Rose Kennedy Greenway

[singbat]

My homage to Joyce Kilmer:

I think that I shall never see
A full-grown healthy Greenway tree.

A tree whose tiny branches are prest
Against the Greenway's pebbled, dry, and earthen breast;

A tree that looks bad all the day,
And lifts her leafless arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of concrete, and plastic bags in her hair;

Upon whose bosom bureaucracy has lain;
Who intimately lives in vain.

Bostonians will be quick to say,
That only Boston can disgrace the Greenway.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only Boston can debase a tree.

nice. when voting finally makes it to phpBB remind me to go back and vote this up...

 

[shiz02130]

I'm going to design a building in Google Sketchup for Parcel 9, along the lines of the market building that I suggested a few pages back. Does anyone know how I can find the precise dimensions of this parcel?

Thanks.

 

[kz1000ps]

yesterday

 

[BarbaricManchurian]

Looks better than expected, but it's not very urban still. Maybe a nice place for workers on their lunch break. Expect the grass to die within 5 years just like the Common, Public Garden, and Comm. Ave mall.

 

[KentXie]

They should make the park a little more interesting and create little hills on some of the plots.

 

[dirtywater]

Expect the grass to die within 5 years just like the Common, Public Garden, and Comm. Ave mall.

There is what appears to be a good irrigation system installed in these parcels. Plus with the oversight of the Conservancy (and the use of income from the endowment it is raising), I am optimistic that the grass will be kept in much better condition than these public open spaces. At least we can hope for something much better, even if it is not quite to the standards of Post Office Square Park (although that would be nice).

 

[JimboJones]

Errr

Seriously, what are those obelisks supposed to represent?

I think they look nice, although I don't like that they take away some of the greenery.

Not everyone gets it. Last night we were walking back from the Aquarium wharf, past them, and I said to my boyfriend, "See, they're almost done with some of the greenway."

He goes, "Well, they still haven't taken down those parts of the old Artery."

I go, "Er, those are not part of the Artery, those are new."

 

[Charlie_mta]

They may be an official memorial to the old elevated Central Artery, a memento of sorts.


It would have been cooler to have salvaged some of the actual green scrap metal from the old Central Artery and made sculptures out of them for the Greenway.

 

[dirtywater]

There are two artifacts of the old Artery that remain in place as sculptural remembrances of the Artery: one adjacent to Marketplace Center near Clinton Road across from the eastern end of the North Market Building at Faneuil Hall. and the other on one of the Greenway parcels originally designated for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (the one with the vent building) near the corner of Congress Street and Purchase Street (if it is still called that).

As for the "obelisks", they are referred to in an article from Architecture Week (http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/1213/news_1-2.htm) as well as by the designers as "light blades". From the Architecture Week article:

"Light blades" provide signage, graphics, and lighting and can become standards for a giant outdoor movie screen.

 

[palindrome]

do they actually light up? They would look good at night if they did.

 

[dirtywater]

I believe that they are supposed to light up, unless this feature was eliminated in a "value engineering" move to save money.

 

[atlantaden]

^^^^^^^^^^

Hopefully they will light up! I was hoping that these light features would be similar to the light poles/features at the entrance to LAX, those are amazing and something similar would have been amazing here as well.

 

[Mike]

The light blades are also mentioned on the big dig site and in this article in the Globe from two months ago:

Modern Boston is reflected in 24-foot-tall ?light blades,? glass panels festooned with LED lights that can be programmed and enliven the evening hours. They help outline the Greenway's Great Room, two blocks of lawn and paved space where crowds gather.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/05/27/bigdigpayoff/



http://www.massturnpike.com/bigdig/parks/wharfparks.html

 

[atlantaden]

Parcel 17, between India Street and High Street, will have a nautical theme with salvaged granite seawall stones framing the park and sculptures inspired by the navigational markers and buoys found in historic Boston Harbor. The "Harbor Fog'' element will create a fog mist that will envelope the sculptures, with a pattern of lights that will glow within the mist at night.

This sounds unique and very cool if it's still in the works for Parcel 17 which, I guess, is next to the parcel with the light panels. All of it sounds great on paper however I'm remaining cautiously optimistic about the actual results. Actually, I'm starting to get excited again; damn, I should know better. I mean, this is Boston and we're talking the Turnpike Authority...a group not known for their creativity. Thanks Mike, for digging up these articles.

 

[czsz]

Steam rising from the ground? That shouldn't be hard. All they need to do is boil off the tunnel leak water...

Seriously, they've managed to keep it going for the Holocaust Memorial, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[Bobby Digital]

With all the bitching on this site about the greenway, I myself have questioned it in the past, I gotta say I think its coming along OK.

The biggest thing I see is that if there's major opposition or public outcry about the development, so far this stuff can all be changed.

I understand you all have your own an Utopian idea of what should exist here, but isn't it 20x better than what was there before? no matter what?

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

I understand you all have your own an Utopian idea of what should exist here, but isn't it 20x better than what was there before? no matter what?

It is, no question. I think we are just angry over the lost potential.

 

[atlantaden]

I understand you all have your own an Utopian idea of what should exist here, but isn't it 20x better than what was there before? no matter what?

Along with all the potential that these sites had are all the early promises of what was actually gonna happen as opposed to what's now happening. Lots of broken promises...I do remember all the ideas and promises made.....Bobby, you were too young to remember all the early planning/promises made of these parks, we're talking 15+ years ago...and so sure, I am disappointed! Was never one to look for utopia but when you had image after image of Garden's Under Glass and all that...yeah, disappointed is one word I would use.

 

[czsz]

so far this stuff can all be changed.

I continue to dispute this mentality. Perhaps the landscaping can be changed, but better opportunities for framing and connections via development are not going to be tolerated. Bostonians won't even let new buildings cast shadows over parks, let alone be built atop them.

Once something is designated "open space" in this city and the grass gets planted, it gains nearly sacred status.

 

[Bobby Digital]

no i actually do remember the old days before the artery was taken down and what they promised back in the early 90's. of course they were going to give a rosier picture than would ever exist, thats their job.

im not talking about buildings on this space, but if the parks are unfeasible, than they could realign the parks to make them more pedestrian friendly.