Ron Newman
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Nobody's going to walk through the park until all the fences are removed. Let's at least wait for that before judging its success.
Rose Kennedy Greenway
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Meadowhawk
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Park Benches
I'm not crazy about the style and color of the benches, but I'll bet if I'm tired one day walking through this greenway, I won't care what they look like as long as I can sit down and rest. I have to agree that the placement of these two benches in this image is questionable. I'm trying, like most of us, to be patient with this project. I'm not ready to condemn it as a disaster. The whole thing needs to grow, as well as grow on us. We cannot forget that it is still not a finished product. I remain however, bummed out that not a single pine tree is planted anywhere. I had envisioned a couple of huge pine trees lit up at Christmas time looking awesome, but that is not to be I guess. I do think this whole area will look very bleak indeed during the winter months without conifers.
I'm not crazy about the style and color of the benches, but I'll bet if I'm tired one day walking through this greenway, I won't care what they look like as long as I can sit down and rest. I have to agree that the placement of these two benches in this image is questionable. I'm trying, like most of us, to be patient with this project. I'm not ready to condemn it as a disaster. The whole thing needs to grow, as well as grow on us. We cannot forget that it is still not a finished product. I remain however, bummed out that not a single pine tree is planted anywhere. I had envisioned a couple of huge pine trees lit up at Christmas time looking awesome, but that is not to be I guess. I do think this whole area will look very bleak indeed during the winter months without conifers.
C
ChunkyMonkey
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Remember there are several developments that will go on the greenway that would presumably add life to the entire area. I think they were the YMCA, Boston Museum and the Center of the Arts and Culture. Also, they will be adding the visitor center to the Harbor Island National Park and possibly a permanent Farmer's Market., not to mention the completion of the Bullfinch Triangle. It is a little unfair to judge the success of the greenway before these parcels are developed.
Ron Newman
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Most of the benches I saw today were parallel to the surface roads, and looked across the brick-paved area at each other.
Can somebody point me to the history of the North End parks, or at least the design philosophy behind them? If you walk around the open one, it turns a very ugly back on the North End. There is nothing for humans on that one side, not even a sidewalk.
What was the idea behind that?
What was the idea behind that?
whighlander
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Redesign
I fully expect there to be a redesign just as it took a few tries at Copley Square?s park
I too noted the lack of many conifers although there are some birch trees with colorful bark to help colorize the gray winter months
I'm most concerned with the ill-conceived Massive Cultural Structures that are promised for the Greenway. Once all that kind of money is poured into concrete, steel and glass -- it be comes much harder to fix bad landscaping
The best approach would be to organically develop the landscaping over he next decade or so {let the trees grow up some} and then if there aren't any good sites just off the Greenway for the proposed Cultural Buildings -- we might just allow one or two.
The only exception is the need nay the desperate need for a Glass Tent for a True Boston Market
8)
Westy
I fully expect there to be a redesign just as it took a few tries at Copley Square?s park
I too noted the lack of many conifers although there are some birch trees with colorful bark to help colorize the gray winter months
I'm most concerned with the ill-conceived Massive Cultural Structures that are promised for the Greenway. Once all that kind of money is poured into concrete, steel and glass -- it be comes much harder to fix bad landscaping
The best approach would be to organically develop the landscaping over he next decade or so {let the trees grow up some} and then if there aren't any good sites just off the Greenway for the proposed Cultural Buildings -- we might just allow one or two.
The only exception is the need nay the desperate need for a Glass Tent for a True Boston Market
8)
Westy
I have a hard time being so down on the Greenway, especially at this point in time. It's a project that is being slapped together by a few different groups at the end of a major highway project with minimal funds.
If you remember during the planning process of the Big Dig and the Greenway, the Greenway was a HUGE part of the whole picture. It was almost like a parent offering a child a candy bar if the child agrees to suck it up and accompany them while clothes shopping; "hey, if you quit bitching about this project and suck it up, we'll build you really nice parks." Well, projects nearly over, there's little to no money to invest so yes, it's a hack job.
However, pieces of it are nice (i was in the Chinatown park Thurs. afternoon, it was crowded and there were swarms of elderly Asian men playing Chinese Checkers on the boards near the gate and crowds watching. Tourists were taking photos and families enjoying it. Aside from the woman with NH plates turning the wrong direction up Atlantic Ave and having to back out and piss everyone off, it was perfect day in a picturesque setting) and the ones that aren't... will eventually be.
In the future more investments will be made into these parcels. it seems like some people expect them to ship in Redwoods from California so we can have a nice full grown tree canopy. The benches mentioned above are ill-conceived (they look like an ill-fated attempt at combining a Nautica/ Cape Cod style with a contemporary Ikea European style) and will no doubt be moved before too long.
The light posts look nice at first glance, but it will be a few year before we see what they're really like (will they be maintained? will there be lights out, will they be rust heaps that look like they're colorfully back-lit pieces of a building that once stood on that site?).
