Rose Kennedy Greenway

I'm hoping the pergolas will over time provide shade, just like the ones in Christopher Columbus Park.

By the way, nobody was using the North End parks last summer, because they weren't finished and open yet. There were maybe two warm weeks in the fall when the fountains were turned on and people started using the parks, before it got too cold.
 
I wonder if a farmers' market on the weekends in the green space, or maybe some push carts selling hot dogs and lemonade, would attract people there in the summer. Haymarket has/is a farmers' market, right? And that's right along the greenway--maybe they can expand it onto the lawn. I'd go!
 
dshoost88 said:
I wonder if a farmers' market on the weekends in the green space, or maybe some push carts selling hot dogs and lemonade, would attract people there in the summer. Haymarket has/is a farmers' market, right? And that's right along the greenway--maybe they can expand it onto the lawn. I'd go!
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The Boston Public Market near South Station will not be happening this year due to financial constraints. Hopefully they'll make a permanent comeback in '09.

I really liked this farmers market...
 
What exactly is the difference between Haymarket and a farmer's market?
 
I walked the so-called "greenway" last week for the first time, from end to end. Some initial thoughts:

1) The Chinatown parks are cool and unusual but mostly just rock/concrete - not a lot of nature in there. I am convinced if the Dainty Dot building did not have such a funky, cool-sounding name, we would be begging for its tear-down. It's scarred back truly blights and ruins this park.

1) I really, really liked the feeling you get in the parks along the Financial District skyscrapers - especially around 99 High, 125 High and IP. It felt like an isolated canyon, with 30-40 stories sheer cliff sides - really, really cool. The density and height in that area make the park area feel special to me - unlike anything else in metro Boston, even better than PO Square. It's such a juxtaposition, like walking among redwoods and directly into a field with no transition. This "canyonization effect" should be celebrated - it's what makes it unique and not just a mini-Boston Common.

2) That being said, those blocks have nothing going for them at all. Truly just a wide median strip - no reason to hang out, stop or do anything.

3) When you get just past Columbus park, you can no longer walk along this so-called "Greenway" - the highway ramps block you off, you have to cross and walk around that block. So for me, that kills this idea of the Greenway as an entity in and of itself. It's just a collection of random parks.

4) The North End parks now have tables and chairs and I ate lunch here and really enjoyed it. THe city is laid out like a postcard in front of you and the tables/chairs are a welcome change from the benches that dot the other blocks. Once/if the grape vines grow, this could become a favored spot in the city for many people.
 
As a North End resident, trust me when I say that the North End Parks are usually packed. If you are walking through and not seeing anyone, it's the exception and not the rule.
 
statler said:
What exactly is the difference between Haymarket and a farmer's market?
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A farmers' market is where farmers from nearby towns set up shop and sell their product. City Hall Plaza has one, though I don't think it has started yet this year, as Big Apple Circus currently occupies most of the plaza. Copley Square has one, too. Here's a long list of farmers' markets throughout Massachusetts.

Haymarket is not a farmer's market. The produce there comes from the Chelsea wholesale produce market, which is the same place your local supermarket gets its produce. (If you can buy oranges and bananas, it's not a local farmer's market.)

Either kind of market would be an asset to the Greenway.
 
Letting the crowded Haymarket spill onto the Greenway would kill its raw urban appeal, IMO. But Boston seems intent on annihalating anything that continues to exude that feeling anyway, so why not?

BTW, to whomever said "the city is like a postcard laid out before me"...some postcard!

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HAHA! I made the "postcard" comment - and I ALMOST said "as long as you don't look to the left at the two parking garages!" You called me out! Well, hopefully the Government Center garage will be gone in the next five years, if all goes as planned - two or three towers taking it's place will do wonders for the Gov Center blight. And if you took the photo from the OTHER angle, there's a beautiful view of Fan Hall and the Financial District... laid out like a postcard.
 
postcard views

The one 'postcard' view I'd like to see is that if you remove the low rise portion of Marketplace Center at Faneuil Hall, the view from the water would go from, Boston Harbor, Columbus Park, Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall, and City Hall.

By the way that bridge between the two curved low rise sections was built to block the view of the central artery.

When the parcel was offered up for development it was probably one of the most desirable parcels available in the country. Guess who was the best developer...Mayor Kevin White's lawyer even thought he was not a developer.
 
Re: postcard views

PaulC said:
By the way that bridge between the two curved low rise sections was built to block the view of the central artery
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This is one of my biggest problems with comparisons of the Greenway to Comm. Ave. Everything one Comm Ave (East of Kenmore) Was intentionally oriented to the boulevard and and that combined with the time all of the flora has had to grow in, creates one of Boston's most beautiful urban spaces.

On the other hand, the vast majority of the buildings along the Greenway were built to do exactly the opposite. With the exception of the buildings on the Harbor side of Atlantic Ave. from S.Station to the Christopher Columbus Park, most of those buildings were either built to have their backs (or sides) turned on the Artery, or were pre-existing before the area was destroyed to make room for the artery and still face away from it. With time, the trees will grow in, changes will be made to fix some of the shortcomings, and new buildings will be designed to face the new park space. Some of the older buildings will probably see renovations that orient them towards the Greenway as well.

So, like Paul C said, removing and renovating the buildings that were designed to ignore this area, along with the construction of new ones will make this place much better in the future. Unfortunately, that future could be more distant than we'd like given the pace at which development occurs in Boston and the current state of the market.
 
Ron Newman said:
What sort of financial constraint?
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Apparently the cost of the tents, logistics, and police details. The latter was a big factor.

Also, the site is difficult in terms of storage and access. The original intent of the Boston Farmers Market was to have a permanent presence on the Old Northern Avenue bridge. But maybe now they can have a permanent home on one of the former MassHort parcels.
 
Why does it need a police detail at all? The city council should waive this requirement.
 
^ Gives the cops opportunity for overtime. Wouldn't be surprised if it was something demanded by the police union...
 
Ron Newman said:
Why does it need a police detail at all? The city council should waive this requirement.
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The detail is required because the farmers have to park their trucks in a traffic lane in order to load and unload. And it's state law (albeit ridiculous) so it would be a state waiver.
 
Then the city should file a home rule petition to waive this requirement for any farmers' market.
 
It is a pretty congested area, so in this case I think the details are warranted. You have both high vehicular and pedestrian traffic in this area. The cops should volunteer their time for once.

On another note, rumor has it that all fountains will be running by Friday until mid October.
 
The North End Parks from today -- 84 degrees, sunny. The Greenway is a terrific place if you love the sights, sounds and smells of heavy auto traffic.
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