Rose Kennedy Greenway

[JS38]

Armenian memorial proposal video

Here is a Greater Boston video on the proposed memorial:
http://www.greaterboston.tv/features/gb_20060601_armenian.php

I think the constantly rearranged sculpture idea is cool, dont like the rest so much. They had a similar problem down in DC, with the Mall running out of space for memorials and musuems, producing a new masterplan to spread out such amenities throughout the city. I agree with that here, the Greenway isnt that big and should be given over to a few major institutions (visitor center, market, history museum, MHS garden) and open space. If you allow one memorial, other groups will want to follow. At least they have their own funding in place though.

Just my thoughts!

 

[xec]

I went for a stroll along the Greenway this evening and brought my camera along. As with my Seaport walk I went out fairly late, so there wasn't a lotta light, so the pics are kinda dingy. Oh well...

The tour starts at Dewey Square.

The sidewalk in front of the Federal Reserve is pretty much done.

A section of the Fed park is open.

Looking backwards to Dewey Square from the park.

Out of the park and back on the sidewalk.

Looking north again. The area between the Fed and Rowes Wharf is still a wasteland.

But not a desolate one.

A minor earthquake. Anyone feel it?

The area around Rowes Wharf also looks finished.

Aftershock.

In front of the Aquarium garage.

More seismic activity.

As I went along the sun went lower and the pics got dingier. No big loss. This area is still a work in progress.

Strolling along here at sunset is great.

The Enormous Sidewalk isn't as bad with people on it. The more people there are, the less bad it will seem.

I crossed here and headed back down Purchase Street, now also known as "SASB". The return pics are too dark to bother posting. Maybe next time I'll start the tour at this end.

The Grand Finale.

All in all, an excellent evening. I predict a Boston "must-do" in future tourist guides will be to walk the Greenway from Chinatown Gate to Zakim Bridge.

 

[Scott]

BRAVO! Excellent updates, thanks to all our photographers!

 

[castevens]

Yes, I second the Bravo! I can't be in Boston for the summer, and I'm glad you guys are keeping me updated. I feel like I'm taking one of my day-strolls through the city

 

[lexicon506]

I think it's a good sign that people are walking along the greenway even while it's still a construction site. Also, the brickwork on the sidewalks doesn't look bad at all, but my god that one sidewalk is enormous!! And what are all those black posts for? Thanks for the update!

 

[callahan]

I just took a walk down there this afternoon. It's still a pretty big mess and it's hard to imagine how it will actually look when it's finished. I thought the bricks looked really nice.

I also walked over to pier 4 to take a lock at the new ICA. Again, it's a pretty big mess but it seems to be coming along. One complaint I have about that building is that the side that actually faces the street appears very nondescript. But, the side that faces the harbor looks beautiful.

Now, I have a question. What is the dilapidated wooden shack that sits in the water in front of Rowes Wharf? Is it actually used for anything? It's in really terrible shape and is an eye sore. Also, the Rowes Wharf building, itself, could use some attention. The dome is looking pretty dingy and paint is pealing off the building in the front. It's such a beautiful structure.

 

[Ron Newman]

I believe that shack is part of the mechanism that controls opening and closing of the Old Northern Avenue Bridge. It still operates.

 

[Merper]

pillars...

I beleive the pillars demarcate automobile loading zones, like the ones in front of rowes wharf, where cars can pull in to load and unload; in this pic, the jersey barrier has it closed off, and rather than passengers, would likely be used to supply the numerous businesses that line that section...

when finished, i'd imagine it would function like this one:

i think the idea is to clearly demarcate lanes for vehicular traffic, while minimally impacting the pedestrian experience along the greenway

 

[xec]

That makes sense. I remember reading that there would be a place along the Greenway for tour buses and this loading zone is probably it. Currently the buses park on the opposite side of the Greenway and block one traffic lane.

 

[DowntownDave]

International Place is getting ready for the Greenway:

I don;t recall if this entry was open before, but it is certainly much more dramatic now:

De-lightful:

 

[Ron Newman]

Much of the fa?ade of International Place was hidden by an elevated off-ramp, the last section of which was removed just a few months ago.

 

[ablarc]

Those lamps look lethal.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Those are my favorite kind of lamps.

 

[ablarc]

They're less lethal on the Public Library. These are cheap, modern knock-offs.

