Rose Kennedy Greenway

took my Anti-campbell stroll on the Greenway Sunday about 5PM

I walked from Haymarket T-Station to South Station either along the paths within or the sidewalks bordering the Greenway

took lots of pix hope to share the best with the forum

Some quick observations:

1) if you want activity in the Summer -- just supply some water -- everywhere where there was water in the form of jets, pools or even mist -- there were lots of people
1a) Water and food is even better with even more activity
1b) carousels don't hurt either

2) its nice to have some quiet, green spots for strolling, sitting, father-son, mother-daughter, etc. whiffle ball

3) the fake pumpkins are intersting in a wierd way

4) there is a majot dead space that needs help in the middle -- just N of the hugely active crowed area opposite Quincy market:
a) it is a ramp parcel
b) it is bounded by a parking garage and parked buses on one side and a surface lot for city vehicles (mostly police) on the North End side
c) it is a low use connector area where the Y was supposed to go
d) there is a wide sttip on the Haymarket side that could be landscaped for cheap on the short term and this is the ideal site for the Public roofed market site
e) at the minimum it needs a nice pedestrian bridge across the open ramps

5) there are lots of sites along the periphery of the Greenway where developers should build and take advantage of the Greenway
a) at the minimum open the closed ground floors to the sidewalks for cafe's and small shops
b) at the max -- major developments on the quincy market garage site and lesser projects on several open lots and on the site of a couple of non-descript, not historiically significant buildings

6) actually like the sculptures -- especially the 3 misting light boxes with miscelaneous rocks -- aka "Harbor Fog"
a) the wierd abstract figure like ones are not terrible either
b) could stand a couple of sculptures of Boston--connected major people not currently represented by scultpure including John Adams, Alexander Graham Bell,

7) sideways thumb on the Harbor islands pavilion:
a) 7- for the Wifi there - excpet that that its only current use is to let the Park ranger point to Anthony's on her tablet computer -- tremendous potenial to make itthe wifi web-center for an integration of the physical and the virtual environmets of the greenway and surroundings
b) the pavilion itself is pleasant
c) there needs to be some interactive, rugged exhibits letting the casual or dedicated visitor learn about the ice, the melting, and thework by people all of which created the harbor in the form that it is currently
d) This is the place for the Giant Novel Sundial--somehow tied to the shape of a sextant

8) Gov't Center gargage development needs to get done -- taking full advantage of the Greenway

9) Aquarium Garage project needs to be done -- very very carefully -- this is the most important development to occur along the waterfront since Rowe's Wharf

10) somethiing needs to be done to hide the blank industrial look of the vent building at Dewey Sq.

11) The greenway is the perfect location for an Innovation walk of fame with interactive kiosks (bluetooth, wifi enabled) where the great innovations that made Boston the Hub of the knowledge economy would be properly honored

12) From the greenway the view of Russian err Indepndance Wharf is OK though certainly not Rowe's wharf -- which still remains the singularly impressive vista from the greeway in addition to the skyward view of the 'iconic" Customs House

13) the sinuous nature of the greenway is way positive as it creates ever changing views at street level an also on the skyline (Customs House disaperars for a while, etc.

More later
 
I took walk around the Greenway and it's a disgrace.

I actually saw more people hanging at the park near Joe's Bar & Grill near the Atlantic Ave area. I think Tia's is in that area.

The tents setup on the Harbor Garage parcel is something just shows the lack of ideas........My town has that stuff on TOWN day.....

9) Aquarium Garage project needs to be done -- very very carefully -- this is the most important development to occur along the waterfront since Rowe's Wharf

This is the most important development to help the area succeed. I'm really not sure what Menino is thinking.
***First his staff and the BRA says Chiofaro paid too much for the site. We'll in theory the seller would have never sold the parking garage in the first place. So that is absurbed to make a claim that the developer paid too much for the site.
****Second he claims he does not want to cast shadows on the Greenway with a very large development which puts the developer into leaving the garage and building ontop of it.
That is the worst idea I have ever heard of.

The BRA and city officials should really work with and give him some serious leway.

The city & state should have auctioned off parts of the Greenway to the private sectors and let them evolve the parcels and maintain a clean Greenway Gardens.

It's a disgrace what is going on with the Greenway Conversancy, BRA, the mayor and other political hacks trying to maintain power to supress the Greenway.

The pumpkins are extremely weird, the entire area lacks vision & direction. It's like they are waiting for help but they won't let the private industry help, unless its a money donation and you still need to keep your mouth shut.

What the heck is that art decor in front of IP and Rowes Wharf. Bow & Arrow?

You gotta love the Greenway tax they tried to implement on the private industry. My bet is the private industry would be happy to pay a Greenway tax but they want control of their money........That is the reality.

It's time to selloff the parcels and let the private sector maintain them.
Liquidate the Greenway Conversancy
Cut taxpayers yearly expenses to this agency.
Rezone the garages for reasonable height.
 
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i guess I have a different set of standards for an urban park

Here are a few of the pix i took between 5 and 6 PM on Sunday


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Forgive me if this is a dumb question - but wouldn't the parking garage on Clinton St (the one with HardRock Cafe) be a prime location for new development? You can see it in the photo posted above.
It seems as though that's a very important location with the proximity to FH and the RGK. Redoing the lower levels to be more pedestrian friendly with a low to mid-rise tower on top, similar to the size of 200 State St, would seem ideal. Of course, keep the garage hidden inside behind a new facade (similar to what they'll do with Congress St Garage). Would the proximity to the Greenway pose a problem to getting anything significant approved at this location?
 