Again, it's too early to judge, but if i had to guess, i bet this will be a nice project once FULLY completed. Remember that most of these parcels were covered by a rotting highway and that not even the best architects have a real idea of how people will use this space while it's open. So it's going to be trial and error for a while; but i bet it turns out to be pretty nice.
sorry for the rant.
If you remember during the planning process of the Big Dig and the Greenway, the Greenway was a HUGE part of the whole picture. It was almost like a parent offering a child a candy bar if the child agrees to suck it up and accompany them while clothes shopping; "hey, if you quit bitching about this project and suck it up, we'll build you really nice parks." Well, projects nearly over, there's little to no money to invest so yes, it's a hack job.
However, pieces of it are nice (i was in the Chinatown park Thurs. afternoon, it was crowded and there were swarms of elderly Asian men playing Chinese Checkers on the boards near the gate and crowds watching. Tourists were taking photos and families enjoying it. Aside from the woman with NH plates turning the wrong direction up Atlantic Ave and having to back out and piss everyone off, it was perfect day in a picturesque setting) and the ones that aren't... will eventually be.
In the future more investments will be made into these parcels. it seems like some people expect them to ship in Redwoods from California so we can have a nice full grown tree canopy. The benches mentioned above are ill-conceived (they look like an ill-fated attempt at combining a Nautica/ Cape Cod style with a contemporary Ikea European style) and will no doubt be moved before too long.
The light posts look nice at first glance, but it will be a few year before we see what they're really like (will they be maintained? will there be lights out, will they be rust heaps that look like they're colorfully back-lit pieces of a building that once stood on that site?).
Again, it's too early to judge, but if i had to guess, i bet this will be a nice project once FULLY completed. Remember that most of these parcels were covered by a rotting highway and that not even the best architects have a real idea of how people will use this space while it's open. So it's going to be trial and error for a while; but i bet it turns out to be pretty nice.
sorry for the rant.
whighlander
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Parks take time
Unfortunately, as opposed to buildings that typically look good and function well immediately upon completion {well after a brief shakedown} -- Parks just take time to grow into their prime.
Stuff has to grow and cover other stuff. People have to figure out what they really can and can't do in a given place. None of these things happen completely in days or even months. New stuff has to be planted to replace the stuff that for whatever reason shouldn't have been there to begin with or couldn?t surmount the environmental challenges. All this takes time and a dedicated group of park maintainers.
A good park is like a Gothic cathedral ? generations may be involved as it evolves. Even Boston Common and the Public Garden are still changing {even sometimes for the good} more than a century and half since the grand design.
As and example -- In Lexington, my wife and a neighbor started beautifying the local neighborhood park. When they started more than ten years ago -- there was just a ball field and some children's swings a couple of benches and a table and a lot of woods.
Today after ten plus years of planting and caring for the stuff, there are small trees, lots of shrubs and perennials and in the spring a plethora of bulbs. Each season they plant some, move some of the plants, take some out and in the whole expand the area devoted to shrubs and perennials. One year they decided to add a labyrinth in the middle of the woods. This project has taken two years to fully define the pathway to the labyrinth and the feature itself ? first with rocks and now with flowers.
I suspect with neighbors such as the fancy hotels at Rowe?s Wharf and the Intercontinental and with the Big Office Towers and their deep pockets owners -- there will be a quite adequate Greenway.
As a model one needs only look at the quite impressive job of disguising a fortification with shrubs, flowers, and benches that the Federal Reserve has done. Of course it took money and a singular purpose.
The Greenway with many cooks will be a complex broth -- but I'm fully convinced it will eventually meet a lot of the expectations.
The only two big caveats are the potential damage that the ill-sited large cultural facilities {especially the unclear of purpose New Center} can inflict on their surroundings and the risk of politicians who will attempt of politicians to manage the process and taking the lead in defining the look and feel of the landscape.
Westy
Unfortunately, as opposed to buildings that typically look good and function well immediately upon completion {well after a brief shakedown} -- Parks just take time to grow into their prime.
Stuff has to grow and cover other stuff. People have to figure out what they really can and can't do in a given place. None of these things happen completely in days or even months. New stuff has to be planted to replace the stuff that for whatever reason shouldn't have been there to begin with or couldn?t surmount the environmental challenges. All this takes time and a dedicated group of park maintainers.
A good park is like a Gothic cathedral ? generations may be involved as it evolves. Even Boston Common and the Public Garden are still changing {even sometimes for the good} more than a century and half since the grand design.
As and example -- In Lexington, my wife and a neighbor started beautifying the local neighborhood park. When they started more than ten years ago -- there was just a ball field and some children's swings a couple of benches and a table and a lot of woods.
Today after ten plus years of planting and caring for the stuff, there are small trees, lots of shrubs and perennials and in the spring a plethora of bulbs. Each season they plant some, move some of the plants, take some out and in the whole expand the area devoted to shrubs and perennials. One year they decided to add a labyrinth in the middle of the woods. This project has taken two years to fully define the pathway to the labyrinth and the feature itself ? first with rocks and now with flowers.
