Boston Common Overhaul

[statler]

Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/11/18/councilors_craft_ideas_for_commons_amenities_fundi ng/) - November 18, 2008
Councilors craft ideas for Common's amenities, funding

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 18, 2008

City officials are exploring a massive rehabilitation of the Boston Common, considering whether to carve out portions of the country's oldest public park for a dog park and a full-scale commercial restaurant.

The City Council's special Committee on the Boston Common might also recommend that the city get help in operating the park by forming a conservancy that would do private fund-raising and some maintenance of the park, according to a draft report of the recommendations.

"The park needs some help right now; financially it needs more money," said Councilor Salvatore LaMattina. "The question is, how can we make this the best park in the city, if not the country?"

The recommendations would probably be implemented only with the support of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who likes some ideas (installing a dog park) but opposes others (a full restaurant).

"I would like to see some real nice little refreshment carts out there where people could pick up food," Menino said in an interview. "But I don't want to see liquor at the Boston Common at all. You've got kids playing there; it's a family atmosphere, where people can walk through."

For nearly a year, the City Council has been looking for ways to improve the Common, which they say has been underfunded, ill-maintained, and riddled with brown-bag drinkers and drug users. In June, a delegation of about 20 city officials and civic leaders toured several New York City parks in an effort to study what has and has not worked.

Councilors are looking at setting up a dog park at the corner of Charles and Beacon streets, putting boundaries around an area where dog owners currently congregate.

The draft report says a full-scale restaurant serving beer and wine could be located at the corner of Tremont and Boylston streets. In order to make room for the restaurant, maintenance facilities currently at the site would be moved underground. The city would then auction a lease on the location.

Another possible site for a restaurant would be near the Frog Pond, the draft report noted.

There has been talk for years about opening a restaurant on the Common - a Boston version of Tavern on the Green in Central Park - but the idea never gained traction.

The City Council's planning is still incomplete and is based on the work of three councilors, Michael P. Ross, Bill Linehan, and LaMattina. Councilors stressed that the draft is still in flux before a final version is put before the full council by mid-December.

Menino, while opposing some aspects of their plan, said he appreciated the councilors' work.

"We're always looking to make the Common cleaner, more attractive for folks," Menino added. "It's good to have some other eyes to look at it."

One of the plans being floated by the City Council is setting up a conservancy composed of area institutions and properties that abut the Common to help raise private money and oversee care of the park.

"They'd be eyes and ears for the park," said Ross, who is chairman of the committee. "It would be a group of people who meet regularly and are self-governed . . . and want to make the Common a better place that looks to private dollars instead of nonexistent public dollars."

He said the park would still be owned and operated by the city.

Menino did not seem supportive of setting up a conservancy, saying it would only duplicate the efforts of the Friends of the Public Garden, a nonprofit that works to improve the Public Garden, Boston Common, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall.

"They have that now," Menino said of a conservancy for the park. "If they want to raise money for it, I'm all for it. But let's not have 14 fund-raisers."

Councilors are also looking at making a grand entrance to the common, perhaps with a redesigned visitor center and a parade of international flags leading to the site. Ideas include extending ornamental fencing along Tremont Street to delineate the park's boundaries from Downtown Crossing.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

[statler]

Interesting comments on Boston.com:

The insightful:
Here in Paris, the parks are USED by Parisians--and that includes the cafes that each park has within its boundaries. Attracting users to the Common, and offering a place to get a hot chocolate or a glass of wine would make the Common safer. And adding some more chairs/benches and places to sit would encourage families, couples, everyone to take advantage of the Common.

And the insipid:
No offense skeptic2008 but the people in Massachusetts USA that are paying for this proposed project are working five jobs to make ends meet. Ironic how the people paying for the park will never have a chance to enjoy it.

If I could speak French I'd be on the first plane to Parisdise.

Do people not realize that the restaurant will generate revenue for the city which will keep the remaining 99.9% park nicer, thus saving the city (and taxpayers) money in the long run? But no...the leasing (not selling, not giving) of the remaining .1% is somehow theft of public property. Ugh.

[yigal]

A full-scale restaurant will occupy way more than .1% of the common. Unfortunately, there's only so much that can fit in. I still think it's a good idea, though, as it would help keep some unwanted activity out of the park. What I would do is give up the baseball field and plant some more trees instead. There are already two baseball fields in the esplanade.

[statler]

Yeah, I was exaggerating a bit with .1%, but the point stands.

[kennedy]

The entire common always seems like it was just sort of random stuff pushed together. The baseball fields, the tennis courts, the paths...and I feel like having a separate dog park would contribute more to this. I'd rather see money spent on having a master plan. I like the restaurant idea, I'd support it going over on the Frog Pond area. Keep it in the architectural style that already exists here (the granite, I think it is). Then, worry about cleaning it up, repaving the paths, landscaping a little bit (there are so many dirt patches and crabgrass...), organizing the sporting fields a little bit, I don't know-anything to make it seem like we had an idea what we were doing when we built it (I know it used to be a cow field, but it isn't anymore).

[statler]

Does anyone know when the Common was changed from an open pasture to a park? Was it just a series of gradual changes over the years or was there a master plan at some point?

[czsz]

I wonder if there's not some old statute continuing to prevent commercial uses like a restaurant.

[Boston02124]

Does anyone know when the Common was changed from an open pasture to a park? Was it just a series of gradual changes over the years or was there a master plan at some point?^1830
History of Boston Common
September 30, 2007

1634: The Puritans bought much of the 48 acres of the Boston Common from William Blackstone, a clergyman from England who was the city's first settler.

1756: The first bodies were laid to rest in the Central Burial Ground, which became a part of the Common in 1839. Composer William Billings and artist Gilbert Stuart were buried there.

1775: After residents protested the Stamp Act and the infamous taxes on tea, the British set up a garrison on the Common with 1,750 men, who burned the fencing around the Common for firewood.

1776: General George Washington reviewed his victorious troops on the Common.

1780: John Hancock planted a row of elms on Beacon Street opposite his home, the last of which survived until 1975.

1822: The city banned any sale of the Common's land for private development.

1830: A city order banned cows from grazing on the Common.

1836: The city built an iron fence around much of the Common.

1860s: The Common was the site of antislavery protests and rallies to recruit troops to fight in the Civil War.

1868: Paul Lienard completed work on the Brewer Fountain, which hasn't spouted water in recent years.

1877: Martin Milmore completed the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Flagstaff Hill, the site of a British redoubt during the Revolutionary War.

1897:The entrance to the Park Street station opened, marking the nation's first subway system.

1912: The city completed the Parkman Bandstand to commemorate George F. Parkman, who bequeathed $5 million in 1908 to maintain the Common.

1924 and 1925: The city erected monuments to Lafayette and the Declaration of Independence.

1960s: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on the Common, and tens of thousands of people protested the Vietnam War.

1979: Pope John Paul II spoke on the Common.

Oct. 21, 2006: A new world record was set on the Common when residents lit 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns simultaneously around the park.

SOURCE: The Boston Parks and Recreation Department and The Boston Globe

? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
More from Boston.com

[JimboJones]

You forgot:

September 17, 2008: Bruce Jenkins asks me for spare change, calls me derogatory name when denied.

[ledjes]

Maybe I'm alone in this opinion, but I?m really tired of hearing about the lack of programming for our open space. Have our collective attention spans really decreased to the point where we need someone to suggest to us how to use every square inch of open space??? There's already cafe space at the Emerson corner of the common. Just improve that one location, and, a dog park...really??? Don't the dogs enjoy the park as it is already - they don't seem to be stymied by the lack of a designated dog zone.

I?m not suggesting that it couldn?t use some clean up. But, gosh a?mighty! Stop with the programming!

[Ron Newman]

What, you don't like Shakespeare and outdoor movies and concerts? Why not?

[statler]

I don't really get the argument either. It not like the restaurant will somehow inhibit your ability to enjoy the park as park, it just adds an extra dimension. Park and restaurant aren't mutually exclusive.

[JimboJones]

Dog park? Over my dead body.

[kennedy]

^ THANK you. ^

[statler]

Sorry, toby, your kind aren't welcome around here I guess.

[Lrfox]

A sun room style setup for the restaurant wouldn't be a bad idea. It could be open-air during the nicer weather and closed for climate control in the winter and rainy days. I really like the thought of a restaurant on the Common.

[ledjes]

What, you don't like Shakespeare and outdoor movies and concerts? Why not?

I can see how you might misunderstand my post. I should have added that I DO LIKE this type of non-permanent programming ? which is different than full scale restaurants and dog parks. The current layout of the Common lends itself to this type of changeable programming?and it?s this inherent flexibility that creates a better medium for a variety of programming types; plus when it?s not in use for Shakespeare, etc, it?s a great spot to throw a Frisbee, free-range-run for dogs, etc. It?s the permanency of creating zones and adding stuff for stuff?s sake to the Common that makes me rankle.

I know this will ruffle some feathers, but, IMO, Chicago?s Millennium Park is way overcooked. Talk about sensory overload. You can?t swing a dead cat without hitting something of ?significance?.

[Padre Mike]

^I totally agree. We are not talking about something the size of Central Park. The Common is very small relative to the downtown area. There are already plenty of places to buy good food on Tremont and Boylston Sts.. How about more trees around the bandstand with lots of benches under the shade? This area was beautiful when populated by majestic elms in concentric circles. The cafe run by Emerson College is entirely enough regarding additional eating places. I'm also wondering when the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument will get back it's four bronze figures. The Common does not need a complete overhaul, just proper maintenance of it's fabric and the monuments presently there.

[statler]

Post Office Sq is much smaller than the Common and the it manages to host a sit down cafe.
Rather than thinking of this as scaling down Tavern on the Green, thinking of it as scaling up the P.O. Sq cafe.

[ablarc]

Most visitors I've taken to see Boston Common think it's no great shakes. The part that's on the garage roof is positively barren. It can use all the help it can get. The restaurant's a great idea. Compare with Bryant Park to see how far the Common falls short of its potential.

[kennedy]

I know Toby agrees with me, he would much rather have a large, open space to romp and catch missed frisbees, rather than be confined within the walls and small spaces of a doggie internment camp.

[statler]

Are dogs allowed to run free on the Common now? I thought they had to be on leashes. If they don't than I agree a dog park makes no sense.

