Rose Kennedy Greenway

Gee, this is great. I'm buying one tomorrow for Whitey Bulger.
Are the stones, the cost of engraving and installation of the stones donated?
 
Discussing the nature of the Greenway, Emerson said, "It's a canyon of buildings, and something needs to be done to soften it. There should be no logos, memorials, barriers, or billboards."
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Yes, how dare that Financial District get in any way of the sacred Greenway.
 
I think small memorial displays are fine. When they get to be large an ostentatious do they become an nuisance. Small engraved stones are fine. So long as I don't one day see a huge onyx obelisk with the names of all the victims of the great molasses flood of 1919, I'll be happy.
 
type001 said:
Discussing the nature of the Greenway, Emerson said, "It's a canyon of buildings, and something needs to be done to soften it. There should be no logos, memorials, barriers, or billboards."
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:x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x

Yes, how dare that Financial District get in any way of the sacred Greenway.
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Yes, they have the same problem with Central Park in New York. All those damn towers around the edge. :roll:
 
Ive become a huge fan of the light things

They were stuck on purple a few weeks ago, but theyre back to slowly changing colors

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...

.... i'm still annoyed with them... i mean, take that final picture you posted, wouldn't it look better without their clutter?
 
Greenway

I love them, adds a very modern appeal and characteristic to the Greenway. If you ever visit, that may be something you capture in photos. Gives it more identity IMO.
 
The second North End Park, between Hanover and Sudbury streets, is now open. There are a few low wire fences to keep people off newly planted grass, but otherwise you can now walk wherever you want.

The fountain is not yet operating -- when they turn it on, some people who think it's a walkway will be very surprised!
 
The Globe said:
Y not?
Politicians and community leaders propose ideas to make the North End facility unlike any other

By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff | November 2, 2007

Forget the traditional swim-and-gym. A new downtown YMCA could offer bocce, tennis, and squash - not to mention virtual swim meets that would pit competitors against counterparts around the globe. How about Italian film screenings? A zero-entry rooftop swimming pool? Bicycle rentals?

These dreams for a new downtown YMCA came into focus this week at a brainstorming session that unexpectedly attracted scores of business executives, politicians, and community leaders, and spawned more than the 100 ideas organizers had requested. The new facility along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, participants decided, must make a dramatic architectural statement and provide an inviting public space for tourists, Bostonians, and YMCA members alike.

The rest was up for grabs.

The YMCA would have the standard day care, swim classes, and fitness equipment, participants suggested such nontraditional activities as cooking, scuba, sailing, and fishing classes. Members could share skills - knitting, dance lessons, Web design, yodeling - present oral histories, or take advantage of musical instrument rentals. A meeting room could double as a performance space that would feature dance recitals, band jam sessions, and "Boston Idol" style competitions.

"Most importantly, we are interested in how does this become almost an iconic city building that attracts tens of thousands of people from all over the community," said Barry Bluestone, the event's moderator and the director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University.

The new YMCA, expected to open in 2012, will be the cornerstone building on the greenway - the corridor atop the now-submerged Central Artery, where long-envisioned parks and fountains are finally coming to fruition. Two years ago, the YMCA shelved its project when the cost swelled from $42 million to almost $70 million. The project was resurrected, with a suggested cap of $50 million, after the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority assumed the cost of paving over highway ramps.

"We want this to be a Y unlike any other Y - a real civic benefit for the surrounding neighborhoods but for the whole city of Boston. It will be a destination Y," said John M. Ferrell, president and chief operating officer of the YMCA of Greater Boston.

And what a destination the participants envisioned. The rooftop alone prompted visions of a Ferris wheel, a tethered hot air balloon, a wind turbine, and a color-coded light tower that would warn motorists headed for the Central Artery ramps about the volume of traffic underground. Those plans seemed unlikely to materialize, the rooftop did inspire more practical proposals, such as a swimming pool or a community garden. Some hoped to incorporate the Big Dig tunnel below by closing it for an annual road race, providing a view of the tunnel through a plexiglass floor, and raising money for the new building through voluntary contributions on Fast Lane transponders.

This ad hoc group of brainstormers agreed on the importance of keeping the YMCA open to all - including nonmembers and visitors to Boston - and adding a welcome center with tourist information and public restrooms. Bicycle racks could be built to encourage commuters to bike to work and public showers installed, where they could freshen up before donning their business attire. The YMCA could offer bike rentals, someone suggested.

"If we do everything everybody wants, of course, it will be a 400,000-square-foot-building," joked Ferrell.

The group addressed the question of whether the YMCA would serve the city at large or just the North End community that has sought the space for so long, said James E. Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

"For 20 years, people from the North End have rightly expressed the need for a community center and athletic programming," he said. Participants settled on both. "While it might be a center that is housed from the North End and services the North End, it creates an opportunity for the people from the North End to welcome people from across the city," Rooney said.

Nancy Caruso, chairwoman of the North End/Central Artery Advisory Committee, recommended a large meeting room and performance space that could accommodate youngsters' dance recitals as well as North End community meetings that for so long have been shuttled around the cramped basements of neighborhood cafes and churches.

"Let's give them a place so they don't have to be like gypsies, like we've been for 15 years," said Caruso. She and others called for the inclusion of activities that pair children and senior citizens - such as urban gardening or child care. Bluestone pitched the idea of hoisting JumboTrons outside the new YMCA to feature digital photographs by students from a different city school each week.

"It was fun," said participant John P. Hamill, chairman of Sovereign Bank New England. "I went because the greenway is such an important part of the city. What is built on the greenway is going to be crucial in making it work appropriately, and the Y has been right at the forefront."

Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com.
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Absurd...the last I recall, they didn't have the money to build the structure they originally conceived, and now they are soliciting ideas for ferris wheels? ...If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go design a helicopter landing pad for my rowboat.
 
Maybe I missed this but I just noticed Market St. on that "Brainstorming" map, are they planning to rename Causeway St.?
 
dunsarelli said:
Maybe I missed this but I just noticed Market St. on that "Brainstorming" map, are they planning to rename Causeway St.?
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...must be a mistake...Market Street already exists - it's the 2-block long street between [what's left of] the tip of the Bulfinch Triangle and the Government Center Garage.
 
I agree money is a huge issue, but this is a move in the right direction. I was originally against the Y, because after all, who wants a gym on their city's showpiece park? But wow, some of these ideas would definitely make the building worthy of a spot on the greenway.

I don't think this is absurd at all, this is the way we should be thinking when it comes to the greenway! The only absurd thing about this is that none of those executives and community leaders are opening up their wallets to make these visions a reality.
 
I think the ferris wheel and the telescope are the most interesting ideas except that this is a terrible place to put a telescope. There are way too much light in the city for it.
 
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