I suspect with neighbors such as the fancy hotels at Rowe?s Wharf and the Intercontinental and with the Big Office Towers and their deep pockets owners -- there will be a quite adequate Greenway.
As a model one needs only look at the quite impressive job of disguising a fortification with shrubs, flowers, and benches that the Federal Reserve has done. Of course it took money and a singular purpose.
The Greenway with many cooks will be a complex broth -- but I'm fully convinced it will eventually meet a lot of the expectations.
The only two big caveats are the potential damage that the ill-sited large cultural facilities {especially the unclear of purpose New Center} can inflict on their surroundings and the risk of politicians who will attempt of politicians to manage the process and taking the lead in defining the look and feel of the landscape.
Westy
Some pics from a stroll down the Greenway today, starting at Chinatown Park, thought in this case "park" is a misnomer. "Chinatown Plaza & Promenade" more accurately describes the layout. If you walk down Beach St to the gate all you see to the immediate left is a barren plaza and some greenery off in the distance. The promenade is too far away from the gate to feel a part of the same space and seems underused considering the Chinatown population. The grove on the other side of the gate seems to be where people prefer to congregate, which could be because of the relative distances.
The scene at the gate today a little before noon.
The scene in the other direction.
Might have worked better if they had placed two more of the red trellises as a sort of wall on the side of the gate opposite the grove to make an outdoor room and visually connect with the ones in the distance, and put the sculpture of the junk in the center of the plaza to fill the space and give it a focus.
On to the Wharf Parks and those benches. Like kz says, there's no shortage of them.
I spent some time today sitting on the two oddly-positioned ones. They're certainly well-placed to watch heavy vehicles come barreling down at you. If you like watching traffic up close this is the place to go.
There's a slope here which makes the benches look badly made. I still can't understand why they were put here.
At least they got the N.E. park(s) right. There are always people here, and they really interact with the space. The junior citizens especially, but also the adults and even the dogs. It's not a major problem that the parks turn their back to the street. The P.O. Square park does pretty much the same thing, even if it does have sidewalks.
Gets a crowd at night too. This one's from 9/26.
The scene at the gate today a little before noon.
The scene in the other direction.
Might have worked better if they had placed two more of the red trellises as a sort of wall on the side of the gate opposite the grove to make an outdoor room and visually connect with the ones in the distance, and put the sculpture of the junk in the center of the plaza to fill the space and give it a focus.
On to the Wharf Parks and those benches. Like kz says, there's no shortage of them.
I spent some time today sitting on the two oddly-positioned ones. They're certainly well-placed to watch heavy vehicles come barreling down at you. If you like watching traffic up close this is the place to go.
There's a slope here which makes the benches look badly made. I still can't understand why they were put here.
At least they got the N.E. park(s) right. There are always people here, and they really interact with the space. The junior citizens especially, but also the adults and even the dogs. It's not a major problem that the parks turn their back to the street. The P.O. Square park does pretty much the same thing, even if it does have sidewalks.
Gets a crowd at night too. This one's from 9/26.
KentXie
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Once they get some vendors there or if they put some kind of playground , the park can then be filled up very quickly.
For the Chinatown park, they need to renovate the abandon restaurant facing the park and fill it with a shops to attract people there. Best thing would be some sort of outdoor eatery that can use the empty plaza there.
For the Chinatown park, they need to renovate the abandon restaurant facing the park and fill it with a shops to attract people there. Best thing would be some sort of outdoor eatery that can use the empty plaza there.
What is that red brick structure with no windows/doors? Can it be moved or demolished? It would be nice if they could demolish it and merge that tiny park next to it into the larger one.
Also, I'm not a fan of what they did with the streets, oh well.
Also, I'm not a fan of what they did with the streets, oh well.
stellarfun
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Chris said:
The red brick building with no windows is the Dainty Dot Hosiery building. See the thread on 120 Kingston St., 29 story tower in Chinatown.
stellarfun
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^^ I'm pretty sure that's either an air intake or a vent for the tunnel. I'm sure it was built for the original tunnel section under Dewey Square, which the Big Dig rebuilt as the southbound CA/T.
Don't know whether there ever were thoughts to re-motif it, but as the Big Dig became more expensive, some of the proposals to make the vent buildings more architecturally distinctive went by the wayside.
Don't know whether there ever were thoughts to re-motif it, but as the Big Dig became more expensive, some of the proposals to make the vent buildings more architecturally distinctive went by the wayside.
Charlie_mta
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The brick vent building could have a Chinese-themed facade and roof put on it, compatible with the adjacent Chinatown entry gate.
Either that, or face it with concrete and have Chinese-themed murals painted on it.
Or a combination of the two.
Either that, or face it with concrete and have Chinese-themed murals painted on it.
Or a combination of the two.