[underground]

I don't know what the specific rules are, or if there even are any, but I know that a pretty large group brings their dogs to the parade ground after work and let's them run around off-leash.

Personally, I think the idea of a dedicated dog park on the Common is stupid. The area should be flexible. In the last few years I've gone x-country skiing at Winter Fest, saw Shakespear on the Common a few times, saw Yo Gabba Gabba (no, I don't have kids, I'm just a nerd), saw a few nutty protests, saw a few worth while protests, sat, walked, ate pizza... why are we going to fence off an area and say, "THIS IS FOR DOGS ONLY!!"?

[sidewalks]

There is an area near the statehouse that is being used for off the leash dog use. The current rule is that it is illegal everywhere else.

[JimboJones]

The people who are letting their dogs run "off-leash" are disobeying (i.e., breaking) the law. It is illegal for a dog to be off-leash anywhere in the city, except in designated dog parks. It is not legal to let a dog run off-leash anywhere on the Common. There was a "trial program" at one time; it is now over.

It wouldn't make any sense to let dogs run free on the Common, when there are so many other people using it, including people with young children, the elderly, and others.

Many dogs cannot be controlled; they are animals, not people.

As it is now, I believe the entire park is open to "all people"; to segregate a section for use only by one group of people (dog-owners) goes against what has been the rule, so far.

Am I against a dog park on the Common? Not necessarily, but the behavior of dog-owners on Beacon Hill, as well as elsewhere, leads me to the conclusion that they are selfish people who have wanton disregard for the law.

Even in the dog park in the South End, there are still people who take their dogs off leashes and let them play in the "non-dog" sections, because, in their words, "My dog doesn't play well with other dogs."

Might I suggest you head to New Hampshire, then?

That's about all I have to say about this topic!

[endus]

Im going to go with "no". No to the dog park (god help us) and definitely no to the restaurant. I love restaurants, but Boston has PLENTY. We don't need another one clogging up a public park.

I think the common is fine. I used to skate through there at all hours of the night and generally hang out there and never had a problem. There are certainly some homeless people about and brown baggers, but nothing is going to change that. It's a park in the middle of the city, you're always going to have a bit of that element there. Do they really think a restaurant or a dog park or, for that matter ANYTHING that attracts more families and other uses to the park is going to change that? Definitely not.

The landscaping could probably use a bit of work and I think more non permanent events is a fantastic idea. Food from carts is also fine with me as long as its non permanent. Honestly, to me this sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I think the area could be better used, but there's nothing wrong with it now. With all the things in town and in the state demanding money now, this should be the absolute last thing on our list. Sure the restaurant could pay for some of this but...come on...leave the park alone.

[Ron Newman]

to segregate a section for use only by one group of people (dog-owners) goes against what has been the rule, so far.

But don't we already have sections designated for other groups of people -- ice skaters, tennis players, and baseball or softball players?

[Pierce]

But don't we already have sections designated for other groups of people -- ice skaters, tennis players, and baseball or softball players?

ice skaters, tennis, baseball and softball players typically don't leave the smell of their urine and feces after they leave

[ablarc]

Im going to go with "no". No to the dog park (god help us) and definitely no to the restaurant. I love restaurants, but Boston has PLENTY. We don't need another one clogging up a public park.

I think the common is fine. I used to skate through there at all hours of the night and generally hang out there and never had a problem. There are certainly some homeless people about and brown baggers, but nothing is going to change that. It's a park in the middle of the city, you're always going to have a bit of that element there. Do they really think a restaurant or a dog park or, for that matter ANYTHING that attracts more families and other uses to the park is going to change that? Definitely not.

The landscaping could probably use a bit of work and I think more non permanent events is a fantastic idea. Food from carts is also fine with me as long as its non permanent. Honestly, to me this sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I think the area could be better used, but there's nothing wrong with it now. With all the things in town and in the state demanding money now, this should be the absolute last thing on our list. Sure the restaurant could pay for some of this but...come on...leave the park alone.
endus, if the folks who redid Bryant Park had thought as you do, they would have passed up the opportunity to create what many people think is the country's finest urban park.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/search.php?searchid=3335933

[PaulC]

ice skaters, tennis, baseball and softball players typically don't leave the smell of their urine and feces after they leave

There will be dog feces and urine in the Common with or without a dog park. Drop by the dog park in the south end and see what that is like. I don't think you'll find much feces left behind and the dog area has a plastic membrane under all the pea gravel connected to pipes so that the area can be washed out. Isn't it better to controll where the dogs go. Take a trip to Manhattan sometime in the summer when it hasn't rained for a while. There is a strong noticeable smell of dog urine along the sidewalks.

[Beton Brut]

How about we split the difference on this one?

Why not a tensile structure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensile_architecture) like a miniature version of the Savill Building (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savill_Building)? This can be done on the cheap -- no glass, and keep it open only three seasons (April-November). Sandwiches, beer, wine. Maybe BBQ. Cocktails after 6PM. Invite the Berkley kids to roll down Boylston and play some Jazz.

[JimboJones]

Ron, several dog owners have proposed taking over an area on the Common and maintaining it, themselves. Pretty much, it becomes like private property. That's what I object to. The rest of the park is open to "everyone".

[endus]

endus, if the folks who redid Bryant Park had thought as you do, they would have passed up the opportunity to create what many people think is the country's finest urban park.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/search.php?searchid=3335933

Dead link. Would like to read it though.

[Pierce]

There will be dog feces and urine in the Common with or without a dog park. Drop by the dog park in the south end and see what that is like. I don't think you'll find much feces left behind and the dog area has a plastic membrane under all the pea gravel connected to pipes so that the area can be washed out. Isn't it better to controll where the dogs go. Take a trip to Manhattan sometime in the summer when it hasn't rained for a while. There is a strong noticeable smell of dog urine along the sidewalks.

its the concentration in one spot that is the point. I walk by the south end dog park frequently as it is near my office, and it was exactly what i was thinking of when i typed that. Stand 50' downwind from it--not pleasant.

[Pierce]

endus, if the folks who redid Bryant Park had thought as you do, they would have passed up the opportunity to create what many people think is the country's finest urban park.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/search.php?searchid=3335933

really? I've never heard much fanfare, I think most would disagree. Off the top of my head I can think of 3, maybe 4 better urban parks within 30 blocks or so.

its the privatization that is the main criticism, and what earned it a spot on the PPS hall of shame (http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=521)

more non-forum criticism:
http://www.wildwilderness.org/content/view/336/64/
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/4/3/8/p104380_index.html

[endus]

really? I've never heard much fanfare, I think most would disagree. Off the top of my head I can think of 3, maybe 4 better urban parks within 30 blocks or so.

its the privatization that is the main criticism, and what earned it a spot on the PPS hall of shame (http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=521)

more non-forum criticism:
http://www.wildwilderness.org/content/view/336/64/
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/4/3/8/p104380_index.html

I won't swoop in and try to claim this as complete justification of my comments because I am honestly not familiar enough with the situation to make that kind of judgement, but I can say that this is sort of what I am afraid of.

It's what I am afraid of, and it's also just not necessary. I just don't see a problem with the common that is worth even the risk of that type of criticism. What is wrong with just leaving it the way it is? When I drive by there, making endless circles looking for a parking space so I can grab a Chacarero I see people walking through, sitting and having lunch, skating during the winter, enjoying the frog pond during the summer. I see the ice sculptures on first night, I see the pro-pot demonstrations, I see the concerts. I see people playing frisbee, I see people sledding, I see people relaxing. Is that not good enough for everyone?

[statler]

Boston's new motto: "Good enough"

[kennedy]

Hasn't that always been our motto?

[rikahlberg]

Don't the Friends of the Public Garden already do lots of advocacy for the Common?? Why create yet another private conservancy?
http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org

The best things that could be done is to upgrade the existing benches, fences, and paths so they are less suburban-looking. That horrible ball field with its chain link fence is a huge eyesore, and it could easily be improved. Fix up the directional signage. A few nice signs went in during the Ritz-Carlton sponsored fix-up on Tremont, but those should be extended throughout the park.

There are lots of opportunities for vendor carts at the corner of Tremont & Boylston, but a restaurant sounds like overkill. Put a restaurant in Franklin Park at the golf clubhouse, not on Boston Common.

[PaulC]

The report is on line, who knew there is a deer park:
http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/pdfs/Final_Report_SCBC_121708.pdf

some old pics on this site:
http://books.google.com/books?id=y5EbFum5GY4C&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=%22boston+common%22+%22deer+park%22&source=bl&ots=wNeFsGMdQG&sig=PHsA78z0G9R8ECj9P5dLBkhJxx8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPP1,M1

[Lrfox]

Boston's new motto: "Good enough"

Not much better, Fall River's official motto is actually, "we'll try."

[JimboJones]

Reminds me of the campaign slogan I always wanted to use:

"John For President. We can do better."

[briv]

There is an article in this week's Courant on the dog runs (yes, runS) being proposed for the Common.This is the map that was published along with it showing the locations of the proposal:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/briv1/proposed_common_dog_run.jpg

The gall of this group is impressive.

[JohnAKeith]

Over my dead body.

Having said that, Area A seems like a good location. It's bad only because of its distance from the Hill. The spot up on top of the hill next to the monument would be my second choice.

All other locations are too important/prominent to be made available only for the privileged few.

[atlrvr]

Area C is already a defacto off-leash dog run.....Every morning its like a "boys club" with the same guys playing fetch with their dogs

[PaulC]

http://www.bhcivic.org/bbs/zboard.php?id=spotlight&no=126
Public Meeting on Boston Common

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
7:30 p.m.
74 Joy Street

The public is invited to attend a meeting to discuss the Report of the Special Committee on the Boston Common. City Council President Michael Ross, who served as Chair of the Special Committee, will give a formal presentation on the report, which addresses issues concerning the park?s physical appearance, public safety, homelessness, park rangers and proposed future usage, such as the addition of a restaurant. The report makes recommendations on ways to make the Boston Common an even more central part of our city and includes proposed funding vehicles. The complete report is available on www.bhcivic.org. Also present at the meeting will be City Councilor Sal LaMattina, Friends of the Public Garden President Henry Lee and other concerned stakeholders.