I'd agree to that one in a heartbeat

Problem is I doubt that you could get anything large built there unless it was set way back from the Greenway and also back from the Faneuil Hall Qunincy Market -- that means a very thin building and hence tall and then you get NIMBY reaction

Remember that when 200 State St. was built it overlooked the traffic jams of the Central Artery --I don't think that you could get it built today

BUT if the Aquarium Garage and the Congress garage projects get approved and underway -- well then the window to do a major project where the FHQM Garage is located will definitely be available
 
whighlander said:
I'd agree to that one in a heartbeat

Problem is I doubt that you could get anything large built there unless it was set way back from the Greenway and also back from the Faneuil Hall Qunincy Market -- that means a very thin building and hence tall and then you get NIMBY reaction

Remember that when 200 State St. was built it overlooked the traffic jams of the Central Artery --I don't think that you could get it built today

BUT if the Aquarium Garage and the Congress garage projects get approved and underway -- well then the window to do a major project where the FHQM Garage is located will definitely be available
Click to expand...

I'm starting to believe that we can forget Aquarium Garage and Congress Garage being developed until the BIG DIG is actually fixed. The Sunday's Boston Globe article concerning the amount of water coming into the tunnels is troubling.

Headlines like these don't help.
"Chief engineer’s account warns of safety and structural issues - and of the millions in needed repairs ahead"
"MassDOT Chief Jeffrey Mullan Leaving in Wake of Big Dig Safety Problems"
"Crews reinstall unsecured Big Dig light fixture, investigating cause"
Any moron knows that enough leaking water will corode the tunnels over time.
I would love to know who was the safety engineers who signed off on this project?
It's only a matter of time before we have a sinkhole right in the middle of the Greenway..........
 
why would this have any effect on either of the garage redevelopments? The garage footprints don't sit on top of the Big Dig tunnels.
 
TheRifleman said:
I would love to know who was the safety engineers who signed off on this project?
Click to expand...

To be quite honest, some of my friends at AECom. According to them, they noted that "minor corrosion" was happening, but that was as precise as the safety assessment scale allowed them to be. They never imagined that the lights would start to come crashing down.
 
Ron Newman said:
why would this have any effect on either of the garage redevelopments? The garage footprints don't sit on top of the Big Dig tunnels.
Click to expand...

Maybe they can, but I'm not an engineer. They still sit above it and can probably add more pressure when your building a 200ft or 600ft building.

I would think the tunnels would need to be structurally sound before you start to demo sites for redevelopment right above where the tunnels are having structural issues so the tunnels won't collapse?
 
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TheRifleman said:
Maybe they can, but I'm not an engineer.

I would think the tunnels would need to be structurally sound before you start to demo sites for redevelopment right below where the tunnels are having structural issues so the tunnels just won't collapse?
Click to expand...

Riifl .... You can see where the tunnels are located while walking on the Greenway -- just look at the edge of the streets on the surface -- the core hghway not counting the ramps are located between the inner edges of the surface traffic lanes (for the most part under the Greenway itself)

Hence if there is work that needs to be done -- it can be done by parking the equipment on the surface traffic lanes and digging -- doesn't have any effect on either the Congress St. or Aquarium Garages -- well out of the way of any Big Re-Dig work
 
You can't just dig on fill with a substantial water table. Hydrostatic pressure changes could collapse the neighboring tunnels. Slurry walls would have be created at the perimeters of any new foundations before traditional excavation could occur.
 
Slurry walls are really cool. The (original) WTC had some amazing ones holding back the Hudson:

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As stated, any development near the Big Dig is going to need these.
 
ngb_anim8 said:
Forgive me if this is a dumb question - but wouldn't the parking garage on Clinton St (the one with HardRock Cafe) be a prime location for new development? You can see it in the photo posted above.
It seems as though that's a very important location with the proximity to FH and the RGK. Redoing the lower levels to be more pedestrian friendly with a low to mid-rise tower on top, similar to the size of 200 State St, would seem ideal. Of course, keep the garage hidden inside behind a new facade (similar to what they'll do with Congress St Garage). Would the proximity to the Greenway pose a problem to getting anything significant approved at this location?
Click to expand...

Check page #25
http://www.bostonredevelopmentautho...- Use and Design Guidelines - August 2010.pdf

This plan alows and addition to the low rise section of Market Place Center. I think the whole wing should be torn down.
 
Whereas I like the way that the low-rise encloses the end of the shopping area. It complements the three old market buildings there.
 
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Ron Newman said:
Whereas I like the way that the low-rise encloses the end of the shopping area. It complements the three old market buildings where.
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I do too. It just provides a great cap to Quincy Market/FHM. It would be a different story if the arched thru-way was narrow, but it's an immense connection to the Greenway. If the low-rise portion of Marketplace Center was gone, I would fear the creation of too much un-programmed plaza space. It would be the same kind of space that everyone on this board advocates to develop! (It would be a Greenway parcel!)

I do think that MPlace Center needs to redesign the Greenway side though. I know that Banana has a store entrance on that side, but it's hardly prominent. It's an excellent business opportunity for Clarendon Properties and the individual retailers themselves to redevelop that streetlevel that was originally designed to respond to the CA.

Edit: Another problem with MPlace on the Greenway side is that the loading dock and trash compactors have a prominent entrance from the Greenway. Again, this is due to the old CA.
 
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Here's an aerial shot taken prior to the construction of the Central Artery. It appears to be a wharf building of similar vintage to the North and South Markets. I don't recall what was here at the time of Ben Thompson's original master-plan for the Marketplace.

Lurker might know, as he may have been with Graham Gund's firm at the time that marketplace Center was constructed.
 
Thanks for the doc, Paul. I just love how South Station Tower is in those image. Er... actually I hate it because it reminds me yet again of what could have been. Bastards.
 
I knew I had an image somewhere. This is from Remembering Boston. Just scanned it in.

1zq3j47.jpg
 
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