 

[bosma]

Interesting documents from " A Better City" formerly the Artery Business Committe:
http://www.abettercity.org/pdf/Financial-District-Greenway-Edges-Part-1.pdf

http://www.abettercity.org/reports.html

 

[philip]

Armenian memorial on Greenway gets go-ahead
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | July 7, 2006

Despite opposition from Mayor Thomas M. Menino and community leaders, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is paving the way for an Armenian genocide memorial park on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

At its meeting late last week, the Turnpike board authorized chairman Matthew J. Amorello to negotiate with a nonprofit group from the Massachusetts Armenian community to place its proposed park, sculpture, fountain, and inscriptions on land near Christopher Columbus Park.

But the 4-0 vote came only after one member of the board insisted the motion be amended to require that any agreement come back before the board again later.

A fifth board member, Thomas Trimarco, recently appointed by Governor Mitt Romney, abstained.

Most proponents for Greenway locations -- like a YMCA facility in the North End or a history museum nearby -- went through months or years of public review and comment, but the Armenian park hasn't undergone the same process.

The Turnpike Authority has promoted the $4 million project at the request of the Legislature, but even the Mayor's Central Artery Completion Task Force -- an advisory group that has guided design of the Greenway -- has yet to be briefed on the proposal.

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, a private nonprofit group set up to fund and oversee the Greenway, has supported a moratorium of at least five years on proposals for memorials on the corridor of parks that is being created atop the old Central Artery.

``We don't have any memorials or monuments or statues in the North End or Chinatown," said Nancy Caruso, a North End activist and member of the mayor's task force who opposes locating the Armenian memorial on the Greenway.

Although the Armenian park has been praised for its innovative design, Menino and others have worried that the Greenway could become a magnet for ethnic-related memorials. He said he would work with the group to find another location.

Meanwhile, a legislative proposal that died in committee last week would have considerably increased the voice that the conservancy's 10-member board has over changes and additions to the Greenway once it is finished.

The proposal, in an amendment to the budget submitted by Senator Dianne Wilkerson, a Boston Democrat, was vigorously opposed by community activists and neighbors of the Greenway.

``We felt that it was not appropriate to give a private nonprofit organization a veto of future uses along the Greenway," said Rob Tuchmann, a lawyer at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and cochairman of the mayor's task force . ``We were very concerned the public would have the opportunity to review and consider any changes."

The Turnpike Authority, as manager of the Big Dig, now effectively has control over what goes where on the Greenway. The authority is supposed to make decisions in collaboration with community groups and the city.

Conservancy board chairman Peter Meade said this week that the legislation was not intended to give the conservancy veto power over what is put on the Greenway.

``I didn't think it was a lot of power," he said. ``The intent was to give us a seat at the table along with many other people."

Several objections have been raised concerning the way the conservancy operates as it begins to exercise control over public space on the Greenway -- including disclosure of the conservancy's sources of money .

``I believe you are a government agency, bound by open-meeting and public-records laws," Shirley Kressel, a community activist, told conservancy officials at a recent Task Force meeting.

Nancy Brennan, executive director of the conservancy, said the board is trying to be ``as transparent as possible," but, ``It's an unfortunate consequence of fund-raising that donors want their privacy."

The issue of public accountability has also come up repeatedly. ``It's a secret society," said Chris Fincham, a resident of Harbor Towers. ``I've always worried about how it was set up."

Said Meade: ``People worry about others' using the conservancy for their own ends, and that's a healthy fear. We'll figure all that out."

 

[callahan]

I'm really starting to think this project is a total mess. It's sad really, because it was a huge benefit to having to live through The Big Dig. I get the feeling that now the most of the projects that were originally slated for a place on The Greenway can't afford to build there, the committee is scrambling to try and figure out what to do with the space.

I just got back from Chicago where I went to Millennium Park. Now that's a bold endeavor of a civic space. Boston could take a lesson from that city. I'm not saying that a Millennium Park would fit in perfectly in our city. But com on, Boston! Grow some balls and build a kick ass park! It shouldn't be as complicated as it seems to be.

 

[Ron Newman]

Somewhere I recently read that the legislature restored money to build caps over the ramps, which should bring the YMCA project back on track.

 

[callahan]

I hope you're right. But I thought it was a financial situation more than structural. But maybe the YMCA didn't have the money to build the caps.

I guess my frustration is that it seems like after ten years of hearing about how great this space would be now that the dig is almost done every civic space seems to be questionable. I just don't get it. Why does Boston seem to have these problems more than most cities?

 

[Ron Newman]

The YMCA could not afford to build if it also had to build the tunnel cap. With that issue resolved, I'm hoping their project will soon return.