[statler]

Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/06/12/141_year_old_brewer_fountain_to_undergo_restoratio n/) - June 12, 2009
A fountain fallen from grace
141-year-old fixture to undergo repairs - with a hefty price tag

By David Abel, Globe Staff | June 12, 2009

For years, the chiseled sea nymphs and other Parisian-styled gods have existed in an ignominious purgatory in which their glory has been relegated to a perch for pigeons.

The only time the bronze statues have water sluicing through their pipes is when it rains.

The inglorious fate of the 141-year-old Brewer Fountain has long irked city officials and others who have admired its bygone grace near the northeast edge of the Boston Common, in the shadows of the State House.

Now, after years of effort to raise money since it ran dry in 2003, the city's oldest fountain is about to undergo a major restoration.

But the work comes at a steep cost for a city in financial straits. The budget for the project now stands at more than $630,000, which could rise depending on what contractors find when they examine the fountain more closely. About half of that money will come from city coffers, the rest from the federal government and private donors.

"The renovation of Boston Common is very important, and we see this as a first step, bringing back a wonderful attraction and amenity to that edge of the park," said Antonia Pollak, commissioner of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

The Brewer Fountain, the only known surviving copy of the original featured at the 1855 Paris World Fair, was imported from Switzerland by Gardner Brewer, a wealthy merchant, and assembled on the Common in 1868.

The first effort to repair the 22-foot-tall fountain began nearly a decade ago, when workers discovered extensive damage to the pipes and determined that the project would require much more money than anticipated. The fountain burbled until 2003, when its pump died.

Since then, private donors have raised money, and officials have sought matching grants from the federal government, but the city has treated the fountain like a sculpture and sought to spruce it up with plants, flowers, and other ornaments.

The City Council appropriated the money several years ago, city officials said, but it had to come up with tens of thousands of additional dollars this year, because the cost has increased. Despite the expense, the project is backed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, as well as the City Council.

"It's the right thing to do," Menino said in an interview this week. "The fountains beautify our city. It makes our city alive. It's amazing how many people ask about fountains."

Councilor Michael P. Ross, who represents the Back Bay, said the project is part of a larger effort to improve the section of the Common along Tremont Street, an increasingly dingy area of the park that on many days looks like a homeless encampment.

"We need more positive activity in the area," Ross said.

Menino's challengers, Councilors at Large Sam Yoon and Michael F. Flaherty, both said they support the project.

The city maintains 21 fountains, park officials said, and the Brewer is one of four not working. The other fountains are in Coppens Square in Dorchester, in Statler Office Park near The Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, and the White Memorial fountain in the Public Garden.

Margaret Dyson, the city's director of historical parks and the manager of the Brewer project, said the plan is to restore the bronze sculptures and the cast-iron central armature, to install a new mechanical pump and filtration system, to update surrounding light fixtures, and to repair the granite plinths and concrete basin. She said there are holes in several sculptures, which represent Neptune, Amphitrite (Neptune's wife), and Acis and Galatea, a couple from Greek mythology.

"As we lose more of the bronze and the structural element, the fountain could collapse," Dyson said. "That's why we can't defer the maintenance. We could cross our fingers and hope for the best, or we can do it now."

The city has recently cordoned off the fountain. Over the next few weeks, contractors will carefully clean it, inspect the piping, and take detailed pictures of every crevice. Then, they will dismantle it into about 14 pieces and ship it to Watertown, where a team of architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, and conservators will spend several months trying to restore its luster.

The work should be finished and the fountain reassembled by November, said Clifford Craine, the art conservator in charge of the project for Daedalus Inc. in Watertown.

Michael Levenson of the Globe staff contributed to this report. David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.

The work should be finished and the fountain reassembled by November

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x176/bstnstatler/jesusfacepalmtv7.jpg

[aquaman]

The cure for this fountain's woes is to enlist a corporate sponsor who will overtake its repair and upkeep, similar to Wollman Rink in NYC. The city is utterly feckless when it comes to keeping it up and operating it and its future will always be subject to budgetary shortfalls and city employee lethargy. My pedestrian commute used to being me by this fountain for several years and it NEVER worked.

Get the Berkowitz Brothers or Au Bon Pain to sponsor it and give them a 20 year lease on a concession stand on its perimeter (but NOT a Legal Seafoods or cookie cutter ABP -- it would have to be a small sandwich shop/cafe by day, and a wine bar by evening). Let them sell coffee and bagels in the morning, light lunches in the afternoon. If possible, I'd love it if they could also have a limited liquor license (beer and wine only) until 9 pm (and only in the summer months). We'd have a working outdoor fountain and an attractive small cafe with outdoor seating nearby. Talk about a draw that will help clean up that entire side of the Common.

[Beton Brut]

Thanks for making sense, aquaman.

[tmac9wr]

Perhaps too much sense. That sounds like a great idea.

[Padre Mike]

Good idea aquaman. I don't think the fountain should be reassembled in November. It should wait for the Spring. Otherwise, something is bound to happen to it during the winter, it will be disassembled again, we'll wait months for parts and go another year without it running....sound familiar, Greenway Fountain?

[statler]

I don't think the fountain should be reassembled in November. It should wait for the Spring. Otherwise, something is bound to happen to it during the winter, it will be disassembled again, we'll wait months for parts and go another year without it running...

Exactly!

(BTW, sorry if my image offends)

[Bubbybu]

Some news:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20090630restaurant_on_the_common_park_could_be_pla ce_for_posh_repasts/srvc=home&position=4

A vacant stretch on Boston Common could soon be bustling again with a ?world class? outdoor cafe while a rundown concrete slab could also soon morph into a high-end eatery, the Herald has learned.

City parks officials expect to start taking bids early next year from prospective restaurateurs vying to take over the so-called ?pink palace? - a vacant cement building near the Common tennis courts that for years served as a men?s comfort station.

?We?ve received commitments from our parks commissioner to have a public bidding process for the ?pink palace? by January,? City Council President Michael Ross told the Herald. ?It?s a wonderful opportunity. You could get a restaurant, a cafe or even some other small business in there.?

Several chefs of ?high-end? Hub eateries have expressed interest in the location, including KO Prime/Clio/Toro owner Ken Oringer and B & G Oysters/Eastern Standard owner Garrett Harker, both of whom attended a recent City Hall hearing on the ?pink palace,? Ross said.

Meanwhile, Ross says an outdoor cafe near Emerson College is poised for a valiant return as park officials are working with potential operators and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, which owns the rights to the operation. Emerson had been running the cafe but shut down it down for financial reasons.

?I would like to see a world-class restaurant operator out there,? Ross said. ?In the next couple weeks, you?ll see a new restaurant out there.?

Officials estimate renovating the pink palace would cost $1 million and envision a classy restaurant similar to Tavern on the Green in New York City?s Central Park. Councilors are also pushing to allow the winning bidder an 8-year deal, rather than the 1-year lease under current law.

?There?s an interest in this. My point is to move away from the status quo and to some more forward-thinking concepts,? Ross said.

Past efforts to open restaurants on the Common have failed, most recently in 2001. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has rejected efforts to allow liquor licenses on the Common, which would likely be a sticking point for potential investors

[vanshnookenraggen]

That's the ticket! We need some of that World Class in our Open Space!

[statler]

I can't picture this 'pink palace'.

Is not this building, is it?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1288/576529727_ee2f1233e3.jpg

Because that would be really small for a cafe.

[Suffolk 83]

Mayor Thomas M. Menino has rejected efforts to allow liquor licenses on the Common, which would likely be a sticking point for potential investors What IN THE HELL is Menino's problem anyway?

[Beton Brut]

What IN THE HELL is Menino's problem anyway?

It may have something to do with the vacuum between his ears.

[Boston02124]

I can't picture this 'pink palace'.

Is not this building, is it?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1288/576529727_ee2f1233e3.jpg

Because that would be really small for a cafe. that's it! the Pink Palace! looks cement grey to me!

[statler]

MassHighTech.com (http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/08/03/daily6-Awesome-Foundation-goes-low-tech-with-first-grant.html) -August 3.2009
Awesome Foundation goes low tech with first grant

The Awesome Foundation, a newly founded Cambridge-based non-profit making micro-grants to fund extraordinary projects, has selected its first fellow.

Rhode Island School of Design assistant professor Hansy Better Barraza will receive $1,000 toward installing a giant hammock on Boston Common, the foundation announced Saturday. The public will be invited to hang out in the oversized hammock free of charge, according to an announcement posted on Facebook.

The announcement also invited the public to attend an awards ceremony this Friday, 8 p.m., at the Harvard University Berkman Center?s Church Street satellite office, Berkman Squared, at which Barraza is expected to explain her project.

?We had a lot of really good ideas,? said co-founder Tim Hwang. ?Some of them cleaved on the more technical side. We felt at least for our first grant it made sense to open up with something everybody could participate in.?

Founded by a group of Boston-area tech employees and entrepreneurs, the Awesome Foundation wanted its first grant to counter the expectation that it would fund only IT-related projects, Hwang said.

Barraza could not be reached this morning, but Hwang said she envisions designing and fabricating the hammock in six to eight weeks.

However, questions remain as to whether installing a group hammock will be feasible on Boston?s historic common. City Parks and Recreation Department director of event development Suzanne Taylor said the hammock idea will have to go through the same permitting process as any special event.

The parks department has in the past worked with the Institute of Contemporary Art on art installations on the common, but has not yet received a permit application for the hammock idea, she said.

With the selection of its August fellow, the Awesome Foundation opened applications for its September fellowship program. The deadline, according to the organization?s website, is August 14.

By the time they get thru the permitting process they will be able to install it in November, just in time to coincide with the reopening of the Brewer Fountain.

[Lurker]

The sanitary was referred to as the pink palace, partly on the interior paint scheme, more likely lewdly based on the nature of the male anatomy and the illicit activity which would occur there. Think of it as the Fens, before the Muddy River was overgrown with invasive reeds.

The hammock is a crazy idea, which will have quite the novelty for a good five minutes, before hundreds of homeless people sleep and deposit fleas, lice, bedbugs, ticks, fluids, into the fibers.

