of the city, state, and USA since everyone's tax dollars went into this project!

BTW, really enjoyed your pics, DZH!! Thanks for posting! I also agree with Stockton's assessment of the light fixtures, I always thought something like the light posts at the entrance to LAX would have been so cool in this spot! I do like the other light fixtures very much!
 
Great photos!
Personally, I think the light panels look like a bit of a throw-away. I think they're supposed to look structural and imposing, but I find them bland and unimaginative.
 
Tombstoner said:
Great photos!
Personally, I think the light panels look like a bit of a throw-away. I think they're supposed to look structural and imposing, but I find them bland and unimaginative.
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I think they were supposed to pay homage to the CA. History in disguise, in a sense.
 
Tombstoner said:
Great photos!
Personally, I think the light panels look like a bit of a throw-away. I think they're supposed to look structural and imposing, but I find them bland and unimaginative.
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Thanks! I actually took a bunch of daytime pics of the place today, including some aerials, but I don't want to flood this page anymore so I will just wait for a new one.
 
PaulC said:
Fountain video:

http://thehinge.net/2011/wetquintet/
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Wet Quintet!!

FABULOUS!!


The Greenway needsmore things like the fountain that attaract ART -- and in turn attract people

My big criticism of Campbell's Annual Walk -- too early in the season for the Water to attract many active participants -- I doubt if there were many on Reveahh Beach on that day in May

What the Greenway needs:

1) More time to evolve the trees and shrubs -- gahhhhdens take a decade or two to not look new - unless of course if you have the $ to import full-size trees such as PO Sq
2) more water for kids to splash and run through
3) Glas Roofed Public Market -- high ceiling with temporariy walls (roll-up / down when weather requires it)
4) Giant -- Sun Dial with an accompaying public Weather Observatory -- with novel pubilic involvement-type instruments
 
oh yea -- The Innovation stroll -- a few dozen mini kiosks highlighting the Hub's contributions to myriads of filelds -- each one featuring touch screen tech + blue tooth with mapping to the actual sites of interest (e.g. 109 Court St / 5 Exeter Place) even when they don't exist anymore
 
Problem with the light panels was they were technologically obsolete when they were installed

I'd leave the panels but go with sophisticated LED techniology -- not necessarily imagry -- but something adaptive / responsive to human attention

Perhaps glow varying in color and brightnes depending on how many people were near (within say 30 ft (10 m))
 
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