Rose Kennedy Greenway

Padre Mike hit the nail on the head. Lack of uniformity was specifically what I noticed. In this parcel the theme of the fountains is symmetry and the park conveys a message of being poorly maintained when some of the fountain jets out of syncl.
 
You can blame the sickly fountains, the weeds, and all the other problems on the Turnpike Authority. It's clear they can't manage or maintain parks properly. I think the maintenance issues will disappear once we have a dedicated organization, like the Conservancy, running the Greenway.
 
OK so I walked by them today and I see what you mean. Sickly, though? I am a detail minded landscape architect, my wife more so, and nothing ever seemed "off" to us. They are uniform actually, they seem to project perpendicular to the surface, which is canted so water runs across it, and therefore they arc. Are we sure that wasn't the intention? I've not seen renderings, but I can't imagine a designer would think this would be so easily controlled, with the laser precision of a WET fountain like you'd see in an airport or a mall, what with wind and all.

I think the arc is more exciting and dynamic anyway, and I'm sure the kids wiggling through the space created by the arc would agree. Just straight up and down is a bit boring and static, reminds me of the people in those Neoscape 3d renderings. People scattered through lawns and fields, dressed business attire and standing solitary and stiff, arms at side, glaring steadily. Could it just be that maybe they likewise rendered the fountain equally unimaginatively? Standing corpses, lollipop trees, and laser-line fountains.
 
They really do need to do more to attract people to the greenway.
Its just going to be an unused strip of grass unless the city does something with it.
They really could have had the rolling parade go down it or something to introduce people to it . . .

Do people even know its open / down there. ?
 
I had to walk though there the other day around 11 am on my way to Rowes whf. one park was filled with people,sitting,sun bathing ect,the other 20 ft. away was deserted,I also gave a co-worker a ride to the No. end and she asked if the parks were even finnish? and she lives in Boston! So some one needs to annonce that these parks are open!!
 
As I mentioned earlier, a big grand opening ceremony is planned, but not until October 4.

The fountain near State Street looks quite popular.
 
^^ I still would have preferred something a little more innovative like the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park in Chicago.
The State St. fountain is nice but still feels like a cheap Las Vegas knock off.
 
update on Armenian Heritage Park

I guess it's no longer the Armenian Genocide memorial

Home page for Armenian Heritage Park
http://armenianheritagepark.net/default.aspx

http://www.wickedlocal.com/watertow...Heritage-Park-plans-for-Rose-Kennedy-Greenway

WATERTOWN -
Rep. Peter Koutoujian and the Armenian Heritage Foundation (AHF) announced that plans to develop a park on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway have been formally approved by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Board. The park proposal presented by the AHF will now proceed with final design and construction. The public process and approval is the result of an eight year campaign to design a park to commemorate immigrant groups who migrated to the Boston area as well as acknowledge those ancestors who sought refuge from the Armenian Genocide.

?As a member of the Armenian-American community, I am truly honored to be a part of this historic endeavor,? said State Representative Peter Koutoujian, who was the original proponent of the park. ?My grandparents came to America from Armenia in search of a better life. This park will serve as a beautiful dedication to their experience and the experiences of all immigrants who helped to make the city of Boston - - and our nation great.?
?For eight years, we have worked to make this moment a reality. This park would not have been possible without the support of the Armenian-American community, the residents of the North End, and the leadership of Governor Deval Patrick,? said James Kalustian of the Armenian Heritage Foundation. ?Thanks to years of hard work and commitment from our community, this park and its significance was realized and fully supported by the Patrick Administration.?

The Armenian Heritage Park, a gift to the City of Boston and the Commonwealth from Massachusetts Armenian-Americans, is for all to enjoy. The Park is consistent with key themes of the Greenway: to acknowledge the history of Boston as a port of entry for immigrants worldwide, and to celebrate those who have migrated to Massachusetts shores and contributed to the richness of American life and culture. The Park includes lawns, fountains, shade trees and benches to engage and delight children and adults.

Armenian Heritage Park will be constructed at no expense to the taxpayer, and cared for and maintained in perpetuity.
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I, for one, am grateful that this is going to be built, finally. I am also relieved that the organization will maintain the park themselves. Anything I have seen built by the Armenian community has been classy and of high quality. No matter what this park is called I will recall the horrible genocide they experienced at the hands of the Turkish government at the turn of the last century.
 
This is just what the greenway needs ,something to get people down there! I hope it's well done ,Is there a rendering of this on here somewhere?
 
No, this is on a small square between Marketplace Center and Christopher Columbus Park. It is just grass now. North of it is the ramp parcel where the Boston Museum wanted to build.
 
FYI the "Mothers' Walk" is being installed; a nice idea. BUT why isn't the big fountain on? For the third week in a row (and this time with out of town relatives) no water!! Harumph~
 
Padre Mike said:
FYI the "Mothers' Walk" is being installed; a nice idea. BUT why isn't the big fountain on? For the third week in a row (and this time with out of town relatives) no water!! Harumph~
Click to expand...

The fountain has been turned off sporadically so that WET can perform preventative maintenance. They've also had a few issues with the pumps and compressors. Hey, at least they are trying to fix it.
 
^It starts at the northern most Wharf District park, harbor side - parcel 14, and is suppose to wind its way down to parcel 17.
 
Thank you for the info, Waldorf. Look for the Mothers' names along the edge of the existing walkways....pavers are being replaced with memorial pavers. Nice job.
 
Shit, I forgot to look for the Mother's Walk pavers... well here's what I got from my trip in on the 25th. The North End parks seem to be an unqualified success.

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I'M KING OF THE WORLD!

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Don't look at me, pal.

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At this point I chilled and read a book (New York 1900) for a good 45 minutes, but didn't take any more pictures for some reason. Although not quite as active as the park to the north, this one still had plenty of people using both the sitting areas and the water features.

Next I ventured up to the top of the Quincy Market parking garage:

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Lastly, this is what I had to read while waiting for the elevator:

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KZ - I'm loving all these pictures you took throughout the city - no matter how old I get, I'll never tire of looking at the city and enjoying it's constant, progressive change...

The so-called "Greenway" may be a disaster now, but the North End Parks are definitely a success. Once the North End cut-off buildings are infilled and re-pointed to face the parks, and once the Government Center Garage development anchors the northwest corner, it'll only get better. Instead of calling it "the Greenway" I just wish these two North End park blocks had their own name - they aren't part of any mythical Greenway at all.

The concrete wharf parks will probably always be terrible because they are so thin median strips, but who knows what the future holds? Maybe dropping that elitist cultural/arts museum (the one that looks like a squashed shoebox) will help, and maybe letting Chiafaro build a megaplex on the Acquarium garage will help, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.
 
Those ramp parcels are really calling out for some development. I think the Greenway will feel much more intimate and complete once those ramps are out of view and buildings start to close things in a bit. I think some sort of state assistance will be needed to help developers build on those parcels though, given our current luck with developers building over the Turnpike, etc.

The wharf parks aren't a total failure. They are quite popular with the weekday lunch crowd, and I did see quite a few people out and about along them on a recent Saturday.
 
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