[Pierce]

The hammock is a crazy idea, which will have quite the novelty for a good five minutes

indeed, Boston needs more of this. It was a crazy and shortlived novelty having the puma city thing this spring, the floaty mannequin balls and the Julian Opie screens along the FP Channel in years past. Boston Common is dying to have some temporary interest

[Charlie_mta]

Here's a couple of memories from the late 1950's of the Boston Common, when I was a child:

- There used to be a daycare at the kids' playground, located near the Park Street station. Parents could leave their kids off there for a few hours while they went shopping, and the kids would be watched by attendants.

- At Christmas, in addition to the spectacular Christmas lights and large life-size manger scene (creche), there was a group of reindeer in a fenced in area. The kids of course loved that.

This was back when downtown was the vibrant, exciting shopping center for the whole metro area.

Obviously these features would be unworkable today because of lawsuits, political correctness, and PETA.

[statler]

The Christmas lights and creche are still on display at Christmas time & I can no reason why there couldn't be a (fully-licensed) day care center on or near the Common.
Same thing with the reindeer petting zoo, which is still a popular feature at State Fairs and farms.

I think it is more cost than anything else. It would be a nice project for that DTX business association they are always talking about forming.

[choo]

The walk-in day care is an interesting concept. Kind of like a kennel for kids.

[commuter guy]

They have drop in daycare/playspace for short periods of time at IKEA in Stoughton and I think at the Shaws grocery store on Rte 1 in Dedham

[statler]

Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/27/bleak_corner_of_common_seen_as_dining_spot/) - August 27, 2009
Restroom to restaurant? Idea offered for Common
Group says it could revitalize bleak corner

By Meghan E. Irons, Globe Staff | August 27, 2009

For three decades, the drab, dreary structure has sat unused and unnoticed on the southeast corner of Boston Common, near the athletic fields and tennis courts. Joggers pass by with hardly a glance.

Now some in the city are hoping to transform the former men?s comfort station, otherwise known as a restroom, into an eating establishment.

Supporters say that, once renovated, a new restaurant or concession stand would restore vitality, tamp down crime, and create positive activities on a corner of the Common that badly needs them.

Park users generally like the concept, though some are not too keen on the idea of serving food at the site of an old bathroom.

?That?s kind of gross,?? said Quincy law student Jeanna Morris, laughing as she sat with a friend on the Common. ?I think it?s an interesting idea to put more food concession stands around here . . . but don?t tell people that it was a restroom.??

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department began soliciting ideas earlier this month for the reuse of the 1920s single-story building, known as the Pink Panther. Park officials want ideas for a permanent food establishment there, but they are open to other suggestions.

?This is an area of the Common that we would love to see more activity in,?? said Mary Hines, the Parks Department spokeswoman. ?We know that the possibility of this being transformed into a positive site is there. It can positively work.??

So far they have received no response to their request for ideas.

Those pushing the restaurant or concession option shrug off the notion that a dining room at the site is a bit, well, unsavory.

?You gut it out and make it look nice,?? said Salvatore LaMattina, one of three city councilors pressing the idea. ?I think it has potential.??

Most people do not know that the building was once a public bathroom, he added.

Park users have few options to dine. There is a snack shop near the Frog Pond playground and a few food carts. But ideas have been circulating about how to increase the offerings at the nation?s oldest park.

Attempts have been made, but success has been fleeting. In 1997, Emerson College spent thousands of dollars setting up a seasonal cafe at Boylston and Tremont streets. But it was never profitable and closed for good in June.

The Italian restaurant, BiNA Osteria, decided to give it a try shortly thereafter at the same location. But it closed in July, after just one month there.

To succeed, a restaurant would need to offer wine and beer on its menu, especially if it wants to draw theater and art show patrons looking for a spot to unwind, said Councilor Michael P. Ross, who is pushing the idea, along with fellow councilors LaMattina and William Linehan.

Last year, the councilors, members of the Special Committee on Boston Common, proposed a permanent eating establishment on the Common, one with indoor and outdoor seating.

They were inspired by a trip they made to New York with a local team of restaurateurs, neighborhood representatives, and park officials to research ideas.

The group visited Madison Square Park, Central Park, and Bryant Park, and members liked what they saw. Each has a restaurant where patrons can sit down for a meal.

?There is no reason why we couldn?t have our own version,?? Linehan said.

Now the councilors hope their latest pitch to restore and reuse the old bathroom will get some traction.

?Our hope is that by January, the city will be prepared to go to forward with a well-thought-out bid that would reflect the sentiment of the community,?? Ross said.

The 660-square-foot octagonal building will need a lot of repairs and a lot more money to renovate it. Work will include removing hazardous materials, stabilizing and renovating its exterior, and installing water and sewer connection. Because it is a historic site, the Boston Landmarks Commission will need to review and approve the project.

Colin Zick, a member of the Beacon Hill Civic Association, said he likes the idea of a restaurant or concession stand at the old bathroom site, but would welcome other options, as well.

?I?m open to any good ideas that are consistent with the historical context and uses of the Common,?? said Zick, who also went on the New York trip.

Park users, even those who know of the building?s former life, have a few ideas of their own.

?Right now it?s . . . something you stay away from,?? said Emerson College graduate Lee Czemba, 22, who supports the idea of a burger shack on the spot. ?So if it is something that would brighten this side of the Common, then it would make the whole thing a lot more welcoming toward the evenings.??

Meghan E. Irons can be reached mirons@globe.com.

[ablarc]

Give it some neon.

[statler]

Oh, that's your answer to everything! :)

[Bubbybu]

I love how the City Councilors took a trip to NYC for a 'fact finding' mission....

[Lurker]

They were spending 'stimulus' money at Scores, to you know....help with the economy

[Mike]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4647132649_9427ac5ebb_o.jpg


http://www.flickr.com/photos/smilinstan/4647132649/

[vanshnookenraggen]

Did they just restore that? It looks nice.

[TheRifleman]

Looks awesome

[tobyjug]

Did they just restore that? It looks nice.

Yup. Brewer Fountain.

[BostonUrbEx]

Wow, that's been fence-and-curtained off for sooo long. Looks great!

[nm88]

Love to see something like that on the Greenway.

[Padre Mike]

There are further plans to redo the plaza around the fountain, the contiguous plantings, and to restore the fence on Tremont St. as was done by the Millennium Ritz, which would do a great deal to close in the Common at this busy intersesection and perhaps restore some tranquility and offer an opportunity for an outdoor cafe around the head houses of the T.

[bdurden]

Give it some neon.

Neon in downtown crossing, the North End, Kenmore, Chinatown, Fanueil Hall. Keep it out of a city park, where it would serve as nothing but a distraction.

[CDubs]

It was so shocking and awesome to this fountain working again the other day! Fantastic!

[statler]

There are further plans to redo the plaza around the fountain, the contiguous plantings, and to restore the fence on Tremont St.

This is great news, but do they have plans or just "plans"?

[Lurker]

The 'plans' are being reviewed by the preservation related authorities and someone is raising a good bit of money. The Courant had details on the project many months ago.

It's mostly removing a lot of the 1960s/70s hardscape and restoring the plantings around the fountain to what the were in the 1920s. New lighting and the cost of fabricating the fence (which the desire is to run from Park Street down to restored section at Avery Street) are the most expensive parts of the project.

[statler]

That is fantastic. I can't wait. I've always hated the hardscape in that area. In fact, it is a problem that plagues most of of the Common, but it is the worst there.

[Lurker]

Good news:

Today's Courant has the Friends of the Common @ $990,000 out of the 1.5 million toward phase II of the fountain/Tremont Street landscaping improvements.


Bad news:

The disrepair of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is also noted in the same article. The monument needs about a half million in repairs and restoration because of all the damage done by vandals, neglect, erosion over the years and decapitation followed by toppling of the bronze statues by 'peace activists' during the DNC in 2004.

[kz1000ps]

City asks state to OK plans for cafes, shops to replace restrooms

By David Abel
Globe Staff / June 9, 2010

The city?s parks commissioner urged state lawmakers yesterday to approve a plan to replace long-shuttered bathrooms on Boston Common and in the Back Bay Fens with outdoor cafes, bicycle rental companies, or other businesses.

At a hearing before the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government, Antonia M. Pollak, commissioner of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, sought legislative support so the city can begin soliciting bids on what would be a multimillion-dollar restoration of two landmarks.

She also asked the Legislature to grant the city the right to lease the properties for up to 25 years. The city is restricted from leasing such properties for more than three years.

?In these difficult economic times, parks agencies are trying to find models that will ensure our parks will be clean, green, and safe in the future,?? she told lawmakers in her prepared remarks.

?Positive uses like park-related vending can assist with this goal.??

After the hearing yesterday, Representative Paul Donato, a Medford Democrat who chairs the committee, said he expects lawmakers will approve the project. He said the House could vote within the next few weeks.

It will then have to be approved by the Senate and the governor.

?Everyone I?ve spoken to is excited about the opportunity to turn these buildings into new venues to bring more activity and vitality to the parks,?? he said.

If approved, the project would allow entrepreneurs to develop the 90-year-old, octagon-shaped Pink Palace near Tremont and Boylston streets on the Boston Common and the 113-year-old stone Duck House on Agassiz Road in the Fens.

The proposal has received support from city officials, but would need approval from city and state landmark authorities once the final plans are approved, Pollak said.

In a statement earlier this year, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he hopes the proposal ?will attract local chefs and organizations to lease the buildings on the landmark Emerald Necklace and Boston Common to provide new, unique concessions for Boston?s residents and visitors alike.??

Both structures are small and would not accommodate large restaurants.

The Pink Palace, which traces its name to the color in its masonry, is just 660 square feet.

The Duck House, which was designed by Alexander M. Longfellow, a nephew of the poet, is only 535 square feet.

Link (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/06/09/city_asks_state_to_ok_plans_for_cafes_shops_to_rep lace_restrooms/)

[JohnAKeith]

I thought the Boston Common was public space?

[statler]

^^The city will lease the space, so it will still be owned by the public.

[Lurker]

It still is a public space, it's just that one spot within it has been leased to a private company which will do business with the public. No different than granting licenses to hot dog stands to sit on sidewalks on a yearly basis.

The whole argument over privatizing public space is overblown in this case. Can anyone argue that a decrepit public toilet which would be unusable even in maintained conditions due to a variety of social factors is better than a lively restaurant?

[kennedy]

Has there been significant debate over privatization thus far? I was unaware it was an issue, let alone overblown one.

