Amid flowers and festivities, memories
Opening of Rose Kennedy Greenway pays tribute to mothers
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | October 5, 2008
It's been a long time in the works, but 13.2-acres of freshly planted park space in downtown Boston was joyously welcomed yesterday as tens of thousands flocked to the official opening of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
Under bright sunlight, amid the flowers and fountains, people celebrated the glory of what was once unthinkable: replacing a highway with a massive park.
It was an event so big, some people could forget about hard economic times and other troubles.
"You put it out of your mind," said Daniel Valeri, who said he has watched his retirement savings wither. "This takes all the worry away, for the day anyway."
The park has been 20 years in the making and emerged from the massively mismanaged $15 billion Big Dig. Yesterday, Mayor Thomas M. Menino cut a ceremonial garland, joined by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, and New York City's mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, whose mother lives in Medford.
The Kennedys and Bloomberg came to kick off the opening of the Mother's Walk, a Greenway path dedicated to the Kennedy matriarch and lined with bricks engraved with the names of mothers and favorite caretakers, male or female.
Bloomberg said he came to honor his mother. He recently launched a campaign for a third term as mayor, citing the dire state of the country's economy. But he didn't want it to dampen yesterday's mood.
"It's great coming to honor my mother and recognize what Ted Kennedy [who secured funds for the project] has done," he said. "We don't talk about politics on a day like today."
Instead, crowds descended on the Greenway to ride a carousel and a Ferris wheel or shop at the farmer's market. People lined up for free pulled pork sandwiches offered by Hard Rock Cafe and lolled on the lawn after eating them. Adults and children circled the park's water fountains, flirting with their sporadic eruptions.
The scene even inspired several painters, who set up easels along the Greenway's wide promenades.
Barbara Marcus flew in from Florida just for the celebration. She said her extended family gathered for breakfast at their hotel yesterday, specifically to remember their mother, Barbara E. Connellan, who died in 2006. Then they went to see the brick engraved with her name along the Greenway.
"She loved Rose Kennedy," Marcus said. "She loved the whole Kennedy story and the idea of a solid mother who went through the pain and anger of losing her children but still gave back."
"You don't see that anymore," her sister-in-law, Martha Connellan, said. "People whose whole life is dedicated to helping others."
In fact, the Greenway's future relies on the generosity of many. Many in attendance yesterday paid $500 for an engraved paver. The Greenway Conservancy, a private nonprofit, will oversee the maintenance, operations, and event-planning responsibility at the park beginning in December.
Nancy Brennan, executive director of the conservancy, said the Greenway budget for fiscal 2009 is expected to be between $6 million and $7 million. Caretaking costs about $5 per square foot and includes maintenance of the park's complex fountains, computer-driven lighting systems, and upkeep during an intense schedule of planned events.
The funding comes from the state, private donations, and borrowed money. None of that is guaranteed in the current economic climate, Brennan said, adding that she is unsure how the economy will affect charitable giving or the group's ability to borrow.
"The board and my senior staff are relooking at all the [budget] assumptions," she said. "There's not a prudent nonprofit in the country that's not doing the same.
Everybody is looking at public funding, borrowing, or private doings and making some recalculations."
City officials also are struggling to keep the park out of the shadow of skyscrapers. Since the park has become a reality, local developers are paying top dollar for parking garages and underutilized parcels abutting the space, aiming to build expensive high-rises. Menino announced last week a plan to set building height limits that will keep the strip from becoming "a canyon."
But yesterday the park shone. Gardens brimmed with purple corn flowers and brown-eyed Susans. A jazz group played near the fountains as afternoon descended and the Landmark Orchestra readied for an evening concert.
Adults and children danced.
"So far it's just unbelievable," said Brennan, who stayed all day. "This is a space people are beginning to love."