[czsz]

When they start installing these, then we'll know there's been a lack of a privatization debate:

http://popupcity.net/2010/06/pay-sit-privatized-benches-in-public-space/

[BostonUrbEx]

When they start installing these, then we'll know there's been a lack of a privatization debate:

http://popupcity.net/2010/06/pay-sit-privatized-benches-in-public-space/

This will either reduce homeless sleeping on benches, or increase panhandling.

I'd like to see what the deaf have to say about this. And I'll love it when someone "trips", falls, loses an eye, and sues. Oh, and the drunks trying to rip the change box off in the middle of the night.

Not to mention the alarm is pretty brief, no room for error, lol.

[Lurker]

Is that from the German equivalent of the Onion?

[Beton Brut]

Reminds me of the "Throw them in the iron maiden" bit in Bill & Ted's.

[kz1000ps]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1229/4725661635_a5be06610e_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/4726307430_ae3066818e_b.jpg

[kz1000ps]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4854308058_ca9ca6ba18_b.jpg

[statler]

Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/09/16/boston_common_backers_weigh_corporate_sponsors/) - September 16, 2010
The Common may go corporate
Group hires consultant who secured funds for NYC park

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | September 16, 2010

The cracked concrete, missing bricks, and growing patches of bald earth on Boston Common have pushed boosters to consider a new initiative: tapping corporations to sponsor repairs and improvements to America?s first park.

Picture a neatly planted flower bed with a discreet sign crediting a bank for the blossoms. A petite placard alerting park-goers that the Common?s new WiFi comes compliments of a prominent software company. Or an engraved stone subtly attributing a refurbished plaza ? with chess boards, moveable tables and chairs, and a portable lending library ? to the generosity of a national department store.

?We think the time has come,?? said Henry Lee, president of the Friends of the Public Garden, which also advocates for the Common. ?Given the state of the park, given the state of the economy, we have to do this in a modest, careful, appropriate way.??

For the past year, the Friends group has employed a prominent New York City parks consultant with a knack for securing corporate sponsorships. Daniel A. Biederman helped pull Manhattan?s Bryant Park back from the brink of urban decay in the 1970s. The dynamic green on 42d Street now teems with innovative activities from ping-pong to ice skating, underwritten with checks from such companies as Google and Southwest Airlines.

The push to emulate some of the Manhattan ideas in Boston has not moved beyond discussions, but the effort to find corporate partners has already won the qualified support of key local power brokers, including Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Michael P. Ross, City Council president. It underscores a new fiscal reality in which shrinking budgets have forced municipalities to embrace creative sources of revenue.

While no major sponsorships have been inked, Biederman said he is in serious talks with a corporation ? which he would not disclose ? about helping pay for more improvements near the recently refurbished Brewer Fountain along Tremont Street.

?This company is a huge national company you?ve heard of,?? Biederman said last week as he walked on the Common, stepping on black asphalt patched over broken concrete. ?They have to get back a little bit of credit, but where I?ve worked with them elsewhere it?s been very, very restrained. And they?ve given a lot of money.??

Credit in Bryant Park comes on small porcelain signs in flower beds, on umbrellas with a corporate logo, and in the outdoor Reading Room, where green shelves say ?sponsored by HSBC Bank.??

?Biederman did a nice job in New York. Is that replicable here? We have to see. Boston is not New York,?? Menino said in a recent interview. ?Would I support little attributes saying this crosswalk is sponsored by Millennium Partners? I probably could support that in a tasteful way. But I?m not going to have banners hanging all around the Common and making it a circus atmosphere.??

Purchased in 1634 when each Boston household kicked in at least six shillings, the Common has endured as shared space. It remains Boston?s largest stage, hosting military exercises and religious revivals, political rallies, and concerts. Headliners have varied from George Washington to singer Judy Garland to Pope John Paul II to the evangelical preacher Billy Graham.

The extraordinary use has always outweighed the care, Lee said, even before the most recent recession. In the past two years, almost $1 million was cut from the city?s Parks and Recreation Department, which now has an annual budget of just over $15 million.

In addition to corporate sponsors, Lee wants the city to charge upkeep fees to film crews and the more than 250 groups a year that hold events on the Common, from Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express to the annual Freedom Rally to legalize marijuana.

Event organizers and movie makers are required to pay park rangers and clean-up crews, but they are not charged fees to offset wear and tear, though some make voluntary donations. Film crews, for example, give about $60,000 annually for work done in all city parks.

?No one wants to see the Common become overly commercialized,?? said Ross, who led a City Council trip to New York City in 2008 to several green spaces, including Bryant Park, where they met Biederman. ?I don?t believe that?s a threat here. It?s not an either-or proposition. We can do more on the Common.??

Any changes to the Common must be approved by the city?s Parks and Recreation Department and the Landmarks Commission. Watchdogs such as the Boston Preservation Alliance expressed openness to the concept on a modest scale.

?In the initial stages, we would prefer to see something temporary as opposed to something permanent,?? said Sarah Kelly, executive director. ?Some of this is obviously experimental. You want to test out what is or isn?t going to work.??

Subtle touches of commercialization are already present on the Common. There are the Lily Pad Cafe near the Frog Pond and a 1,300-space underground parking garage operated by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. The Boys & Girls Clubs collects monthly rent from three dozen vending carts, netting an annual profit of about $125,000, of which 60 percent goes to the parks department, said Patricia Gannon, chief financial officer of the Boys & Girls Club.

The Friends of the Public Garden administers a memorial bench and tree program, which includes a plaque with the name of the donors. To raise money for the imminent $1.4 million overhaul of the plaza around Brewer Fountain, the asking price is $5,000 per tree and $25,000 per bench.

Both the Friends and Biederman declined to disclose how much his consulting firm is being paid for the work on the Common.

Earlier this week, a private tour guide clad in a tricorn hat and tan breeches stood on a dusty patch of dirt as he regaled tourists with stories of the American Revolution. At the foot of a nearby pin oak, a small plaque noted that the tree had been donated by Paper Mills Inc. honoring the ?environmental excellence?? of Staples.

?We are constantly bombarded by advertisements, and I feel like a park should be a place to ease your mind,?? Chlo? Oldfather, a 21-year-old student at Suffolk University, said as she sat nearby on a green bench with broken slates. ?There is obviously a need, but people also need a sanctuary from the constant chatter.??

Andrew Ryan can be reached at acryan@globe.com.

[briv]

This is a recipe for graft and other assorted shenanigans.

[Pierce]

shopping districts gave way to malls, markets to supermarkets, and now parks.... If Bryant Park is the model for the future of America's urban parks I fear for this country. Freedom of speech is a funny thing; corporate rights to control speech outweigh an individual's right to make it. It only freely exists in public space--actual, virtual, or otherwise--anywhere else you are just staying in between someone else's limits

[JohnAKeith]

More private-owned ventures on public land. Perhaps if anonymous comes through with an offer of another merry-go-round everyone will start to like this?

[Lurker]

I honestly think the fear of corporations being benefactors of public space is overblown. How many parks and libraries did Carnegie fund? The idea of private entities being patrons of public institutions has been around forever. I don't see the problem beyond the money being paid twice (once by taxpayers and again by private entities) to do the same basic job while some union or political hack is pocketing half of it.

[Pierce]

I honestly think the fear of corporations being benefactors of public space is overblown. How many parks and libraries did Carnegie fund? The idea of private entities being patrons of public institutions has been around forever. I don't see the problem beyond the money being paid twice (once by taxpayers and again by private entities) to do the same basic job while some union or political hack is pocketing half of it.

Andrew Carnegie, not Carnegie Steel.... there's a big difference there.

[AmericanFolkLegend]

I honestly think the fear of corporations being benefactors of public space is overblown.

I agree. The Rose Kennedy Greenway thread is littered with people longing for Millenium Park (which is, in fact a beautiful asset for Chicago). But literally every aspect of that park (down to the furniture and artwork) are named after a benefactor (corporate and otherwise). The extra resources from corporate donations make that park better, not worse.

[atlantaden]

Go into any almost any major museum, public library, hospital and you will see names of private donors posted/listed for all to see! Ride on any public highway and you'll see signs of private companies and organizations pointing out that they are responsible for the upkeep of a certain milage! Watch PBS and you will see that corporations, foundations, etc, fund programming. It's a fact of life here in the USA. Yes, the donors get nice events to attend or public recognition but what of it? Should we let things decay and fall apart waiting for tax dollars to fund the repairs? If people/corporations want to donate money to spruce up the Common, what's the big deal? If I see a family's name on a park bench or a paving stone with a mother's name on it, I applaud those who donated money to have such a small honor granted to them. And if I see a major corporation's name posted as a donor, I think better of such a corporation. It's good public policy to be a good corporate citizen!

[bosma]

The profit from the Boston Common Garage should all go directly to upkeep of the Boston Common.

The Common may go corporate
Group hires consultant who secured funds for NYC park

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | September 16, 2010

The cracked concrete, missing bricks, and growing patches of bald earth on Boston Common have pushed boosters to consider a new initiative: tapping corporations to sponsor repairs and improvements to America?s first park.

Spend a couple dollars repairing a loose brick before it goes missing and having to pay $20 and considering getting money from private sector., its called prevantative maintenance.

[czsz]

There's a difference between donating something and handing it over to public control and creating a public-private partnership that maintains active links to donors. In the former situation there's much less risk that the donors' interests will control. I don't really care that public libraries are named after Carnegie or that Chicago's Millennium Park has a "BP Bridge", but it was annoying when NY Fashion Week took over Bryant Park or park maintenance was allowed to kick out people who didn't look like the sort they wanted there because it was managed by a quasi-private agency.

[briv]

Corporate sponsorship of the Common was debated on the most recent Radio Boston. From the website:

The man who converted New York?s Bryant Park from an open-air drug market to one of the nation?s hottest public spaces is in Boston today, showing the city how it can use corporate sponsorship to spruce up Boston Common. But some people think the nation?s oldest public park needs to remain public, in every respect. We hear from both sides.
Guests:


Henry Lee, president, Friends of the Public Garden
Mike Ross, president, Boston City Council
Shirley Kressel, co-founder, Alliance for Boston Neighborhoods


A 20 minute podcast of the segment can be listened to on the Radio Boston site:
http://www.wbur.org/2010/10/06/branding-boston-common

[MonopolyBag]

It must be somewhere on this site, but I would expect this to be the thread. My brother said that the Common now in front of the state house is getting some new landscaping, and they are doing upgraded and new paving of paths.

My brother also said there is some drawing of it out on the common and it is currently blocked off as of today. Also something about new brick and landscaping on the state house grounds as well.

Anybody with additional information regarding this?

[Lurker]

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/beacon_hill/2011/03/celebrating_a_spring_revival_a.html

City to Break Ground on Second Phase of Boston Common Renovation
The second part of the three-part project should be completed by this fall.
By Francis Brown | Email the author | March 25, 2011


The city of Boston along with the Friends of the Public Garden will soon break ground on the second phase of the Brewer Fountain Plaza and Liberty Mall renovation project on Boston Common.

This comes after the first phase, which included a $640,000 restoration of the Brewer Fountain, was completed last year.

"When you paint a room in a house you certainly look around and think of all of the rest of the house that you need to do. we looked around and saw
this area needed a great deal of work," Henry Lee, president of the Friends of the Public Garden, told the crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday. "There's too much concrete, there's not enough grass, there are not enough trees and we hope to remedy all that. We hope to make it once again a park-like atmosphere."

Scheduled to be completed this fall, the second phase will consist of renovating a 2.5-acre piece of land around the Brewer Fountain.

"It has been the heartbeat, the center, the stage of city life in the 17th century and here today in 2011," Lee said of the park.

Additional seating, grass areas and trees as well as improved lighting and repaved concrete will all be a part of the restoration.

Once the second phase is completed, there are plans to surround the fountain will tables and chairs, a reading room area, a gourmet food truck and increased wireless internet access, according to Toni Pollack, the city's Commissioner of Parks and Recreation.

These were some of the ideas brought back to Boston by city councilor Michael Ross after he visited New York to see what it was doing with its city parks. He then helped to form a council committee to specifically look into renovating Boston Common.

"These really have been pretty extraordinary difficult times for city budgets, for individuals and it's amazing that such great things are still going on in our park," Pollack said at the ceremony.

Photo gallery linked in the article.

More info:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/02/28/boston-common-getting-a-facelift/
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/03/23/boston-common%E2%80%99s-facelift-begins-at-brewer-fountain/
http://www.facebook.com/Friendsofthepublicgarden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnMicWaWKu8&feature=player_embedded

[MonopolyBag]

Thank you Lurker, I guess my brother is trustworthy then and a reliable source.

[kz1000ps]

Today:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5607518653_907b6aee7f_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5228/5607519795_8360890acf_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/5607521117_c7d5fac6ff_b.jpg

[whighlander]

Any updated pix/ -- I would expect that a lot had been accomplished in the past 3 months

[BostonUrbEx]

When I went by after the Scooperbowl (couple weeks ago), it was pretty much the same thing.

[bbfen]

"In order to open the park for the years ahead, we must close it for the year ahead."

[Lurker]

Don't worry folks, now that the Feds have captured Whitey the city and state will finally know the exact spot under the Common where he hid his gold. The whole park improvement project front can be quickly dropped such that all the homeless drug addicts and pigeons can get right back to shitting on everything.

More likely all the work stopped when the first frosts hit and are just getting started again due to construction scheduling issues.

[JohnAKeith]

News from the future:

"City officials say completion was delayed when workers discovered the process would be more difficult than first thought."

[jass]

What a disaster zone. Makes getting to park street station a PITA

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_0175.jpg

[JohnAKeith]

I didn't even know that project was taking place 'til I walked by last week. I assume this is separate from the renovation of the fountain, etc.?

Regarding the fountain work, if you look at the sign in front of it, it says, "Completion, mid-summer."

By the calendar, they still have time left, right?

[BostonUrbEx]

I've gone by this a couple times in the past couple weeks; looks like an absolute war zone. I really hope this doesn't drag through all of next summer, but it probably will. There's a ton of work going on.

[whighlander]

I expect that anyday now -- they'll be beginning the process of shutting down the worksite for the winter -- as I believe that Autumn begins on Friday, and in the outer burbs we've already had some frost warnings

[JohnAKeith]

There was a story in the Courant over the summer, I seem to remember, that explained why the work was being delayed. They said at the time they still expected it to be completed this year. Seeing how it looked the past two times I've been by there this week, that seems hard to believe.

This catastrophe of epic proportions is only magnified by the fact that they completely rehabbed the Brewer fountain and it's now completely off limits and mostly out of view.

[JohnAKeith]

Some sort of update on the status of the renovations, although I'll be damned if I couldn't find any sort of date attached to story.

The Brewer fountain and plaza are beginning to show signs of completion. Newly planted elms give the plaza a welcoming air and also help to define the space, creating part of the outdoor room of the Brewer plaza area. The informal bosque of trees behind the Brewer truly help frame the fountain as a terminal point.

http://fopg.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/brewer-fountain-closer-to-completion-every-day/

[whighlander]

Some sort of update on the status of the renovations, although I'll be damned if I couldn't find any sort of date attached to story.



http://fopg.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/brewer-fountain-closer-to-completion-every-day/

Dated Sept 22

Apparenly 32 of a new varietty of elm tree have or are in the process of being planted near to the Fountain

Another quote from an update from a week earlier -- claims major evidence of completion coming in the next month -- since the source is the Friends of the Boston Public Garden (extremely well connected mostly Beacon Hill and Back Bay residents) -- I'll take their word for it

[BostonUrbEx]

Trees were sitting around a couple days ago, looks like they're all in the ground now.

[statler]

Brewer Fountain plaza re-opens on Boston Common with improvements

http://i.imgur.com/5IUu5.png

By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

The historic Brewer Fountain is once again on display on Boston Common after months of construction to improve its surrounding area.

Construction around the fountain, which was restored in May 2010, ended earlier this month to reveal a new stone plaza and repaved pathways. The plaza has new storm drain and irrigation systems and wooden benches that face the fountain along its perimeter.

The Friends of the Public Garden, the private group that helps maintain the Common, expect to add tables, a gourmet food truck, and live piano music during lunch in the plaza by spring.

More improvements are planned for the area near the fountain, including fencing and a green strip to separate the park from Tremont Street, and pathway improvements designed to enhance the connection from Park Street T station to Brewer Plaza. These changes are expected to be completed by spring 2013.

Although the plaza is open, temporary fencing still surrounds grassy areas around the plaza. The Friends of the Public Garden say some of that construction is part of an MBTA project to install a new elevator for the Park Street station.

Kaiser can be reached at johanna.yourtown@gmail.com.

Two questions to anyone who has been by this already.

Are those concrete pavers or real stone?
Is that really asphalt around the stone?

[Lurker]

Quick walk-through the other day appeared to be stone and yes that is asphalt. The asphalt looks temporary in the way it connects to the remaining concrete paths and awkwardly interfaces around Park Street's head house.

[sidewalks]

I don't get the sense that the asphalt is temporary. For some reason we seem to think asphalt is an acceptable means of paving public walkways. It's absurd/pathetic.

[bbfen]

I don't get the sense that the asphalt is temporary. For some reason we seem to think asphalt is an acceptable means of paving public walkways. It's absurd/pathetic.

You advocate concrete?

[statler]

Stone > Concrete > Asphalt

[cden4]

I'm guessing that the Parks Dept is intending to make the multi-use pathways in the Common asphalt and the pedestrian only sidewalks concrete. I noticed in the recently redone section that the area on the Common side of the planters is now asphalt where it used to be concrete, but the area between the planters and Tremont St has been redone in concrete, as it was before this project.

[sidewalks]

I assume it's a combination of value engineering and American indifference to quality/aesthetics. But go to Manhattan and see the investment made in places like Madison Square or Washington Square. This sort of nonsense wouldn't be allowed.

[Beton Brut]

American indifference to quality/aesthetics.

Make no mistake -- this could doom us at every level of society. Believe it.

[whighlander]

I assume it's a combination of value engineering and American indifference to quality/aesthetics. But go to Manhattan and see the investment made in places like Madison Square or Washington Square. This sort of nonsense wouldn't be allowed.

Sidewalker --

Blue stone, flagstones, granite slabs
Asphault
Stone dust
Concrete
Concrete - pavers aka bricks
Cobble stones (real ones)
wooden and composite decking
steel grate decking

all can be useful and appropriate pavement -- it all depends on the location, amount of use, type of user, etc.

cobblestones -- if they are already there -- well then keep them -- but they are not appropriate for new construction

I like brick or more commonly concrete pavers made to look like brick -- especially for the Freedom Trail and for more aestrhetic sensitive sites -- howerver it is somewhat treacherous in the winter when icy and over time it tends to become hard to walk on even under good conditions

stone is fine for borders and accents -- but it is expensive to maintain

concrete sidewalks, stone dust and asphault are good utilitarian path materials

wood and composite decks are appropriate along the water's edge in high traffic and more formal areas

steel grates -- just for old draw bridges

parts of the Common just like the whole ofthe Public Garden are formal and should be treated that way with stone, brick or concrete

Much of the Common paths are utilitarian and should be asphault or even stone dust

I would presume that the Friends have some opinons on these things

[jass]

If it's not marble, then I'm not walking on it

*Exception being lush white sand beach

[sidewalks]

Asphalt is the cheapest material you can use...the Boston Common (not to mention the Public Garden) is one of the premier public spaces in our city. Using such an unappealing material shows a lack of civic pride in my opinion. Thermal Bluestone pavers could be had for $4.50 PSF, last 100 years, and add beauty to the park. Stone dust requires more vigilance and maintenance...if we didn't pay 2,000 cops over $100k per year we might have a reasonable budget for such things, alas maintenance is a joke in this town.

[bbfen]

Such a measured, and reasonable response ... wait, making the police department budget part of a conversation about the Parks department? I'm going to go put my head in a toilet and scream now.

[Ron Newman]

Is asphalt more durable than concrete?

I believe the Esplanade walkways and bike paths are asphalt.

[sidewalks]

I'll grant you that was way off topic and out of line. It was the wrong place to make the point. It would be better to say, that I'm frustrated by a city/system that pays more than 3,800 people in excess of $100k per year, yet can only muster an annual budget of $15mm to maintain its entire parks system. The issues aren't actually unrelated when you view the issue in that context. Of course a city can't manage to fill its most basic responsibilities when it uses its tax revenues in such a fashion.

[statler]

Funny. This is a discussion about sidewalks, you would think it would be your thing.

For some reason the purple asphalt doesn't bother me as much as the black stuff.

I don't know if asphalt is more durable, but I'm sure it is a lot cheaper and easier to repair, which is a plus.

Of course giant slabs of granite are very durable, just insanely expensive.

[sidewalks]

ha, I didn't really consider the irony until now...admittedly, asphalt drives me nuts as a sidewalk paving material. I could be wrong, but I imagine that over time large bluestone pavers might be reasonably economical in comparison to asphalt, as they last decades.

[Lurker]

Concrete is more durable than asphalt in terms of dealing with weight and impacts. Asphalt is far softer and will deform quite easily under concentrated weight or impact. The major advantages asphalt has over concrete, aside from cost, is that it is generally water impervious in this freeze-thaw cycle climate and has the ability to be a smooth uninterrupted surface without control joints. Asphalt laying is also a low skill, yet generally high union paying profession, with a guaranteed cycle of busy work replacement. This makes it a useful industry to political machines whom will protect it dearly.

Bluestone is a wonderful material but requires proper site preparation to not settle over time and create trip hazards. Over the extent of Park Street and Boylston Street stations a very carefully crafted sub-grade drainage and support system capped with bluestone could solve all the infiltration problems, however drainage and paving aren't politically sexy so it'll never happen. The idiot media would be gawking at the cost for "simple paving" and most people, with their only familiarity with paving really being the asphalt they park and drive on, would be furious at the expenditure.

[sidewalks]

PS...I opened a thread on the General page regarding the allocation of tax revenues and City of Boston salaries.

[stellarfun]

Other disadvantages of concrete are that tree roots can deform the slab (generally pushing it upward), and unless set atop a very good base, cracking and chipping are inevitable in freeze and thaw climate. Newly constructed Federal parks in DC have used Belgian pavers for paths where there is no significant grade; asphalt where there is a grade.

[whighlander]

Other disadvantages of concrete are that tree roots can deform the slab (generally pushing it upward), and unless set atop a very good base, cracking and chipping are inevitable in freeze and thaw climate. Newly constructed Federal parks in DC have used Belgian pavers for paths where there is no significant grade; asphalt where there is a grade.

I was just at the MFA yesterday and while taking some exterior shots I thought about this discussion:

Think of the fomality and evolution of a path such as the Fens and the MFA (where money is virtually no object):

1) people walk through the Victory Garden area on the soil -- low intensity of use -- could use some stone dust for the paths where the soil is often wet and muddy

2) some of the other paths across the Fens are asphault where there is more foot traffic

3) the more formal areas of the Fens uses concrete with expansion joints

4) the sidewalk along the Fenway uses concrete with expansion joints

5) the newly redone MFA entrance areas (State Street -- Fenway and Bank of America -- Avenue of des Artes) use stone (granite slabs) where the walks and plaza mary to the stairs and other building elements

6) Along the avenue des artes -- even the sidewalk is stone (blocks and cobbles with a stone border and benches)
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=MFA+Fenway+Boston&hl=en&ll=42.338789,-71.092969&spn=0.000304,0.000402&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.185946,52.646484&vpsrc=6&hq=MFA&hnear=Fenway%2FKenmore,+Boston,+Suffolk,+Massachus etts&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=42.338789,-71.093097&panoid=zbRTbnvtfBT_RoaRExoMig&cbp=12,311.24,,0,21.42

7) and concrete where the walks are mostly just extensions of the sidewalks on the MFA side of the Fenway, Museum Road, and even the newly reconstructed Forsythe Way

[JohnAKeith]

Wait, is anything different?

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/fountain.jpg

There is still part of this blocked off, where the summertime seating will be, so that's different. It looks as though there are new benches around the perimeter. No one was using them but that's b/c no one likes cloudy days.

[Lurker]

There's a lot more green space, lighting, and significantly less paved area.

[Boston02124]

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/049-16.jpg

[BostonUrbEx]

^ The Park St Pigeon Lady's family reunion?

[Lurker]

Note to self: Have the wife research the legality of breeding and releasing hawks into the city at strategic locations.

[Boston02124]

hawks are making a big comeback in the Boston area I photograph a least 2 a week,this one is from yesterday in Watertown http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/013-47.jpg

[itchy]

That is one bad-ass bird. Raptors are always thrilling to see, even as they become relatively common here and in urban/suburban areas across the country.

[Boston02124]

yes very excieting to see! http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/012-39.jpg

[bbfen]

There are quite a few around the Fenway. One of the guys from Christian Science says several live on the tower.

[datadyne007]

There are quite a few around the Fenway. One of the guys from Christian Science says several live on the tower.

There's also a nest on Marriott's Custom House. They have some plaques up there that commemorate them.

[F-Line to Dudley]

There's a whole ton of them up in West Cambridge. The string from Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Fresh Pond, Alewife Reservation, and Spy Pond is teeming with birds of prey. Really keeps the exploding rabbit population down. I occasionally see discarded meals around Fresh Pond Reservation.

The male red tailed hawk that's been nesting at 185 Alewife the past 2 years returns periodically to the nest to mark its territory, meaning they're almost certain to be back for a third go-around next year. Both years they successfully raised 3 healthy fledglings. I sometimes see that male in Danehy Park. Perches itself on top of one of the light towers above the track and yells its brains out calling out its territory. Chilling to listen to...this deafening "I AM LORD AND RULER OF THIS PARK! KNEEL BEFORE ME!!!" screech that can be heard from a mile away. Has to scare the crap out of the dachsund and chiuaua owners in the dog park.

Also some great horned owls in the cemetery. And if you walk the Fresh Pond path in the daytime there's a grey-coat screech owl that sleeps every day in a large notch in one of the trees right next to the path. SSW side of the path where it turns in the direction of Glacken Field...two-pronged tree immediately behind a bench. Large notch, and he's just snoozing there 5 or 6 days a week in plain view of everyone from about 30 minutes before sunrise to 2 hours before sunset.

[JohnAKeith]

The view from the Brewer fountain up to the State House has been greatly improved thanks to the recent renovation project. Lots more green stuff. Unfortunately, people have taken to hanging out in the fountain, which I've never seen before, but nothing that some warm weather and water won't take care of.

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/brewer.jpg

[kz1000ps]

Asphalt is so entirely the wrong thing to put here. Don't care about freeze/thaw and whatever, this looks like pure rubbish.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6822153043_29e07b090f_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6822154889_5d6f171620_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6822164731_5201ea0e8c_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6822167247_e450352aa2_b.jpg

[Lurker]

The raised brick planters and concrete light posts really need to be replaced on the Tremont Street side. The promenade along that edge of the common should look feel like the one parallel to Boylston Street and the Four Seasons Hotel in the Public Garden. There's already some statuary and monuments as in the Public Garden promenade. It needs some fencing, replacement lighting, and perhaps some spot lighting on the existing points of interest. There might even be a argument for additional public art along this promenade on a rotating basis to make it more of a destination than a utilitarian circulation route and park edge.

[Digital_Islandboy]

The male red tailed hawk that's been nesting at 185 Alewife the past 2 years returns periodically to the nest to mark its territory, meaning they're almost certain to be back for a third go-around next year.

I love it. Once they moved-in you don't even see one 'lil seagull or pigeon at the Fresh Pond Mall (roof top nor parking lot areas).

I agree with the part about the pitch in the Commons looking awful. It appears like a second road.

[JohnAKeith]

All the fences are down, btw.

Well, all the fences related to the renovation are down. There's still a fence up around where they're putting in an elevator.

[BostonObserver]

It might near the end. http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/04/red-line-shut-down-this-weekend-downtown-boston/hR6XdFrip7U7yEzRMsqxdL/index.html

[found5dollar]

I didn't know where to put this, but this thread seemed as good as any.

Did you know that after then built the Charles Brigham extension on the State House they were planning on tearing down the Bullfinch designed facade? Thank god they didn't.

I was researching the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts for the wiki article i am writing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Cod_of_Massachusetts ) and stumbled across this article from February 22, 1895.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aApYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OkUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3294,1949731&dq=sacred+cod+of+massachusetts+today&hl=en

It states :
"The annex is to be connected with the old state house by an arch across Mount Vernon street, and it is extremely probable that the entire old front will soon be torn down and replaced with a much larger modern fire proof front modeled on the lines of the original Bullfinch front."

Crazy no? Never knew this almost happened.

[choo]

I was at park street this morning, the fountain, the new grass and granite curb leading up to and framing the state house look great. The tables with umbrellas are a great softening touch that make it very enjoyable. When the T finishes with the elevator (which they were doing welding outside so i imagine shortly), the place will be great.

Truly a great outdoor space. Very pleased with it all around.

[TheRifleman]

I love the common but the last time I was down there I noticed alot more drug addicts and bums hanging out.

[datadyne007]

I was at park street this morning, the fountain, the new grass and granite curb leading up to and framing the state house look great. The tables with umbrellas are a great softening touch that make it very enjoyable. When the T finishes with the elevator (which they were doing welding outside so i imagine shortly), the place will be great.

Truly a great outdoor space. Very pleased with it all around.

A breath of fresh positive commenting!

[cozzyd]

I love the common but the last time I was down there I noticed alot more drug addicts and bums hanging out.

So? The Common isn't just for rich people.

[BostonUrbEx]

I love the common but the last time I was down there I noticed alot more drug addicts and bums hanging out.

The seem to stick to the pathway paralleling Park Street, not the rehabbed path.

They're the trashiest of all trash, too. They shit and piss themselves, swear their heads off really loudly over nothing, and raise their hands at their trashy women threatening to punch them.

[datadyne007]

The seem to stick to the pathway paralleling Park Street, not the rehabbed path.

They're the trashiest of all trash, too. They shit and piss themselves, swear their heads off really loudly over nothing, and raise their hands at their trashy women threatening to punch them.

They're always fighting and screaming at each other too.

[Lurker]

So? The Common isn't just for rich people.

The derelicts on the Common are a special breed which in a saner world would be cared for in Asylums.

I happen to love the new plaza. It's much cleaner and pleasant with the tables and the occasional piano sonata. The Brewer Fountain helps drown out the traffic noise, cools down the entire area, and most importantly has significantly dispersed the legions of pigeons. I really wish the entire Tremont Street side could be redone and perhaps a fountain plaza be located similarly at Boylston Street Station.

[whighlander]

I didn't know where to put this, but this thread seemed as good as any.

Did you know that after then built the Charles Brigham extension on the State House they were planning on tearing down the Bullfinch designed facade? Thank god they didn't.

I was researching the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts for the wiki article i am writing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Cod_of_Massachusetts ) and stumbled across this article from February 22, 1895.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aApYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OkUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3294,1949731&dq=sacred+cod+of+massachusetts+today&hl=en

It states :
"The annex is to be connected with the old state house by an arch across Mount Vernon street, and it is extremely probable that the entire old front will soon be torn down and replaced with a much larger modern fire proof front modeled on the lines of the original Bullfinch front."

Crazy no? Never knew this almost happened.

Found$ -- to build the two wings on either side of Bulfinch they tore down John Hancock's House -- quite possibly the finest Colonial Period house in the US still standing as of the Civil War

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Hancock_House.jpg

of course earlier Sam Adams led the destruction of Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson's House

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Foster_Hutchinson_house_FleetSt_Boston.png

Still standing as late as 1920 though in a damaged conditon the Province House was finally torn down in 1922 -- today only the stairs to the garden remain on Province St.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Province_House1.jpg

PS: even the Old State House was nearly sold to Chicago or demolished in 1881 because of a planned real estate development

[Boston02124]

I was at park street this morning, the fountain, the new grass and granite curb leading up to and framing the state house look great. The tables with umbrellas are a great softening touch that make it very enjoyable. When the T finishes with the elevator (which they were doing welding outside so i imagine shortly), the place will be great.

Truly a great outdoor space. Very pleased with it all around. was there on Wedsday looked great! http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/2012/ffc758da.jpg

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/2012/ec24fcdc.jpg

[czsz]

So they've Bryant Park-ified it.

I've always hated that tree ruining the vista from the fountain toward the State House facade.

[Tombstoner]

Reminds me of how much fountains can completely elevate a space. It's a shame Boston doesn't have many more.

[BostonObserver]

Boston is just a pale New York wanna be!

[JohnAKeith]

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/IMG-20120517-00084-1.jpg

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/IMG-20120517-00085.jpg

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Reminds me of how much fountains can completely elevate a space. It's a shame Boston doesn't have many more.

I think my favorite may be the fish fountain at City Square Park in Charlestown. That really is a fabulous park, but for some reason it seems empty most times I drive by.

[BussesAin'tTrains]

So they've Bryant Park-ified it.


The renovation was designed by the same guy who rehabbed Bryant.

[omaja]

Boston is just a pale New York wanna be!

What are you even saying here? That NY has the corner on the market for folding chairs and cafe tables on green space?

[whighlander]

Boston is just a pale New York wanna be!

Huh?

NYC just coppied what Boston did first -- perhaps they occasionally did a superior job -- but not often

[choo]

I've always hated that tree ruining the vista from the fountain toward the State House facade.

It's funny, I was kinda thinking the same thing. I would never push to take it down, but if it were gone the view would be great.

[found5dollar]

^ Isnt it like one of the last elms that survived dutch elm disease or something? I remember there being a very good reason to not chop it down.

[bdurden]

This really does look great. The Common is living up to its potential -- at least in parts.

[Boston02124]

today http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/2012/80b3e7e3.jpg http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/2012/c02f6a02.jpg http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/ric02124/2012/5d8f8826.jpg

[statler]

Who maintains the umbrellas and bistro sets? Is it the Parks Dept, or is it a public/private type deal?

[Boston02124]

not sure don't think I even like them in this location!

[atlantaden]

As much as I love trees in the city, that big ass tree in the lawn directly in front of the State House sure messes up some beautiful photo opps!! Fountain overhaul looks like a job well done!!

[whighlander]

As much as I love trees in the city, that big ass tree in the lawn directly in front of the State House sure messes up some beautiful photo opps!! Fountain overhaul looks like a job well done!!

Atlanta -- try suggesting taking the tree down to improve a photo op -- you would be better off commending Isreal in Tehran

[Patrick]

Tree needs to go. Messes up terminated vista. Or, instead, is the wrong termination for the vista. Poor decision to plant there.

[Lurker]

The tree was there before the statehouse.

[briv]

Is that true? I always wondered what the story was behind that tree. I've hated it and wished it was moved, but if it really predates the statehouse I think I have a new admiration for it. That would be one old tree.

[found5dollar]

I heard some where that it is one of the last elm trees or something. It survived dutch elm disease or something and is now a rare species.

[statler]

^^ That is the story I've heard as well. But I'm pretty sure I've heard it here, so...

[found5dollar]

well it doesn't matter because the elms on the common are finally succumbing to Dutch Elm. They have had to tear down 4 in the past year, so this ones days many be numbered as well.

[Roxxma]

well it doesn't matter because the elms on the common are finally succumbing to Dutch Elm. They have had to tear down 4 in the past year, so this ones days many be numbered as well.
It's not so much about succumbing to Dutch elm, they're old trees, they would have succumbed a long of time ago, had they not been chemically treated. Dutch elm disease is a fungal infection that prevents elms from maturing to full growth. It is quite treatable nowadays and there are new hybrids that are resistant to the infection. Most, if not all, of the new trees on the recently renovated mall are American elms, the official tree of the Commonwealth.

[whighlander]

Is that true? I always wondered what the story was behind that tree. I've hated it and wished it was moved, but if it really predates the statehouse I think I have a new admiration for it. That would be one old tree.

No chance that the tree predates the State House

the building dates from 1795 -- the tree perhaps mid-late 19th Century when a lot of the Common was redone (e.g. the fountain, most of the paths the subway entrances, the 54th Monument and steps from Beacon St.)

[Corey]

I too have wondered why that tree is there and why they let it grow in the middle of this vista in the first place. There must be some reason that it exists. Someone should go to the The Boston Urban Forest Council's "tree stroll (http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/downtown/2012/07/summer_tree_stroll_will_explor.html)" through the common and ask about it for me.

[Meadowhawk]

Boston is just a pale New York wanna be!

I disagree. Granted NYC is wonderful in many ways, and a fun place to visit, but Boston is unique in what it was, and what it is. That being a city on a much more human scale. I think Boston has always admired many things NYC has to offer, and has tried to incorporate some of its successful ventures, but I've never thought it was envious of or tried to mirror an image of NYC. Boston, IMO, is quite confident in it's own history, institutions, and culture. Boston doesn't need to be a wanna be to any city. So when you say Boston is a pale NYC wanna be, it's like saying Venice is a pale wanna be to Rome. It sounds unreasonable to compare the two.

[JohnAKeith]

Regarding the Brewer fountain and the view of the State House, it might be that the tree was planted somewhere in the mid-1800's. Look at this image from ~1905.

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/brewer_1905.png

There are three trees in the upper-left hand corner; two on the Common and one up on Beacon Street.

If you look at the image below, you can see the tree which we all agree keeps us from seeing the State House at its best.

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/common_brewer.jpg

But, an unrelated question arises. The orientation of the Brewer fountain differs between the two photos - and, therefore, between the two years. The images below show the same orientation of the fountain, but to achieve this, I had to move to a completely different location on the Common.

Was the Brewer fountain picked up and moved? It appears so. Was this done when they redid the fountain during the past couple of years? Maybe.

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/oo139/JohnAKeith/Random/matches.png

[datadyne007]

The fountain looks closer to the State House in the historical photo.

[JohnCostello]

1905? You may be off a bit. Might the Brewer have been moved for the construction of Park Street Station and the Subway in 1895-1897?

[Padre Mike]

It was indeed moved at some point in the distant past, closer to the street and therefore to the subway line....

[Padre Mike]

I too have wondered why that tree is there and why they let it grow in the middle of this vista in the first place. There must be some reason that it exists. Someone should go to the The Boston Urban Forest Council's "tree stroll (http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/downtown/2012/07/summer_tree_stroll_will_explor.html)" through the common and ask about it for me.

BTW, originally the Common had relatively few trees, as it was used mostly for grazing. The idea of a public park came much later in the 19th C when Beacon Hill was being developed, gardens sold off for in-fill town houses, and farms parceled for new streets.

[Lurker]

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/11/12/sandwich-shop-opens-in-old-boston-common-bathroom/

[BeeLine]

Great concept. I hope it survives the winter.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8339/8186190041_9e90556d78_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/beelinebos/8186190041/)
Earl of Sandwich Boston Common 11/14 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/beelinebos/8186190041/)

[Boston02124]

I'm going to try it tonite after work :)

[commuter guy]

Had it for lunch today and it was a very good sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised. When news first broke about a chain restaurant coming to this location, I was disappointed. Plus, the pics on their website of their sandwiches looked unappealing, but I have to admit I'll be returning for lunch again. I think the restoration is tastefully done too.

[Padre Mike]

Boston is just a pale New York wanna be!

New York is just a more current, wealthier Boston wanna be that was in the right place (great, deep harbor) at the right time (late 19th C with lots of investment $$).

[BostonObserver]

New York is just a more current, wealthier Boston wanna be that was in the right place (great, deep harbor) at the right time (late 19th C with lots of investment $$).

That was meant to be sarcastic. I get tiered of all the why can't i live in New York whinning.

[Padre Mike]

Okay, here's a question for all you guys "in the know": What's with the new curb stones along the Charles St. Mall on the Common installed with continual breaks?? Drainage openings? A novel decor for this walkway?? Just checked it out yesterday and inquiring minds want to know!

[estyle]

It's a private/public thing. The EOS has a ten-year lease on the building and is providing their own furnishings.

[PaulC]

The trees blocking the view of the state house have been trimmed way back. Looks like the city is on a big tree trimming kick, Blackstone Sq has had two days of intense tree trimming this week.

[BostonUrbEx]

The trees blocking the view of the state house have been trimmed way back. Looks like the city is on a big tree trimming kick, Blackstone Sq has had two days of intense tree trimming this week.

Does the Common fall under city jurisdiction for that? I'd think the state was responsible.

In a related note; dead trees on the Arborway where chopped down the other day.